Hello SErs! Just before coming up with this post, I attempted to embed a non-Youtube video into one of my upcoming posts (see my Friday Fiction Prompt on the 2nd of Feb!). Prior to this effort, I had only ever embedded Youtube videos into my blog posts. It should all be simple, though, right?
Wrong.
It didn’t quite go as planned, but not to worry: it gave me some good material for this post–always a silver lining! 🙂
So, at the start of all this, my first job was to find an image that called to me for Friday’s post. Pixabay came to the rescue, and I found just the ONE! Great. Then my next job was to embed that awesome video into my blog post. Mmm … not so great!
Okay, then, Google to the rescue … not to be beaten, some research seemed in order.
I found a great webpage that told me the HTML embed codes to use. So, I got busy entering the ‘Text’ area instead of the ‘Visual’ editor in the WordPress blog post creator, and copied and pasted the embed codes. What I had looked something like this …
embed width="123" height="456"//pixabay.com/videos/id-10885/embed
As I wanted you to see the actual code, I had to omit the square brackets [] and the http to stop the following message being shown in this post:
Now, when all my attempts to embed produced that message, it left me scratching my head in some chagrin. Why wouldn’t it embed even though I had the correct HTML code?
More research needed.
Back to good old Google I went.
It turns out that WordPress has a Whitelist. Poor old Pixabay isn’t on that list.
Here is the whitelist that I discovered:
The link to this rather useful webpage is HERE.
This left me with a problem. I wanted THAT video. And a lot of sites on this list are paid for services. Grrr.
In order to get this to bed, I had to go under the covers, as it were.
I found a workaround. Not ideal but better than an empty bed. I downloaded the video from Pixabay, and then uploaded it as a private video to my Youtube account where I keep my book movie trailers. I then shared the Youtube link I’d generated to the upcoming Friday Fiction Prompt post and hey presto! Eureka! It embedded! Well … for a while, anyway … ugh! It turns out that I had to go back in and make the video public or it would disappear from the post, lols. So now I have a Pixabay video of rain on my public Youtube list, but at least I have the video on here!
So, yes, a bit clunky and clumsy, but it got the job done. I was determined! If any of you have any ways of embedding non-whitelisted videos that are easy and safe, I’d love to hear from you. What issues have you guys had in the past, if any?
Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll see you on Friday! 🙂
@harmony_kent / Harmony Kent Author Pages: Facebook / Amazon
Story Empire 
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Harmony, this is great information. I’ve had trouble in the past embedding videos. Isn’t Google helpful? And this post will be helpful to many.
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Thanks, Joan! Yes, Google is a lifesaver for a lot of stuff 🙂
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Where there’s a will, there is always a way. Thanks for sharing this journey of challenges, Harmony.
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That’s the spirit, Jan! There’s always a way. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
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Reblogged this on Archer's Aim and commented:
A good how-to from Harmony Kent today on Story Empire. I must admit, I mainly do a YouTube each time but the list is helpful if nothing…
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Thanks for the reblog, PH! 🙂
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Isn’t Google great for finding solutions? Well, even when you have to jump through a few hurdles to find a workaround.
I had no clue WP had a whitelist. Very interesting and helpful to know. I’m glad you were able to find a workaround, but I so wish WP would be a little more forgiving on what they allow you to embed.
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Just lately, I would have been lost on lots of things without good old Google! lols. Yes, WP could do with being more forgiving 🙂
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I’ve walked this path too. I wanted a funny video of my dogs on my blog. Only my option would have been to start a YouTube channel in the first place. I gave up and shared it on Facebook instead. This one vexes me, because I took the video. There shouldn’t be any Copyright issues etc. Great post, and maybe someone will share with the group.
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Right! Why does it have to be so hard? And what criteria gets you on the Whitelist? Surely Pixabay are a trustworthy source? So frustrating when you can’t even post your own video. Putting it on Facebook and linking to that is a good work around. 🙂
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I gave up before linking to it. I’d also like to share the occasional audio file, but YouTube videos seem to be the only option. Think about promoing The Hat with Elvis singing Promised Land in the background. That kind of thing.
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Grrr. Why does everything have to be so hard? I had a similar problem when I worked for a publishing company and was tasked with putting their podcasts on their site. I finally did what you did and put them on YouTube first. That was three (I think) years ago. There should be a better way by now.
Thanks for sharing your solution, Harmony. I’m sure it will help a lot of people.
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Gotta love technology, eh?!?! We definitely need a better way 🙂
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Great info, thank you. I didn’t know about the whitelist. Thanks for the link.
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So glad you found the post helpful, Carrie! All the best 🙂
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