Skip to content

How do I put a YouTube video in my blog post?

If you are visiting YouTube and find a video you’d like to put on your own site, it’s pretty straightforward and easy. Let’s start by visiting YouTube and using a sample video I took during Blog World Expo: ProBlogger Advice for Beginning Bloggers.

On the page where you view the video, look to the right of the video. You’ll see a square with information labeled URL and EMBED.

  • If you just want a link to the video, copy the URL information from your browser’s address bar (highlight, Ctrl+C) to the clipboard and follow the instructions below.
  • If you want to actually embed the video in your post so viewers can see it without clicking to YouTube, copy (highlight, Ctrl+C)  the script information in the Embed box (usually below or to the right of the video) and follow the instructions below.

Typepad and Blogger:

To link a video:

  1. Compose your post as usual with the WYSIWYG editor.
  2. Write a description of the video. For example, you might write: Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame gives his best advice for beginning bloggers.
  3. Highlight the part of the sentence you want to link.
  4. Click on the link button on your Typepad or Blogger toolbar (it looks like a bit of chain).
  5. Paste the URL you copied from YouTube into the box.
  6. Continue writing your post or save your work.

To embed a video:

  1. In your WYSIWYG editor click the tab that says Edit HTML.
  2. Paste the script information you copied from the YouTube page.
  3. Save as a draft (so you can preview to make sure it’s right before you publish).
  4. When you click back to the WYSIWYG version (the Compose Post tab) of your post, you
    will not see your video. In Typepad, you will need to click the Preview button to
    see what the post will look like when you publish it. Click Preview to see the video. In Blogger, you won’t be able to see it until you publish the post.
  5. If you’re happy with the result, either publish it immediately or assign it a publish date and click Save.

Typepad also offers instructions on how to insert other types of video into your posts.

WordPress:
I was amazed at how easy WordPress makes this process. It’s basically three or four steps. You can find them at the WordPress FAQ site.

7 thoughts on “How do I put a YouTube video in my blog post?”

  1. Melanie Nelson

    Hi, Susy,

    Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with Joomla. However, I think this issue has less to do with Joomla and more to do with that fact that some sites (like the NBC LA site) don’t provide embed code because they don’t want their video out and an about. Instead, they want everyone to come to their site to see the video. That means they give you a link, you share it with your audience, those people funnel through to their site. It’s actually counter-productive, I think, because the purpose of putting things online is to SHARE them, not hold them hostage. However, larger companies, particularly TV and movie studios, are incredibly stingy with their video.

  2. susy

    Hi There,

    I am having some trouble embedding code in Joomla for videos. I have a plugin that works great for youtube or vimeo formats. For example, all you would do for a youtube video is type: {youtube}entersourcecodehere{/youtube} and the video embeds within the content of the post. But i was trying to embed a video from NBC Los Angeles’ site and couldn’t do it. I had to just link to it. Any suggestions are much appreciated! 🙂

  5. Jaime

    I used to use the &rel=0 all the time. but they’ve changed their code so that it isn’t there anymore. I can’t figure out what to change now!!

  6. pam

    Finally, someone who can explain Star Wars at my level. Loved this girl. She’s my new hero.

    Can’t tell you how many days I spend deciphering drawings of droids, storm troopers, Obi Kenobi, etc. from JD’s Star Wars “books” he’s illustrating.

    Thanks for help you didn’t even know you had to give.

  7. Kathy

    I didn’t know you could post a video in a WordPress.com blog. (One of the main reasons I use Blogger is the ability to use flash and scripts — something WordPress doesn’t allow.)

    One nice thing about YouTube I noticed recently is that you can change the video’s border color to match you blog rather than using the standard, boring gray.

Comments are closed.