How to Embed Things on Your WordPress Website
Did you know that WordPress offers a variety of tools for website designers to use? Embedding content such as YouTube videos and Twitch plays within your blog posts is just one of the things that the platform can do. There’s also the option of using shortcodes to incorporate complex content structures such as tables or charts. It might be easier to explain what WordPress isn’t able to do rather than what it can do, so here are some tricks that it simply can’t provide.
YouTube Videos As Blog Post Excerpts
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I often use YouTube to host videos of myself playing Magic The Gathering (MTG) cards or other types of video content. While it would be tempting to just let any old video serve as blog post excerpts, doing so would cut out an important element of the audience’s experience. When someone visits your blog post page, they expect to see the video content featured prominently, if not entirely.
The fix is simple – just put a “Read the full story…” link at the end of each video’s excerpt, next to the “Watch the video” button. When someone clicks on this link, they’ll be taken to your blog’s landing page, where they can continue reading your content or watching the video. The link will also appear in the event that someone else links to your blog post on social media – helping to spread the word about your content while simultaneously increasing the chance that someone will actually watch the whole thing.
Live Chats As Blog Post Excerpts
Speaking of social media, did you know that you can use platforms like Twitch to host live video chats where fans can join in the action? Rather than just having a regular ol’ blog where you post regular ol’ blogs, why not take the opportunity to engage with your audience through live videos? The ability to have real-time conversations with your readers is a great way to expand your blog’s reach while also getting more content onto your site.
The downside is that unlike a blog post, which can be scheduled to publish at a moment’s notice, a live video chat requires careful planning. You’ll have to sit down and think of a topic that you might discuss with your fans, then record a few actual chats to use as blog post examples – meaning the content might not appear as fresh as you’d like.
If this sounds like something that would be valuable to your readers, consider hosting a Twitch stream focused on your blog’s content.
Blogs As Content Curation Partnerships
WordPress also offers the ability for bloggers to work with news organizations and media companies to curate content. For example, the Huffington Post is a popular blog that works with other established media outlets to bring in high-quality content for its readers. While this content might not be completely independent, it does serve to highlight the effectiveness of blogs as a tool for increasing website traffic.
If you’re a brand new blogger who wants to start attracting organic traffic, consider using blogs as a way to integrate with other media outlets – provided you do your homework and make sure that your interactions are ethical. If you want to find out more, here’s a handy guide that will help you interact with bloggers ethically and responsibly.
Tables & Charts As Blog Post Content
If you’ve managed to make it this far without encountering a tool offered by WordPress, you might be wondering what took so long. The truth is, I’m not sure if you realize how much content management tools can do for your WordPress blog. Take a moment to imagine how much easier your life would be if you didn’t have to worry about the content on your site being broken down into several hundred single-serving blog posts – it’s a lot easier to keep track of things when you can break them down into some kind of digestible content.
The advantage of tables and charts is that they make things like blog post navigation much easier – assuming, of course, that you have a legitimate need to include them in your content.
The Final Word
Did you know that WordPress is a powerful tool for website designers and bloggers who want to make their lives easier? As you can see from the examples above, WordPress offers a variety of tools that can help make blogging and website design much simpler, which in turn can lead to more content published and simpler day-to-day operations for the individual bloggers using the platform.