Written on September 17, 2009  /  with 8 comments  /  in the Wordpress Tips category.

9 of the Best WordPress Video Plugins

When it comes to WordPress plugins the most important thing is that they are updated to work with the most recent version of WordPress. Otherwise you’re stuck depending on a plugin that is not advancing with WordPress. There are tons of video plugins for WordPress that give WordPress all sorts of video type functionality, but finding those that actually worked was a chore! I’ve listed 9 of what I feel are the best video plugins for WordPress right now. Not only do these plugins have awesome features, they also work!

1. Smart YouTube

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/smart-youtube/
A plugin from Vladimir Prelovac that allows you to easily insert YouTube videos and playlists into your blog posts, comments, and RSS feeds.The problem with some of the other WordPress plugins that accomplish this such as the Video Quicktags plugin, is that they don’t embed the video properly which would make it so the video wouldn’t show up on the RSS feed. This plugin takes care of all that for you.

2. Lightview Plus

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/lightview-plus/
A wordpress plugin which implements lightview of Nick Stakenburg. Lightview does the same as lightbox only with this plugin you can do it with Video from YouTube and Vimeo. Creates that nice hover over the page effect with a video. Look very sharp!

3. Simple Flash Video

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-flash-video/
Has the same Lightbox effect with your video like the Lightview plus, only this time it’s using the popular JW FLV player. This comes in perfect when you are wanting to host your own videos. This plugin ads a very slick look to your blog.

4. Viper’s Video Quicktags

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/vipers-video-quicktags/
Tired of copying and pasting the embed HTML from sites like YouTube? Then this plugin is for you. Just simply click one of the new buttons that this plugin adds to the write screen (rich editor included) and then paste the URL that the video is located at into the prompt box — easy as that. You can fully configure how the videos are displayed (width, height, colors, alignment on the page) and much more. Your site will even stay (X)HTML valid unlike with the code provided by most video sites.

5. VideoPress

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/video/
The VideoPress plugin allows blog administrators to upload new videos to their WordPress.com video account and manage existing videos from the convenience of their self-hosted WordPress.org blog’s administrative interface. Authors can add any VideoPress video into a blog post through the use of a simple shortcode and customizations.

6. YouTube With Style

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/youtube-with-style/
This is perhaps the plugin that I am most excited about. When you embed youtube videos on your site, instead of using the same old YouTube player skin you have a custom skin that you can brand yourself. The player is very slick and you can place your own logo to show on the top left hand corner.

7. Vodpod Video Gallery

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/vodpod-video-gallery/
This plugin is the perfect plugin for creating any kind of Video Gallery where you are wanting to display more than 1 video on a page. Because it uses VodPod services with your free account with them, you can collect multiple videos from multiple locations such as YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion etc. into one gallery displayed in your page/post. Very useful plugin here!

8. WordPress Video Plugin

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-video-plugin/
A filter for WordPress that displays videos from many video services. All you have to do is Enter [videosite id] in a post and you will see a video. Supports your typical video services like YouTube, Vimeo, and Daily Motion as well as a bunch of 2nd and 3rd Tier video sites such as CollegeHumor and Blip.tv.

9. ProPlayer

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/proplayer/
Pound for pound probably the best video plugin for WordPress. Just like the YouTube with Style plugin you can have a more custom video look to your videos, even though you are using YouTube embed. You can also use Vimeo, DailyMotion, Google video and many more with this plugin. A must have! This plugin requires Curl. You can read the installation instructions for more detail. I was able to get this plugin working just fine by just installing it on my Dreamhost server.

Using a WordPress Video Theme Is an Option

Some of you may be looking at building an entire video site out of WordPress as opposed to just needing to show a video now and again. If this is the case a theme built specifically for posting videos may work better for you. The WooTube theme from WooThemes is a great video plugin that makes it easy to start a video site in minutes with WordPress. Tons of features and all manageable through the WP admin interface. Check it out:

WooTube is a Premium theme for WordPress that costs $70 for a standard license and $150 for a developer license.

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