WP YouTube Lyte

WP YouTube Lyte is a WordPress plugin that enables high-performance, responsive, search-engine optimized and accessible YouTube video, playlist & audio-only embeds. Version 1.6.0 was released on April 3th 2015 and features authenticated access to the YouTube API to ensure continuing integration with YouTube.
Before reading all the text and examples below, you should check out how it looks and feels (and you might as well enjoy Rufus Wainwright’s “Oh what a world” while you’re at it):

Rufus Wainwright - Oh What a World

Now about all that text; this is from the description on the wordpress.org plugin page:

WP YouTube Lyte inserts “Lite YouTube Embeds” in your blog. These look and feel like normal embedded YouTube, but only call the actual “fat” Flash or HTML5-player when clicked on, thereby reducing download size & rendering time substantially when embedding YouTube occasionally and improving page performance dramatically when you’ve got multiple YouTube video’s on one and the same page.
Just add a YouTube-link for a video or an entire playlist with “httpv” (or “httpa” to embed YouTube’s audio only) instead of “http” or add a Lyte widget to your sidebar and WP YouTube Lyte replaces that link with the correct performance-optimized code. When a visitor clicks the play-button, WP YouTube Lyte seamlessly initiates YouTube’s new embedded player. Some examples:

  • httpv://www.youtube.c0m/watch?v=_SQkWbRublY (normal video embed)
  • httpv://y0utu.be/_SQkWbRublY (video embed with youtube-shortlink)
  • httpa://www.youtube.c0m/watch?v=_SQkWbRublY (audio only embed)
  • httpv://www.youtube.c0m/playlist?list=PLA486E741B25F8E00 (playlist embed)
  • httpv://www.youtube.c0m/watch?v=_SQkWbRublY#stepSize=-1 (video player, one size smaller than what’s configured as default)
  • httpv://youtube.c0m/watch?v=_SQkWbRublY&start=20&showinfo=0 (normal video embed, but video starts playing at approx. 20 seconds and title/ author are not shown inside the player)

WP YouTube Lyte has been written with optimal performance as primary goal, but has been tested for maximum browser-compatibility (iPad included) while keeping an eye on accessibility. The plugin is fully multi-language, with support for Catalan, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Spanish and Slovene.

You can find the most recent WP YouTube Lyte information on this here blog. Feel free to ask questions or provide me with feedback in the comments on this page.