Do you want to use video for featured thumbnails in WordPress?
By replacing a post or product’s featured image with a featured video, you can make your website much more vibrant and dynamic. Visitors can view these videos from nearly anywhere including your blog archives, homepage, and WooCommerce product pages.
In this article, we will show you how you can add featured video thumbnails in WordPress.
These are the primary images, and they often appear at the top of the page and other areas of your site such as your website’s archive pages. Search engines and social media sites may also display a page’s featured image.
A good featured image can get you a lot of user engagement. However, you may be able to get more clicks, pageviews, and even sales by using a featured video thumbnail instead.
If you’ve created an online store, then showing a video at the top of the product page is a great way to make shoppers want to scroll and learn more about that product.
With that being said, let’s see how you can add featured video thumbnails in WordPress.
How to Add Featured Video Thumbnails in WordPress
The easiest way to use videos as featured thumbnails is by using Really Simple Featured Video. This plugin lets you embed videos from popular video hosting websites such as YouTube or Vimeo and use them as featured video thumbnails.
It also works perfectly with WooCommerce and will show the featured video at the top of the product page.
However, just be aware that WooCommerce will show the featured video on the product page only. The featured image thumbnail will still be used in other places, including your WooCommerce store page.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After activation, there are a few settings to configure. To get started, go to Settings » Really Simple Featured Video.
On this screen, you can select whether you want to add featured video thumbnails to pages, posts, or WooCommerce products.
To do this, simply click on the ‘Posts,‘ ‘Pages’ or ‘Products’ switches to turn them from grey (disabled) to purple (active). In the following image, we’ve enabled the featured video feature for products, plus posts and pages.
After that, click on the ‘Save changes’ button.
Next, click on the ‘Controls’ tab. Here, you’ll find a ‘Self-hosted videos’ section where you can configure the settings for the videos in your WordPress media library.
While the plugin does support self-hosted videos, this can take up a lot of storage space and bandwidth so we don’t recommend it. To learn more, check out why you should never upload a video to WordPress.
Instead, scroll to the ‘Embed Videos’ section. This is where you will find settings for any videos you embed from third-party video platforms such as YouTube.
When you embed videos from YouTube or Vimeo, Really Simple Featured Video will show the playback controls for that platform.
For example, if you’re embedding a YouTube video then visitors will have access to YouTube’s specific playback features.
However, the ‘Embed videos’ section does have an ‘Autoplay’ switch that you can click to enable, too.
By default, the plugin will play videos with sound turned on. To mute your videos by default, click on the ‘Mute sound’ toggle.
You can also set the featured video thumbnails to play on loop.
Looping videos can be annoying to many visitors, particularly if the video is short and has sound. It’s a good idea to only activate the ‘Loop’ switch if replaying the video over and over improves the visitor experience in some way. For example, you might create a video showing a 360 degree view of a product and then set that clip to loop.
After working your way through the different settings, make sure you click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.
Adding Featured Video Thumbnails to Posts, Pages, and WooCommerce Products
Once you’ve configured how the plugin will show embedded videos, you’re ready to add featured video thumbnails to your WordPress website.
To do this, simply open the post, page, or WooCommerce product where you want to add a featured video thumbnail.
If you’re adding a featured video to a page or post, then you’ll find the ‘Featured Video’ section in the right-hand menu underneath the ‘Discussion’ section.
Want to add a featured video to a WooCommerce product instead?
Then you’ll find the ‘Featured Video’ section underneath the ‘Product gallery‘ section.
In the new field, you’ll need to paste the URL of the video that you want to embed.
Just make sure that you add the video’s URL in the right format. In the right-hand menu, you’ll see some examples for YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.
For YouTube, the plugin gives us the following example URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbLgiRQ0Moo
This means you’ll need to use https://www.youtube.com/embed/ as the first part of your URL and then add the ID of the video that you want to embed.
To find the video ID, simply open a new tab in your browser, then go to the YouTube video that you want to embed. Now, take a look at the browser’s address bar.
The video ID is the value that comes after v=. In the following image, we can see that the video ID is DvbFBxKcORA.
After adding the video ID to the first part of the URL, we get the following: https://www.youtube.com/embed/DvbFBxKcORA
You can now go back to the tab with the WordPress block editor and just paste the URL into the ‘Embed’ field. That will add a featured video thumbnail to the post, and then you’re ready to click on either the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button.
You can now add featured video thumbnails to more posts, pages, and WooCommerce products by following the same process described above.
On your blog archive or similar page you’ll see that WordPress is now using the videos as the featured thumbnail for your posts and pages.
If you open any page, post, or WooCommerce product, then you’ll see that the featured video also appears at the top of the page, just like a featured image would.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you want to use WordPress recovery mode to fix an error on your website?
The recovery mode feature was introduced in WordPress 5.2, and it allows you to easily to fix fatal errors on your site that can make WordPress’s backend or frontend inaccessible.
In this article, we will show you how to use recovery mode in WordPress.
What is WordPress Recovery Mode
If you’re encountering a WordPress error that’s preventing you from logging into your website, then WordPress will automatically shift into recovery mode.
Recovery mode allows you to access your WordPress admin dashboard by sending a link to your administration email. This email contains details about the error that’s preventing users from accessing their WordPress website.
You can use the link to access your admin dashboard and fix the issue.
For example, your WordPress site may show you a critical error and blocks you from logging into your dashboard.
This is when you can use the WordPress recovery mode feature to regain access. Let’s see how you can use the WordPress recovery mode.
Note: Keep in mind to always back up your WordPress site before attempting to enter recovery mode. If you cannot access your admin area, then check out our guide on how to create a WordPress database backup manually.
Method 1. Using Recovery Mode Through The Email Link
If a WordPress plugin or theme causes an error, then recovery mode can be used to fix it.
You might see a plain white screen when trying to access your account. Sometimes, a message is also shown on the screen.
If that is the case, immediately log in to your administrator email account. Keep in mind to check the inbox of the email address that you provided as the administrator email address to WordPress.
You will receive an email to your WordPress email address that will inform you about the specific error on your website. If WordPress can determine the cause of the outage, this email will have that information.
For example, if there is a file corrupted in your theme directory or a plugin incompatibility, WordPress may be able to tell.
The email will also give you a link to access your WordPress admin dashboard.
Simply click the provided link, and you will be taken to the WordPress admin area. Here, you will see a banner telling you that Recover Mode has been initalized.
You can then log in as normal.
Once in your admin panel, you can deactivate the theme or plugin that’s causing the issue.
Simply go to Plugins » All Plugins and then click the ‘Deactivate’ link under the right one.
If the email sent by WordPress did not specify the plugin or theme that’s causing the error, then you should deactivate all the plugins. After that, try logging into your account.
You can figure out the faulty plugin by then activating the plugins one by one. Once you find the faulty plugin that’s causing the issue, you can find an alternative plugin for it or get support from the plugin developers.
If for some reason your website is showing a plain white screen but you haven’t received any email from WordPress, then you can try method 2 to use recovery mode.
Method 2. Using Recovery Mode Without Email Link
You can use this method to access recovery mode without any email link. You can simply create a WordPress recovery mode link by following the link below to access recovery mode.
All you have to do is replace example.com with your own site’s domain name.
This URL will take you to your WordPress admin area where you’ll be asked to log in.
Here you will see an alert that you are logging into Recovery Mode.
Now you can fix any error on your site.
Keep in mind that if you use this method to manually access the Recovery Mode login page, WordPress won’t locate the plugin or theme that’s causing the error itself. You will need to do some work to figure that out on your own.
You can start by simply changing your theme or deactivating all your plugins. This should fix whatever error was occurring and you will be able to access your WordPress website.
From there, you can reactivate plugins one by one to find the issue, or you can even roll back your theme or WordPress version to an earlier one that wasn’t incompatible.
Bonus: Additional Recovery Mode Options
If you’re not clear about the error on your website that’s preventing you from logging in, then you can also try these two options in recovery mode to solve your problem:
Once you activate this plugin, it will perform a number of checks on your WordPress site and will detect common errors that may be causing the fluctuation.
Sometimes, malware on your website may be causing the error. You can use recovery mode to scan your website for malicious code and create a completely secure website. For help, you can check out our ultimate WordPress security guide.
You can also ask your WordPress hosting provider for support. If you’re using a top WordPress hosting company like Hostinger, Bluehost, WPEngine, and SiteGround, then their support team will be able to help you resolve the issue.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Are you looking for the best WordPress login page plugins?
Your WordPress login page is the door to your website’s admin area. You need to make it secure, but you also need to let authorized users log in easily.
In this article, we will share some of the best WordPress login page plugins you can use.
Improving the Security and Appearance of the WordPress Login Page
The default WordPress login page looks the same on all WordPress sites. It is very plain and doesn’t have any of your site’s styling or branding:
Maybe you run a membership site. Perhaps you have multiple people who log in to your WordPress site. In either case, it’s best practice to customize the login page. This lets you make it look good and create a better user experience.
Plus, you may want to make logging in as seamless as possible without compromising WordPress security.
Let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress login page plugins. These can improve the login experience and security of your website.
SeedProd is the best WordPress theme and landing page builder. It allows you to create completely custom website pages without writing any code.
SeedProd comes with a login landing page template that lets you change your default WordPress login page into a personalized login page designed to boost conversions.
Here’s a custom WordPress login page template from SeedProd:
You can also use SeedProd to create custom login pages that cross promotes your other products, show existing users loyalty discounts, introduce new products, and more.
Login pages are a hidden revenue opportunity that many businesses do not utilize. If you have an online store or a membership site, then this plugin is a must for your site.
Theme My Login is a popular plugin for creating custom WordPress login pages. You can also use it to let users register on your WordPress site without them accessing the admin area.
You can use any page on your site as the login, registration, and ‘forgot my password pages.
Temporary Login Without Password lets you give users access without creating an account. You can set an expiry date or time for the temporary login or delete it at any time.
This is a good option if you need to give WordPress developers access to your site. You don’t need to create a permanent account for them.
Shield Security is a multipurpose plugin. It can perform a number of useful security features for your site.
By default, WordPress does not lock users out if they try the wrong password multiple times. Shield Security lets you limit login attempts and block brute force bots automatically.
It also has features to stop comment spam, help you control automated WordPress updates, and more.
Nextend Social Login lets users log in to your WordPress site using Facebook, Google, or Twitter. That way, they can log in more quickly. They don’t need to create a separate password for your site.
The plugin is easy to set up and use. You can set a custom redirection URL to send users to a specific page after registering. You could also use their Facebook, Google, or Twitter profile picture as their avatar on your site.
WordPress Persistent Login automatically checks the ‘Remember Me’ checkbox on your WordPress login page. Normally, if you don’t check this box during login, WordPress will forget your login as soon as you close the browser window.
The plugin also extends the default login status for one year whenever you visit the login page. If you’re running a membership site, then these settings will also apply to your users.
It lets you force log out users from your WordPress admin in a single click. You can monitor the total number of users logged in on your site.
You could change the login page using other methods. However, many of them require you to add code. Custom Login Page Customizer makes it much easier for you.
Simple History makes it easy to track user activity on your WordPress site, including user logins. It keeps a simple and easy-to-understand log of basic user activity, which comes in handy to protect your website.
The plugin lets you see when a user logged in and what they did during their session. You can also see when they logged out.
Password Protected allows you to easily make your whole WordPress site password protected. You can allow admins and logged-in users to view it. You can also create a master password to share with others.
LoginWP allows you to redirect users to any page on your website after they log in. You can set up these redirects based on user roles and capabilities.
It can also be used to set up a redirect for individual users. This could be useful if you have several people working on different parts of your site.
The plugin also allows you to set up redirects for user registration forms as well. This enables you to properly greet newly registered users, give them instructions about the next step, or simply show them a thank you note.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Are you looking for the best schema markup plugins for WordPress?
The right SEO plugin will help you properly optimize your content for search engines, so you can outrank your competitors and grow your business. You can also use schema markup plugins to create valuable rich snippets for search engines like Google.
In this article, we’ll share our expert pick of the best schema markup plugins for WordPress.
Why You Should Use Schema Markup Plugins for WordPress
If your site has lots of high quality original content, then you’re already off to a great start. However, you also need to help search engines understand that content, so they can include it in relevant search results and drive more people to your website.
Schema markup is structured data that help your website communicate with search engines behind the scenes. It uses invisible code to clearly label your pages and posts, so search engines know exactly what your content is about, and when to show it to users.
Search engines such as Google also use schema to create rich snippets.
These valuable snippets show additional information about your pages and posts. If you manage to get a rich snippet on a search engine like Google, then your content immediately stands out from the crowd. This can improve your organic click through rate and increase your blog traffic.
Using the right schema markup is important, but it can also be complicated. Thankfully, there are WordPress SEO plugins that can walk you through the process of adding schema markup to your site. Some of these plugins will even generate the right schema automatically.
Using a schema markup plugin doesn’t guarantee that your rich snippets will appear in the search results, but it will improve your chances.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the best schema markup plugins for WordPress.
All in One SEO for WordPress (AIOSEO) is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market used by over 3 million websites. This complete SEO toolkit has everything you need to outrank your competitors including support for rich snippets schema.
AIOSEO makes sure your schema markup is properly set up, so search engines can show your content to people who are searching for pages, posts, and products just like yours.
The plugin even has special schema for FAQs, courses, recipes, software, ratings, and dozens more. This helps your customers find your products, services, and digital downloads over your competitors.
If you have a physical store or business, then AIOSEO has local schema markup for your business logo, address, business phone number, opening hours, and more. This gives you the best possible chance of appearing in Google Maps and local search results.
AIOSEO’s Google Map integration has multiple location support, which is perfect for successful businesses that have multiple offices, stores, salons, or other locations.
This powerful WordPress SEO plugin is also easy to set up. To start, simply enter all your website information into the plugin’s settings.
Then, just work your way through the Schema Markup settings for each content type.
For example, you’ll typically map your Posts to the Article schema type, and Pages to the Web Page schema.
AIOSEO is flexible, so you can override these default settings for specific pages, posts, courses, and more from inside the content editor.
When editing your content, simply scroll to the AIOSEO Settings section and then click on ‘Generate Schema’ to open the Schema Generator.
You’ll now see all the different schema that you can add to this particular piece of content.
By simply repeating these steps, you can optimize your entire WordPress website without having to write a single line of code.
AIOSEO has support for all the modern schema types to get you rich snippets including the new FAQ schema. SEO pros can use the custom schema tab to enter any type of schema format they wish.
It also has built-in schema validation to ensure that your website is properly optimized for highest SEO rankings.
The Schema Pro plugin has more than 20 schema types including recipe, article, book, job posting, and more.
You can add all of these schema types to your WordPress blog or website without writing a single line of code. Simply choose a schema type from a dropdown menu and then tell the plugin where to add this schema.
To help you use the correct schema, Schema Pro will even map default data such as page title, featured image, author, and data. You can then simply fine-tune these defaults to suit your content, and Schema Pro will add the correct code across your website.
If this is your first time adding schema, then the plugin integrates with the Google Structured Data Testing Tool and comes with built-in field validation. This allows you to test your schema and see whether you’re likely to get a rich snippet.
If you’re using custom post types or other unique content, then more advanced users may want to try the plugin’s Custom Schema markup tool. This allows you to create your own schema in JSON-LD format, and then test it using the Structured Data Testing Tool or Rich Results Test.
Price: You can buy an annual Schema Pro license for $67 which includes product updates, premium support, and advanced schema types.
Positive customer reviews can convince shoppers to buy from your online store and will make your website seem more trustworthy. With that being said, you’ll want the search engines to highlight your reviews.
The WordPress Review plugin can add the schema that search engines need to correctly identify your customer reviews, and include them in rich snippets.
You can use this plugin to create both single and multi-criteria reviews. This helps your customers make a decision about your company or products at a glance, and then explore more detailed reviews if they want extra information.
The plugin can also generate rating schema and markup for your WooCommerce products, which makes it a great choice for any WooCommerce user.
The WordPress Review plugin comes with a selection of layouts that you can apply to your reviews plus support for numeric pagination. In this way, the plugin can display your reviews in a way that makes sense to shoppers as well as the search engines.
Despite the focus on eCommerce, this plugin can also create review schema for any page, post, or custom post type. For example, you might encourage visitors to rate their favorite blog post.
If you’re worried about spam and fake reviews, then the plugin comes with built-in support for reCAPTCHA v3. For more information on how reCAPTCHA works, please see our guide on how to add reCAPTCHA to WordPress.
Price: You can download this plugin for free from the official WordPress repository.
This plugin adds 9 different schema types and allows you to show reviews in a structured box that features star, point, and percentage ratings. You can also add user comments, affiliate buttons, and more to create an eye-catching layout.
By presenting this data in a box with the correct schema, you can encourage search engines to include the information in their search results. For example, Google often shows star ratings next to each product.
As long as you get a high rating, this can make your products stand out from the competition and should improve your click-through rates.
WP Review’s boxes are completely customizable, so you can fine-tune them to perfectly suit your WordPress theme by changing the text color, adding a border, changing the background, and more.
Price: You can download WP Review for free from the official WordPress repository.
This plugin allows you to add structured data to any page or post, and it then renders that information as JSON-LD.
In total, Structured Content adds 6 schema types including LocalBusiness, FAQPage, and Person. If you sell online courses, then there’s a Course structured data type that will help search engines show your training in relevant search results.
If you run a job board in WordPress, then we recommend looking at the plugin’s JobPosting schema as this can help your job listings appear in Google’s job search experience.
Here, Google will show your job listings along with your logo, plus any company reviews or ratings you’ve received. This instantly makes your job listings more interesting and should get you lots more applicants.
To help you add schema to your website, Structured Content comes with its own blocks. Simply click on any block to add it to your content.
After that, you configure the schema markup by filling out a form.
This makes it easy to add correctly-formatted markup to your website.
Price: A free download of Structured Content is available from the WordPress repository.
If you want more control over your schema markup, then you may want to look at this free WordPress plugin.
Although WP SEO Structured Data Schema does have some site-wide settings, it places an emphasis on flexibility and manual customization.
This plugin allows you to add schema in JSON-LD format on a page-by-page basis.
WP SEO Structured Data Schema does require a bit more setup compared to some of the other plugins on this list.
However, it is a powerful solution that gives you lots of freedom to fine-tune your schema. This makes it a good choice for users who are more familiar with schema markup.
Just be aware that you’ll need to upgrade to the pro version if you want to add schema to custom post types.
Price: You can download WP SEO Structured Data Schema for free from the official WordPress repository.
The WPSSO Core plugin supports an impressive 500 schema types and sub-types.
It also stands out from the crowd by providing structured data markup for social media sites including Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
If you’re already using some of the best SEO plugins, then you’ll be happy to hear that WPSSO Core integrates with WP Product Review, WP-PostRatings, and WP Meta SEO. WPSSO Core can even read settings and data from AIOSEO.
Beyond SEO plugins, WPSSO Core also integrates with Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce, so we recommend checking out this plugin if you run an online store.
WPSSO Core is also a good choice if you previously tried to add schema markup manually, but encountered errors. This plugin claims to fix all schema markup errors in Google Search, Rich Results, Merchant Listings, and more.
Price: To download WPSSO Core for free, simply visit the WordPress repository.
However, it also has a unique contact card feature that lets you add all your business details with the correct schema markup. This includes a Google Map, opening hours, plus your phone number and WhatsApp number with a click-to-call feature.
Search engines can then discover this information and show it next to your listing.
If you accept appointments and bookings, or own a physical store then this will help customers contact you. In fact, if you have multiple locations then Five Star Business Profile and Schema will automatically add a dropdown menu so customers can choose between the different locations.
Even better, you can add the card to any page, post, or widget-ready area using either a shortcode or a special Contact Card block.
Beyond the SEO-friendly contact card, this plugin has a database of every organization type schema and every rich results type.
Each schema and rich results type comes with the corresponding fields and properties. Simply fill in the default values that you want to use and the plugin will handle the rest.
If you want to use different values on a specific page, then you can easily override these defaults from the post editor.
Price: You can download Five Star Business Profile and Schema for free.
This plugin adds 16 schema types to your WordPress website including reviews, email, and comments, plus support for custom schema.
After activating the plugin, Schema and Structured Data will automatically fetch the data from your website and then enhance it in the Google search results.
If you have an online store, then this plugin is compatible with WooCommerce so you can get your products and services featured on search engines like Google. If you’re using WooCommerce extensions, then this plugin is also compatible with WooCommerce Booking and WooCommerce Membership.
If you want to add schema to lots of content, then the plugin has some useful conditional fields. This allows you to include and exclude posts, pages, and taxonomies from the schema.
Schema and Structured Data has some extra features that can help search engines understand your content. This includes support for breadcrumbs and Google AMP compatibility so you can easily enhance the markup for the AMP version of your site.
Price: An annual license for a single website is priced at $99.00.
Which is the best WordPress schema plugin?
After carefully evaluating all the popular schema plugins in the market, we believe that AIOSEO – All in One SEO is the best WordPress schema plugin.
In the past, websites will use their main SEO plugin and then a separate schema plugin which would lead to complication, plugin conflicts, and even performance issues.
With All in One SEO, you can use just one plugin that gives you everything you need to grow your SEO rankings.
The free All in One SEO plugin has support for on-page schema markups, but you will need the Pro version to unlock access to their powerful custom schema generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Being the largest free WordPress resource site on the planet, we have helped tens of thousands of people choose the best WordPress SEO plugins. Below are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Does schema improve SEO?
Yes, having a proper schema markup will absolutely improve your SEO rankings. Google and other search engines reward websites with rich snippets and higher rankings when they use proper schema tags.
Does WordPress use schema?
By default, WordPress does not add schema markup. That’s why website owners use WordPress schema plugins. You can easily add schema markup in WordPress by using the All in One SEO plugin.
Yes, Yoast SEO plugin does offer limited schema support. However they do not have powerful custom schema generators or schema validation like other plugins such as All in One SEO, Schema Pro, and others mentioned in the list above.
Can you add schema to WordPress without a plugin?
Yes, you can absolutely add custom schema markup in WordPress without using a plugin. All you need to do is simply add the custom schema code in your theme’s functions.php file.
Although we don’t recommend this because if you update your theme, then your customizations will be overwritten. This is why it’s better to future-proof your custom snippets using WPCode.
With that said, most professionals use a plugin like AIOSEO to add schema because they keep it updated with new SEO guidelines.
Will schema markup help me get a featured snippet in Google?
Yes, having a proper schema markup will increase your chances of getting a featured snippet in Google, also known as position zero. At the end of the day, Google decides which sites get the featured snippet, but generally only websites with schema markup get the featured snippet.
What’s better JSON+LD Schema vs Microdata?
Modern search engines like Google prefer JSON+LD schema markup over the microdata schema markup. This is why most large websites have switched to using JSON+LD schema, and the plugins we recommend in our list all output as JSON schema markup.
Which is the best review schema WordPress plugin?
The best review schema plugin for WordPress is All in One SEO. It lets you add review schema, so your search listings can get start ratings and other rich snippets. But unlike other plugins, AIOSEO will not force you to use their styles, so you have full control over how your website brand looks.
The second option people often use is Schema Pro which is built specifically for generating schema blocks.
Which is the best custom schema markup generator for WordPress?
We believe that All in One SEO is the best custom schema generator for WordPress. It offers a guided wizard for all schema.org markups, and for true SEO pros, it even has a fully custom schema markup input, so you can experiment further.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
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