A *lot* of people have asked me how to add a video to the home page of their WordPress website using the Expand2Web SmallBiz WordPress theme.
The SmallBiz Theme comes with a static home page by default since many business owners want that instead of the traditional list of blog posts on the home page. And many have figured out how to edit the HTML of the home page to replace the image with a video.
But there is an easier way…
Here is an easier way do to it – just create a new “Page” in WordPress, embed the video (I used a YouTube video in the example) and then add some minor styling tweaks for margins and you are all set!
This video walks you through how to do it step-by-step. Even though I describe how to do this with the SmallBiz theme, this could work for any WordPress theme.
Try it out, and leave me your questions or feedback in the comments below!
Update:Here is the code snippet I use in the video:
<div style="float:left; margin-right:15px; margin-bottom:10px;">
YouTube embed code here
</div>
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Article by » Don Campbell
Don is an entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. He founded Expand2Web and is the publisher of the Expand2Web Blog and the SmallBiz WordPress Theme.
Don has written 248 articles on Expand2Web
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Don, the instruction for adding a video to your home page was just what many of us wanted. It was easy to follow and I now have video on my home page. Thanks!
Don,
Could you please add the styling code in a comment, so it can easily be cut and pasted?
Thanks,
Rob
Really enjoy the tips and instruction!
@ Rob, sure, I’ll include it below. @Thomas, thank you!
<div style="float:left; margin-right:15px; margin-bottom:10px;">YouTube embed code here
</div>
Don, thanks for all the info, but what if I’ve made the videos myself and DON’T want to use a video-sharing website (Youtube, Vimeo, etc.). I’m a videographer – with the need to advertise beyond just word of mouth – and I have created my own video clips of my work. How do I upload them to my Wordpress site WITHOUT using another vid-share site?
Thanks, Tim
Tim, this site might be a solution for you:
http://www.sbitube.com
Yvonne
Thanks Yvonne!
Tim, here is what my video expert (Thomas) recommends:
1) Encode to flash video using flash encoder
2) Upload to your server using FTP
3) Use this Plugin: http://www.channel-ai.com/blog/plugins/flv-embed/ to display the video on your blog.
Yvonne and Don, thanks for the tips. Don, besides Wordpress, I’m using a 2004 G-5 Mac OS 10.4.11 to build this website, and I was curious if you or Thomas would recommend any particular Flash encoder for Mac-users?
Thanks again for you help!
Tim
@Tim – absolutely!
I just use Flash CS3 and the encoder that comes with that. There is also a nice tool on the Mac called VisualHub that I use for transcoding video to different formats.
-Don
Don, if you have any other tips, I’d be happy to hear them too. I tried VisualHub, but it’s been officially shut down by it’s makers at Techexpansion and the demo version I did manage to find online will ONLY let me convert up to 2 minutes of any video. The Flash CS3 for Mac costs around $600 which is more than I can afford at this time. After three of trying to get my videos on my site, I’m realizing that it’s more of a complicated endeavor than I ever dreamed! I came across a free “super-encoder” (AVS Video Converter) and it turned out to be a Windows-only software…so double-whammy! lol In any case, thanks for your support, I DO appreciate it.
Tim
three weeks of trying that is…
Tim have you looked at flowplayer?
http://flowplayer.org/
Thanks Rob, I’m going to try it out tonight, I’ll let you know how it goes. This forum is THE BEST source of help I’ve come across so far, so thanks everyone. This website builder novice here appreciates it, lol.
Tim
thanks for the video tip. This site is great for newbies..
thanks for sharing important ideas
I’ve tried it a million different ways and no luck, BUT IF you have an easy way of installing it, please lemme know Rob! lol, the more I’ve researched into posting one’s OWN videos, the more I realize that Wordpress is deliberately set up to SELL VIDEOPRESS, an upgrade from wordpress.COM that allows you to pull the code from there over to your wordpress.org site. Just like with the Flowplayer “upgrade” to get that code you have to pay $60/year to apparently get your own work to play on your site WITHOUT any vid-hosting sites. WOW, what a challenge this has been! Anyone know another way, I’m all ears. Thanks, Tim
Tim, I am just curious, why wouldn’t you want your video to be hosted on Vimeo? I use Vimeo to host my videos, I think the quality is great, then also upload them to YouTube to hopefully grab a little more traffic.
Hi Don,
I watched the video but that’s not exactly what I want to do. I would like to have next to my phone number on my Home page a line that says: “Click Here For Short Welcome Video” which I guess would go to a different page and start the video as the page comes up. I did see how I would set up the page so that it won’t be listed in the navigational page list.
I think I might be able to figure it out but I may need some advice.
Ray
@Ray – ok, for that you should just add another WordPress page, embed the video as shown above, and exclude the page from the Nav menu in the SmallBiz Options panel. Let me know if you get stuck and I’ll be glad to help!
Hello Don,
I figured it out the way I wanted it. Thanks for the idea of a separate page it worked perfectly.
Ray
I use ezs3 a system that sets up video players for my videos that I have up in amazon s3. I just make sure I download the regular video embedder plugin that’s available. Next I get the html code from my player and past it into the page’s post. The video shows up right away. I can chose to run it automatically when you go to the homepage. check out http://www.chicagotreeserviceprofessionals.com to see how it looks.
Wally – kudos, those videos are great! I love it that you used that yule log fireplace look. Will they work on the iPad/iPhone? Thanks for sharing!
Will this code work on any page of the SmallBiz Theme?
Hi Julie – yes, it will work on any WordPress page, which includes any SmallBiz Theme pages.
Thank you, Don!
Hi,
I use the free ‘Smart YouTube’ Wordpress plugin …
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/smart-youtube/screenshots/
Very easy to use and the videos will work on an iPhone/iPad !