Woocommerce How Add Video To Each Product

WooCommerce: How to Add Video to Each Product (Even if You’re a Beginner!)

So, you’re running a WooCommerce store, and you’re looking to boost your sales and engagement? Great! Adding videos to your product pages is a fantastic way to do just that. Think about it: a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video? That’s practically a whole sales pitch rolled into one!

This article is your beginner-friendly guide to adding videos to your WooCommerce product pages. We’ll cover different methods, from the simplest to the slightly more advanced (but still easy to follow!). No coding expertise required…mostly!

Why Add Videos to WooCommerce Products?

Before we dive into *how*, let’s talk about *why*. Adding videos to your product pages offers several advantages:

Increased Engagement: Videos grab attention and keep visitors on your page longer. The longer they stay, the higher the chance they’ll buy!
Improved Understanding: Show, don’t just tell! Videos let you demonstrate how a product works, its features, and its benefits in a way that text and images simply can’t. Think about a kitchen gadget – a video showing it in action is way more compelling than a list of features.
Higher Conversion Rates: Seeing the product in action can alleviate customer doubts and build trust. This leads to more sales!
Better SEO: Video can improve your website’s SEO. Search engines love engaging content, and videos can significantly increase the time users spend on your site.
Competitive Edge: Many online stores still rely solely on images. Videos help you stand out from the crowd and create a more immersive shopping experience. Imagine two stores selling the same backpack. One just has pictures, the other has a video showing all the compartments, how it sits, and even someone packing it for a trip. Which one are *you* buying from?

Method 1: Embedding Videos Directly into the Product Description

This is the easiest and quickest way to add videos to your WooCommerce product pages. You don’t need any extra plugins or coding knowledge.

1. Upload Your Video: First, upload your video to a video hosting platform like YouTube or Vimeo. *This is crucial*! Don’t upload directly to your WordPress media library for anything other than *tiny* files. Video files are huge and will slow your site down.

2. Grab the Embed Code: On YouTube (or Vimeo), find the “Share” button under the video. Click on it, then select “Embed.” Copy the provided HTML embed code. It will look something like this (but much longer):

3. Edit Your WooCommerce Product: Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Products,” and edit the product you want to add the video to.

4. Paste the Embed Code: In the product description (either the short description or the main description), paste the embed code you copied from YouTube/Vimeo.

5. Update Your Product: Click the “Update” button to save your changes.

6. View Your Product: Visit the product page to see your embedded video.

Reasoning: This is the simplest method because it leverages existing video hosting platforms. You don’t need to manage video storage or hosting yourself.

Method 2: Using a WooCommerce Plugin

If you want more control over video placement, features, and presentation, a dedicated WooCommerce plugin is the way to go. There are several excellent options available, both free and premium. Here are a couple of popular choices:

WooCommerce Product Video: A straightforward plugin dedicated to adding videos to product galleries.
YITH WooCommerce Product Add-ons: This plugin offers a wealth of customization options and includes the ability to add videos.

Example: WooCommerce Product Video (Free Option)

1. Install and Activate the Plugin: From your WordPress dashboard, go to “Plugins” -> “Add New.” Search for “WooCommerce Product Video,” install, and activate the plugin.

2. Edit Your Product: Go to “Products” and edit the product where you want to add the video.

3. Find the Video Upload Area: After activating the plugin, you should see a new section (likely called “Product Video” or similar) on the product edit page. This is usually located below the main product details.

4. Add Your Video:

Typically, you’ll paste the YouTube or Vimeo video URL directly into the designated field. *Important: Don’t paste the whole “ tag! Just the URL.*
Some plugins may allow you to upload a video file directly. *Again, be cautious about file size and server resources if you choose this option.*

5. Update Your Product: Click “Update” to save your changes.

Reasoning: Plugins provide a more organized and feature-rich way to manage product videos. They often offer options for:

Video Thumbnail Customization: Choose a specific frame from your video to use as the thumbnail.
Video Autoplay: Set the video to play automatically when the page loads (use with caution – autoplay can be annoying to some visitors).
Video Loop: Make the video loop continuously.
Placement within the Product Gallery: Integrate the video seamlessly into your product image gallery.

Method 3: Using Custom Fields (For More Advanced Users)

This method requires a basic understanding of custom fields and WooCommerce templates. It’s not as beginner-friendly, but it offers the most flexibility.

1. Install a Custom Fields Plugin: Plugins like “Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)” or “Meta Box” make it easy to add custom fields to your products. For this example, let’s assume you’re using ACF.

2. Create a Custom Field Group: In ACF, create a new field group called something like “Product Videos.” Add a field of type “URL” and name it something like “product_video_url.” Set the location of this field group to “Product.” This means the field will only appear when you are editing a product.

3. Edit Your WooCommerce Product: Go to your product edit page. You should see the new “Product Videos” section with the “product_video_url” field. Enter the URL of your YouTube or Vimeo video into this field.

4. Edit Your WooCommerce Template: This is the trickiest part. You’ll need to modify your WooCommerce product template file (usually `single-product.php` or `content-single-product.php` in your theme) to display the video. Important: *Always* use a child theme to avoid losing your changes when your theme updates.

5. Add the Code to Display the Video: In your template file, add the following code (or similar) where you want the video to appear:

<?php
$video_url = get_field('product_video_url');

if( $video_url ):

// Extract the video ID from the URL (YouTube example)

parse_str( parse_url( $video_url, PHP_URL_QUERY ), $my_array_of_vars );

$video_id = $my_array_of_vars[‘v’];

if($video_id){

<?php

}

endif;

Explanation of the Code:

`get_field(‘product_video_url’)` retrieves the video URL from the custom field.
`parse_url` and `parse_str` are used to extract the video ID from the YouTube URL. This is because you only need the ID to embed the video using YouTube’s embed URL format.
The “ tag embeds the video using the extracted video ID.
`allowfullscreen` parameter allows full screen display of the video.

6. Style Your Video (Optional): Use CSS to style the `product-video` div to ensure it looks good on your page.

Reasoning: Custom fields give you ultimate control over where and how your video is displayed. This method is best for developers or users comfortable with editing theme files.

Important Considerations

Video Optimization: Optimize your videos for web playback. Use appropriate compression settings to balance video quality and file size. Smaller file sizes mean faster loading times, which is crucial for user experience and SEO.
Mobile Responsiveness: Make sure your videos are responsive and display correctly on all devices (desktops, tablets, and smartphones). This is usually handled automatically when using embed codes or plugins, but it’s worth checking.
Video Captions: Add captions to your videos to make them accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captions also improve SEO.
Page Speed: Keep an eye on your page loading speed. Poorly optimized videos can significantly slow down your site, hurting user experience and SEO. Test your pages with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
Copyright: Ensure you have the rights to use any music or other copyrighted material in your videos.

Conclusion

Adding videos to your WooCommerce product pages is a powerful way to boost sales, engagement, and SEO. Choose the method that best suits your technical skills and needs. Whether you opt for the simple embed code, a user-friendly plugin, or the flexibility of custom fields, you’ll be well on your way to creating a more compelling and effective online store! Remember to always test your changes and prioritize page speed and user experience. Good luck!