Videos become a fundamental part of any platform. Let’s explore the best free and premium video plugins with different features and settings that may enhance your WordPress website.
Why you need video plugins
Interactive content is more demonstrative than texts or static illustrations – using video, you can deliver your ideas more effectively. Just don’t forget about traffic that may be crucial for people accessing the website via smartphones or tablets.
WordPress allows embedding videos into blog posts by just entering the copied link. However, to create a solid video gallery or launch a movie in the background, you have to use special plugins. With them, you can monetize videos, optimize loading, and attract more visitors via SEO tools.
Let’s explore what features the most popular video plugins have.
Free plugins (or the ones that have a freemium model)
WordPress supports hundreds of themes and plugins including free ones. We will review the most noticeable examples that allow you to embed video and play it on the site.
1. FV Flowplayer Video Player
It’s the custom player which replaces the in-built WordPress option and supports uploading and streaming videos. A pro version allows creating branded players for $75 and more, depending on the functionality you want from the plugin — for instance, there’s an option to show the video only to those who have paid for them and an option to secure the video with HLS.
Killer features:
- Coverage of all browsers
- Autoplay, pop-ups, and thumbnails
- Google Analytics support
- Compatibility with MP4, WebM, OGV, HLS, MPEG DASH, and RTMP
2. YourChannel
This extension is perfect for YouTube users. It allows enhancing the channel by adding videos, banners, playlists, profile info, etc. A free version is available, the price for different premium packages ranges from $19 to $59 a year.
Killer features:
- 7 thumbnail styles
- Lightbox and Inline support
- Cashing and autoplay
- Metadata settings
3. ARVE
This plugin has an impressive bunch of features and is localized in English and German. A free version is available. The cost varies from €15-40 for single website support to €750-2000 for 50 websites.
Killer features:
- SEO instruments with metadata
- WYSIWYG support
- All major video hosting services
- CSS instead of JS
4. All-in-One Video Gallery
A plugin that runs on a freemium model, developed by Plugin360; customers praise rapid responses from their team’s customer support. The limitations on a free model aren’t related to the number of videos a customer can upload: it’s unlimited for all plans.
Killer features:
- YouTube/Vimeo/Dailymotion/Facebook videos;
- Gutenberg blocks
- Widgets for search and categories
- Video subtitles
- GDPR consent form
Premium plugins
Paid extensions are even more popular among WordPress website owners. These plugins suit various businesses as they support more themes, galleries, and players than free alternatives. They may also be developed with API. Let’s check some examples of paid video plugins and their aspects.
1. Elite Video Player
This player supports YouTube and Vimeo videos, allows downloading your products, and works perfectly with cloud storage such as Google Drive and Dropbox. The plugin costs $59.
Killer features:
- Customizable design
- 360-degree videos and VR support
- Autoplaying, sharing, mixing options
- Free support and updates
2. Envira Gallery
Developers claim that this extension is the best premium tool for WordPress. It provides numerous templates and various approaches to video organization, including lists, grids, and numbered tiles. The basic package costs $29 (occasionally at $14, when they have sales).
Killer features:
- The in-built widget
- Mobile devices support
- Social networks integration
- WooCommerce
- Watermarks for content protection
- Self-hosted videos
3. Ultimate Video Player WordPress Plugin
This plugin allows streaming from Youtube or other servers and also supports local MP4 videos. It has an in-built player and costs $69.
Killer features:
- Responsive layout
- Various player settings
- Playlists and downloads
- Inserting advertisements
- Google Adsense and Google Analytics support
4. VdoCipher
The main goal of this plugin is to protect your content. It uses proper encryption and watermarking to prevent hacks or illegal downloads. Create an account on the official site with an annual subscription of $199 or use a 1-month free trial to test it out.
Killer features:
- Protection from downloading and screen capturing
- Smooth video streaming
- LMS themes and commercial plugins support
5. WP Video Robot
A good choice for bloggers, marketers, and webmasters: the plugin automatically syncs a WordPress resource to YouTube/Vimeo channel and auto-posts videos, relevant to a user’s search queries. Multilingual. Costs $37.
Killer features:
- Works with any WordPress theme
- A robot open to behavior/functionality modifications
- Can handle thousands of imports w/o affecting resource’s performance
Final word
For some businesses, using videos is essential, but even text-oriented blogs may benefit from inserting some. With these video plugins for WordPress, you can significantly increase traffic on your platform and attract new customers utilizing the power of video content. Research the most notable examples and find a perfect plugin to improve your website.