Animated video background is a popular design trend that continues to be democratized. Instead of a large image or even a “hero image”, visitors are greeted with a moving visual feast that grabs their attention and dazzles them. Unfortunately, this feature is not built into WordPress, but that does not mean that it is impossible to add a YouTube video background to a WordPress site.
What should be done in this case?
While video backgrounds look like a bit of technological magic, they don't require a magic wand to be implemented. You don't need to work in the code, you don't need to edit any files or do any research that might mess up the delicate balance of your site's design.
All you have to do is install a plugin as the very well titled Video Background or the oddly named mb.Ytplayer. Plugins like these are incredibly easy to use and you can set them up in no time.
Why YouTube videos?
You'll want to add a YouTube video instead of Hosting your own, because YouTube not only covers the space ofaccommodation, but also the bandwidth used by your visitors. Instead of using your precious resources, why not use YouTube? This is the reason for the existence of these services.
By using YouTube video backgrounds instead of self-hosted videos, you will avoid unnecessary crashes, much faster loading, and an overall better experience for your users. You pouvez use your own accommodation for a video background, but you will definitely see increased costs and strain on your servers. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Tips: Use your own videos!
What you should know: Most of the plugins you can use (this one included) allow you to use any YouTube video as a background, not just yours. While a lot of them are on YouTube for public consumption (obviously), not all of them are on YouTube for commercial purposes. So please, please, please kindly check the rights for any video you use, especially if you are not the author of it.
Another consideration is advertising. Due to the way the videos are delivered from YouTube, the ads on the videos play as well. So if you don't own the video and the owner has chosen to monetize it ... well, your site will be showing some really weird ads in the background instead of the awesome video you intended. If you own the video yourself, you can make sure the ads are turned off.
You can make sure the ads are turned off by going to your YouTube creative studio, clicking Edit in the one you are using as the YouTube video background and checking that the tab Monetization indicated Off. Otherwise, you can select Do not monetize and save your changes. Now no ads will show instead of your video.
Step 1: Installation and Configuration
As always when using a plugin, look for the name in the plugins directory ( or click here to download mb.Ytplayer) . And as always, be sure to install and activate it. You will have mb.ideas - YTPlayer in your WP admin dashboard.
The settings here are incredibly simple. If you are using a plugin like Video Backgrounds, you will need the exact URL of the YouTube video file (which is extremely difficult to get in .mp4 or .webm format). With mb.Ytplayer, you just need to paste the main video url. The plugin then extracts the URL by itself.
Step 2: the video
Head to the page of the video that you want to use as the background. In the URL bar, highlight the set and press CMD / CTRL - C to copy the full web address.
That done, go back to mb.ideas - YTPlayer and paste the URL into the field titled URL of the YouTube video. (1)
Then make sure to select the pages where you want the video to appear. (2) Depending on your site, it will be different with each person. Anyway, every time you press the button Save Changes , your site will automatically start extracting the YouTube video and insert it where you want it.
The main downside to the free version of this plugin is the watermark it injects into the side of your site. If you upgrade to the Pro version, you will get a lot more features including the ability to remove the mark.
Custom fields
If you need to change the background video for a specific post, you can do that as well. This plugin adds a YouTube video background using custom fields. Under each page and each post, you will now have a complete metabox. The file entitled vidbg_metabox_field_mp4 is the URL of the direct link to the YouTube video.
So even if you don't like this plugin and want to use another one like video background, you can use it as a tool to find unicorn-like direct link URL.
Additionally, there are tons of other custom fields that you can use to customize your YouTube video background without missing out on the Premium version.
That's it for this plugin, I hope it will allow you to add videos in the background on your WordPress blog. Feel free to share this article with your friends on social networks.
