Embedding YouTube and other Content in WordPress

I searched for a long time to find a solution to get YouTube videos to show up in a WordPress blog entry (click here for the finished example).

WordPress wouldn’t show the video if I just tried to embed the code using the WYSIWYG editor (and yes, I was using the “Code” editing tab).

A lot of the plugins I found would insert the video for you from a link to the video instead of the actual code. The problem with this approach is that sometimes I want to edit the embed code. For example, I don’t really like the referral videos that display on a YouTube video when the video has finished playing. To disable the feature, you have to eneter &rel=0 to the end of the video links within the embed code.

Well, it looked like there wasn’t a good plugin option that would allow me to do that, and I was wary of installing another plugin, because the more plugins you have, the more you have to test your upgrades.

So, I finally found a great little article that low and behold gave the easiest answer: Turn off the WYSIWYG editor temporarily to insert the code (and whenever you need to revisit the post for editing).

No new plugins, I can embed other types of code from time to time, and it’s simple to operate.

Turn off the WYSIWYG in WordPress by going to the “Users” tab, then “Your Profile” and by un-checking the WYSIWYG checkbox.

Click to update your settings, and create/edit your article. Turn the WYSIWYG back on after editing your document.