How To Add Audio And Video Playlists To WordPress?

WordPress has come a long way from the boring old 3.0+ version to the much more optimized and streamlined version you see today. With the ...

WordPress has come a long way from the boring old 3.0+ version to the much more optimized and streamlined version you see today. With the 3.9+ update, WordPress has greatly improved the media experience for users. Far from just images and videos, you can now add audio and video playlists as well on your website to enhance the experience for your visitors. Let's take a look at how you can enrich your website's user-experience and add audio/video playlists along with thumbnail images in WordPress.

Create a playlist

The process ofcourse starts with the "Add Media" button in the page/post editor, just like adding an image. On the left sidebar, you will see options to create audio and video playlists.

Note: For these options to be available, you first need to have a video or audio file uploaded. To do this, go inside Media >> Add New section from within your WordPress dashboard.

Further Note: Depending on your web host, there might be an limit on the maximum file size you can upload. This can easily be solved by editing your php.ini file, and changing the following values;

php_value post_max_size 256M

php_value upload_max_filesize 256M

256M is just an example - you can set it to whatever you like. If you don't have access to your php.ini file, you may need to contact your webhost and request the change.

Now, I will create a sample audio playlist. The process is the same for creating video playlists.

From within the Add Media window, click on the Create Video Playlist option. Upload new files, or go into your Media library and select the files you want to make a playlist out of. Now click on Create a new playlist.

Now we have created a new audio playlist. Click on the Insert audio playlist button to add it inside a post or page.

Voila!

Now, all you need to do is add a display image for your audio/videos. They're branded with a default, non-creative graphic unless you add a display image of your own.

To do this, go into your Media library from the WordPress dashboard, and click on the Edit link for an audio or video file.

Inside the editor, you can set the featured image for an audio/video file, just like with a blog post.

There, all done! Enjoy adding these cool new playlists on your site, or install a plug in to make them even more attractive!