Recently, one of our users asked us for a way to automate the process of creating a new post in WordPress every time they upload a new video to their YouTube channel. Adding a YouTube video in WordPress is extremely simple, but it does require you to manually log in, create a post, and then embed the video. In this article, we will show you how to automatically create a new WordPress post every time a YouTube video is uploaded.
We will use a free tool called IFTTT to do this.
IFTTT stands for "if this is that". It is a powerful service that allows you to automate certain tasks based on your specific criteria. For example:
The example above is called a recipe. You can create a recipe for many web-based services. Check out our article on how to automate WordPress and social media with IFTTT for more examples.
The first thing you need to do is go to the IFTTT website and sign up (it's free).
Once you have logged in, you need to click Create Button to start creating your first recipe.
This will take you to the wizard to create a recipe. You need to choose a trigger by clicking the 'this' link.
You will now see a number of channels that can be used with IFTTT. Scroll down or search for YouTube and click to select it.
When you click on YouTube, it will take you to the next step which will ask you to activate a YouTube channel. You must click the activation button to allow IFTTT access to your YouTube account.
Once you have activated your YouTube account, you can choose a trigger. IFTTT will show you some options. For this example, you need to click on 'New video uploaded' .
This will take you to the next step, which generally allows you to choose fields from your selected trigger. However, the trigger we have selected has no fields to choose from. Just click on 'Create trigger' button.
Now you will come to the 'That' part of your recipe This is where you define the action to take when the recipe is triggered. Click 'that' continue.
IFTTT will now ask you to choose an action channel. Search or scroll down to select WordPress.
Once again you will be prompted to activate the channel. Click the Activate button and provide your WordPress site URL, username, and password.
IFTTT will now show you the actions you can take on your WordPress site. You have to click on 'Create a post' .
In the next step, you need to choose the YouTube channel ingredients to add to your WordPress post. As you can see in the screenshot below, we have chosen to add the YouTube video title as the WordPress post title. We have used description and URL in the post area.
As you scroll down, you can choose whether to post the post immediately, post privately, or save as a draft. Click the 'Create Action' button to continue.
IFTTT will now display your prescription details. You need to save it by clicking on 'Create Recipe' button.
Important: By default IFTTT has URL shortening feature which means your YouTube URL will be shortened by IFTTT and WordPress will not be able to embed your video. To resolve this issue, you need to disable URL shortening in IFTTT. Start by clicking on your username in the top right corner of the IFTTT dashboard, and then click on Preferences. Next, scroll down to the URL shortening section and disable it.
That's it, your IFTTT recipe is ready now. It will automatically check for new videos on YouTube every 15 minutes. If it finds a new video, IFTTT will automatically create a new WordPress post from that YouTube video.
We hope this article helped you create new WordPress posts from YouTube video uploads. Don't forget to check out our 9 helpful YouTube tips to spice up your WordPress site.
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