Build My Site for Free

According to YouTube, there are over one billion views of their content each and every day.  Internet users now expect to see moving pictures as part of their surfing experience.  That’s why adding video to your blog can help grab your readers’ attention and make your site much more exciting and entertaining. 

It’s very easy to add video to a WordPress blog and any website builder can do it.  Whether it’s your own videos or you want to embed clips from other sites, here are 3 simple ways to give your blog readers the moving picture experience.

1.  Add Video from Another Site Using Embedding Codes

YouTube, GoogleVideo, IFILM, MetaCafe and MySpace are just a few of the video sites that provide a vast resource of moving images for website builders to add to a blog.  You don’t need to ask permission to use them because a credit for the website is always displayed. 

This is one of the simplest ways to add moving images to your site.  You may find an expert in your field giving a presentation on the latest developments or a news item relevant to your niche.  You may even decide to add a funny clip to lighten the mood and give your readers a smile.  Just post it with a tag such as, “Now For Something Completely Different!”

Once you’ve found the video you want to use, copy the embedding code which is displayed next to the video on the site you found it on.  All you need to do is paste this code into your post.  However before you create the post and paste the code you must disable your rich text visual editor.  Simply go back to your user profile and unclick the rich text editor box at the bottom of the screen.  Also make sure this is turned off if you’re editing any video posts otherwise the code will be mixed up and destroyed. 

As soon as you’ve added your videos you can then go back to your user profile page and switch the rich text visual editor back on.

2.  Using Video Plug Ins to Embed Moving Pictures

Although it’s pretty simple to cut and paste the embedding codes into your posts, using the Vipers Video Quicktags plug in gives you much greater flexibility over how the video is displayed and dramatically reduces the length of the embedding code on your post.

This plug in adds a button to the write screen which you click on to add the URL of the video you want to use.  You can then customize the height, width, color and alignment of the video on the page.  This plug in is fully compatible with all the major video websites. 

Another great plug in is VideoPress, which combines with the VideoPress system to easily upload videos to your blog.  The software automatically expands moving images to fit your blog post and you can also send videos in RSS feeds.  There’s also built in search engine optimization, using the video descriptions to enhance your search engine ranking.   VideoPress can be added to your WordPress blog for $59.97 per year, which is worth paying if you plan on uploading a lot of video.  It really does make adding video to your blog as easy as putting in text and images. 

You may also like to try the free WordPress Video or Embedded Video plug ins, which also make embedding video from external sites a very simple process.  All of these plug ins are available to download for free on our resources and plug ins page. 

3.  Creating Your Own Video

It doesn’t matter if you are an inexperienced camera operator or have absolutely no experience of making videos.  Using a simple digital camera or even a webcam it’s easy to make your own video to add to your blog.  Just keep your videos simple, short, to the point and use a tripod to keep wobble to a minimum.

Video is a great way to help sell your products or services.  Perhaps your blog is about shed building, so why not make video reviews and tours of the latest sheds available?  Or if you offer your services as a relationship therapist, you could create some simple videos with weekly tips and relationship advice.  Just choose a simple background, write a compelling script and talk to the camera.  Video is so powerful for showing the public the real you.

Once you’ve made your video, you can self-host through your server and use a plug in such as the All In One Video Pack.   This functional piece of software allows any website builder to record and import your own videos direct to your blog.  You can also synchronize your clips with Kaltura, an online video editor, to edit and remix your pictures and sound.  

There’s also an easy alternative for novice website builders to upload their own video.  All you need to do is upload your video clips to a site such as YouTube.  Then embed the link from there.  This also gives you much more exposure as people can see you on other sites as well as your own blog.