One thing that causes some frustration for new Wordpress blog users is figuring out how to include videos in their blog posts.

There are two popular ways to do this: upload a file to the server for direct download and viewing, or embedding a video that's hosted elsewhere in a Flash format.

The biggest challenge with direct download videos is compatibility. For example, files uploaded as .wmv files may be tricky for Mac users to play, and Quicktime files may cause issues for some Windows users. Because of this, Flash video has become very popular since it's close to universally playable. For example, YouTube videos use Flash.

If you choose the direct download method, you'll need to upload the videos to somewhere on the web such as your own server. Most blog platforms do now support video uploads today, so you may have to use an FTP program to transfer your video file. One exception to this is Blogger, but it will be reformatted as Flash for publication.

Once uploaded, all you need to do is create a link to your video file for download. It's probably worth providing both a Windows and Mac version of the file for your viewers.

Assuming you choose Flash instead (recommended), the easiest way to go here is to upload your video to a video hosting service that will convert it to Flash on your behalf and give you a snippet of code to insert into your post.

Backing up for a second, if you're currently using a rich text editor to write blog posts (aka a WYSIWYG editor) consider disabling it. For example, here is how you'd disable it on Wordpress. Click Users > Authors & Users > Edit User and uncheck the "User the visual editor when writing":


The rich text editor will wreak havoc with your video code. It may take some getting used to looking at HTML code rather than the rich text version of posts. It may take a bit to get used to this, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Now, assuming you've quickly made the adjustment to a non-WYSYIWYG lifestyle, here is how you post a video from YouTube (and most other video sites) into your blog posts. Go to YouTube, look for the Embed code to the right of the video:

Copy that code and paste it into your blog post. If you'd like the video to be centered, put the embed code inside the following tags <center> </center>

Questions? Let me know in the comments.