How to Add a Video Playlist in WordPress (3 Free Methods)

You have a set of product demos, a training series, or a handful of client testimonials. You want them on one page, playing one after another, with a list beside them so people can see what is coming next.

WordPress does not do this on its own. There are three ways to get it done, and the right one depends on one simple question: where do your videos live right now?

No coding needed for any of this. Here is all three, in plain language, including what each one cannot do.

First, a quick word check

Two terms come up throughout this guide. Both sound more technical than they are.

• Shortcode. A short piece of text wrapped in square brackets, like [my_playlist]. You paste it into a page, and WordPress swaps it out for the real thing when a visitor loads the page. Copy, paste, done. You never edit what is inside it.
• Self-hosted video. A video file you uploaded to your own website, rather than one sitting on YouTube or Vimeo. If you dragged an MP4 file into your WordPress media library, that is self-hosted.

Method 1: Use YouTube’s own playlist

If all your videos are already on YouTube, and you have already grouped them into a playlist there, you do not need a plugin at all. This is the fastest route by a wide margin.

The one-minute version

1. On YouTube, open your playlist and copy the web address from your browser’s address bar. Make sure it has list= in it. That part is what tells WordPress it is a playlist and not a single video.
2. In WordPress, edit the page where you want it.
3. Click into an empty paragraph and paste the address on its own line.

That is it. WordPress recognises the link and turns it into a playlist player automatically.

If you want the embed code instead

YouTube can also hand you a block of embed code. It is a chunk of text that looks like gibberish, and that is fine. You do not need to understand it, only to paste it in the right place.

1. On YouTube, open the playlist and click Share, then Embed.
2. Copy the block of code it shows you.
3. Back in WordPress, add a Custom HTML block and paste it there.

The Custom HTML block matters. If you paste embed code into a normal paragraph, WordPress strips it out and nothing appears.

What this route costs you

• YouTube’s logo and your channel watermark sit on your page.
• When a video ends, YouTube suggests other videos, sometimes from other people’s channels.
• You cannot change how it looks. The list will look like YouTube, not like your site.
• YouTube only. You cannot add a Vimeo video or your own uploaded file to the same list.
• It is slow to load. YouTube sends a large amount of code to your visitor’s browser before anyone even presses play.

Use it when: everything is on YouTube and the branding does not bother you.

Method 2: The playlist tool already built into WordPress

WordPress has had a playlist feature since 2014 and almost nobody remembers it. It works only with video files you have uploaded yourself.

Fair warning: this one is the fiddliest of the three, because you have to look up an ID number for every video. It is not hard, just tedious.

1. Upload your video files under Media > Add New.
2. Go to Media > Library and click the first video. A panel opens, and your browser’s address bar now ends with something like ?item=248. That number is the video’s ID. Write it down.
3. Repeat for each video, keeping them in the order you want them to play.
4. Edit your page, add a Shortcode block, and type this, swapping in your own numbers:

e.g: [playlist type="video" ids="248,249,250"]

What this route costs you

• Your own uploaded files only. No YouTube, no Vimeo.
• It looks dated, and changing that means writing code.
• Your site does the work of delivering the video, which can slow things down if you have a lot of visitors.
• Very little control over thumbnails or layout.

Use it when: you have a few of your own video files and you would rather not install anything.

Method 3: A plugin, when your videos live in different places

Here is the situation neither method above can handle. Two videos are on YouTube. One is a Vimeo link a client sent you. One is a file you uploaded yourself. You want all four in one playlist, styled to match your site.

That is what a player plugin is for. Lean Player is free on WordPress.org, and playlists are included in the free version rather than held back as a paid extra.

In the free version:

• YouTube, Vimeo and your own uploaded files, mixed together in the same playlist.
• Put the track list on the left, right, top or bottom of the player.
• Play the next video automatically when one finishes.
• Thumbnails, either widescreen or square.
• A second line of text under each track title, handy for episode numbers or run times.

Building your first playlist

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New, search for Lean Player, then install and activate it.
2. Go to Lean Player > Playlists and create a new one.
3. Paste a video link into the box at the top and press Add. The video appears in your list straight away, and the title fills itself in for YouTube and Vimeo links.
4. Got a lot of them? Use Bulk Add and paste up to 50 links, one per line. Titles fill in for all of them.
5. Choose where you want the track list to sit, then hit publish.

Every playlist gets its own shortcode, shown right there in the playlist list, ready to copy.

Putting it on a page with Elementor

If you build pages with Elementor, there is nothing to copy or paste. Lean Player adds three widgets: Video Player, Audio Player and Playlist. Drag the Playlist widget onto your page and pick the playlist you made. Every setting is right there in the Elementor panel.

Putting it on a page without Elementor

Not using Elementor? Copy the shortcode and paste it where you want the playlist:

[lean_playlist id="123"]

Change 123 to your own playlist’s number, which is shown next to it in the admin. This works in the block editor, the older classic editor, sidebars, and any page builder.

A quick word on speed

Video is almost always the heaviest thing on a page, so it is worth knowing what actually matters. Two things do.

The page should not jump around while the player loads. You have seen this: you start reading, the video finally appears, and everything shoves down the page. It happens when the player does not claim its space in advance. Google measures this and counts it against you. Lean Player sets aside the right amount of space before the player appears, so nothing moves.

Extra files should only load where they are needed. Lean Player’s files load on pages that actually have a player on them, not on every page of your site.

One honest note, because it applies to every option here. If you show a YouTube video, whether through Method 1 or inside a plugin’s playlist, YouTube still sends its own load of code to the visitor. No WordPress plugin can prevent that, and any plugin claiming otherwise is worth a closer look. If speed on that page really matters, uploading the file yourself is the only way around it.

What about Vimeo?

Vimeo is the awkward one, and it is better to know before you plan a page around it.

YouTube gives you a playlist embed for free. Vimeo groups videos into what it calls Showcases, and whether you are allowed to embed a Showcase depends on which Vimeo plan you pay for, so check your account first. There is no “paste the link and it works” equivalent.

So you have two choices. Pay for a Vimeo plan that allows Showcase embedding, or build the playlist inside WordPress and add each Vimeo video to it individually. The second choice has a bonus: you can then mix a Vimeo video and a YouTube video in the same list, which no Vimeo plan will let you do.

When something goes wrong

Four problems cover almost everything.

Only one video shows up instead of the whole list. You copied the link to a single video rather than to the playlist. A playlist link has list= in it. Open the playlist itself on YouTube and copy the address from there.

Nothing appears at all. Usually one of two things. Either the embed code went into a normal paragraph, which strips it out, so move it to a Custom HTML block. Or a speed or caching plugin is holding it back. Clear your cache and check again in a private browsing window before changing anything else.

The page jumps down as the video loads. The player is not claiming its space in advance. This is the spacing problem covered above, and it is worth sorting out because Google counts it against your page.

Videos will not start on their own. Browsers block videos from playing automatically with sound, and no plugin can override that. Automatic play works only when the video is muted. If you need sound, your visitor has to press play.

So which one should you use?

	YouTube playlist	Built into WordPress	Lean Player
Cost	Free	Free	Free
Works with YouTube and Vimeo	YouTube only	No	Yes
Works with your own files	No	Yes	Yes
Mix different sources in one list	No	No	Yes
Choose where the track list sits	No	No	Left, right, top, bottom
Looks like your site	No	Barely	Yes
Elementor widget	No	No	Yes
How fiddly is it	Easiest	Fiddliest	Easy

The short version. Everything on YouTube? Use the YouTube playlist. Everything uploaded to your own site, and you would rather not install a plugin? Use the built-in tool. Videos scattered across different places, or you want it to look like part of your site? Use a plugin.

Common questions

What kinds of video can I use?

YouTube links, Vimeo links, and video files you upload yourself in the usual formats. You can paste a link or upload a file, and you can mix both in one playlist.

Are playlists really free?

Yes. Building a playlist, choosing where the track list sits, and playing the next video automatically are all in the free version. Nothing on this page needs a paid upgrade.

Do I need Elementor?

No. Make your playlist, copy its shortcode, and paste it into the block editor, the classic editor, a sidebar, or anywhere else. Elementor just saves you the copying step.

Will it work on phones?

Yes. The player resizes itself for phones, tablets and desktops, and works with any WordPress theme.

Do I need to know any code?

No. The most technical thing on this page is copying a shortcode and pasting it. You never write or edit code.

Ready to build one?

If all your videos are on YouTube, Method 1 takes about a minute and costs nothing at all. Start there.

If your videos are in more than one place, or you want the playlist to actually look like your site, install Lean Player free from WordPress.org. Your first playlist takes a few minutes.

Curious what else it does, including what the paid version adds for longer playlists? Have a look at the Lean Player page.