Genesis Featured Video

Description

Replace featured images on your blog or archive pages in your Genesis theme with a featured video from YouTube, Vimeo, other video hosting services, or even self-hosted videos. This plugin lets your visitors play the video without having to click into the post to view it.

Custom post types are supported, so you can use this plugin to show product demonstration videos for WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads products, or show a promotional video for an upcoming event.

This plugin requires your site to be using a Genesis child theme in order to work. It is not compatible with other themes.

Plugin author is a third-party developer who is not affiliated with StudioPress, the owner of the Genesis Framework.

Installation

1. Make sure you have a Genesis Framework child theme installed and activated on your site. You will not be able to activate this plugin without an active Genesis theme.
2. Download archive and unzip in wp-content/plugins, or install via Plugins Add New.
3. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.

FAQ

How do I add a featured video?

On the post edit page, there are two areas for you to look for. The first is titled “Format”. The second is titled “Genesis Featured Video”.

On each post that you want to display a featured video on the archive page select “Video” from the Format section, and paste the URL to a video in the Genesis Featured Video section. Update or publish your post, and you should see your video replace the featured image on your blog or archive page.

Where do I get the URLs for my videos?

For YouTube and Vimeo videos, copy the URL from your browser’s address bar when you are viewing the video on their site. You may also enter a direct URL to any video hosted elsewhere. For example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hEJe3HwOUs or https://example.com/videos/my-video.mp4

I don’t want to use this on all of my custom post types. How can I change this?

There are two ways. The first, and probably the easiest way is to simply not enter a video URL or select the Video post format on any custom post types that you don’t want it to show up for.

If you are trying to remove the functionality altogether from certain post types, there is a filter included with the plugin that lets you edit the post types this plugin will allow featured videos to be used on.

function change_post_types( $post_types ) {
    // only use plugin on posts and books
    $my_cpts = array(
        'post',
        'book',
    );

    // set $post_types to your cpt array
    $post_types = $my_cpts;

    return $post_types;
}
add_filter( 'gfv_post_types', 'change_post_types' );

Can I use the featured video in the Genesis Featured Posts widget?

There is a widget included with this plugin that will show featured videos. The widget is called “Featured Posts with Videos”.

The default Genesis Featured Posts widget cannot display featured videos.

What are the settings for the Featured Posts with Videos widget?

The widget settings are identical to the Genesis Featured Posts widget with the exception of the “Show Featured Video” option.

Check the box to enable featured videos in the widget, then enter the width and height of the video thumbnail that will appear in the widget. This can be different from the settings in the Genesis > Featured Video settings page if desired. It is a good idea to follow the theme’s setup guide and insert the recommended dimensions for the featured image in the widget area you’re working with.

All other settings are the same as the Genesis Featured Posts widget.

I only have some posts with featured videos, can the widget display featured images too?

If you only have some posts with featured videos, you can also check the Show Featured Image box to allow a featured image to be displayed when there is no featured video. A featured image and featured video will not both display at the same time, so if your post has both, only the featured video will display.

I want to show the featured video in my post as well as on the archive page

You can embed the video the same way that you normally embed videos in a post, or you can use a small line of code to force your video to show up on the post page.

add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'add_video_to_posts', 1 );
function add_video_to_posts() {
    remove_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'gfv_hide_video_on_post', 10 ) ;
}

How do I set the video width, height, and alignment?

Go to the settings page on the Genesis > Featured Video menu in your site’s admin area.

Width and height need to be entered in pixels.

Alignment is currently set to left, right, or none.

Can I add any customization to the video?

The video will be wrapped in a <div> with one of the following classes depending on the position you select in the settings.

• gfvleft
• gfvright
• gfv

You can use that class to add styles to your videos.

Why do my videos look distorted?

Videos are commonly displayed with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Not all videos use this aspect ratio, but it is a good place to start.

If you are using a square width and height (i.e. 150×150), your video will likely look distorted.

If you are unsure what an aspect ratio is, or how to calculate the width and height your video needs, visit https://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/aspect_ratio/. Enter 1920 in the W1 box, 1080 in the H1 box, and the Width OR Height you want your video to be in the W2 or H2 box respectively. The site will output the other dimension that you will need.

I’m seeing a featured video and a featured image on my blog page. How do I get rid of that?

We try to remove the featured image using some of the more common actions for inserting a featured image on the blog page. We can’t account for all of them though.

If you’re seeing the featured video and a featured image show up, we have an action that you can use to remove the featured image only when there is also a featured video.

You’ll need to look through your theme’s files to find the action that’s used to insert the featured image. It will usually have the function genesis_do_post_image, so you can search for that if you’re unsure. Copy the whole add_action... line, and paste it into the function below. Change add to remove and save. You should have successfully removed the featured image when there is also a featured video.

add_action( 'gfv_remove_post_image', 'sd_remove_post_image' );
function sd_remove_post_image(){
    /* This is an example of the action that inserts the featured image into your blog page.
     * add_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_do_post_image', 1 );
     * Copy yours below, and change the add in add_action to remove like shown below.
     */

    remove_action( 'genesis_entry_header', 'genesis_do_post_image', 1 );
}

You’ll also want to add it back later on in the loop if there are other posts without a featured video. You can do so with the following hook:
add_action( ‘gfv_add_post_image’, ‘sd_add_post_image’ );
function sd_add_post_image(){
/* This is an example of the action that inserts the featured image into your blog page.
* add_action( ‘genesis_entry_header’, ‘genesis_do_post_image’, 1 );
* Copy yours below.
*/
add_action( ‘genesis_entry_header’, ‘genesis_do_post_image’, 1 );
}

Reviews

Works with Mai Theme v2 and WP 5.7.1

driven to design April 27, 2021

Works as intended, thank you.

Works perfect

etna32 January 18, 2021 1 reply

This is a really nice plugin and deserves 5 stars, as it really extends the Genesis blog functionality.

A Vloggers Dream Plugin

bungalowmonkeys September 19, 2017 1 reply

This plugin is so easy to use and setup. It is the perfect solution for vloggers that want to highlight their video in a featured image spot.

Very Useful Plugin

b2marketing January 20, 2017 1 reply

A nice plugin that makes it easy to use “featured video”. Customisable as well. Thanks for sharing it with the community.

Easily add a featured video

Scott DeLuzio October 28, 2016

Easy way to replace a featured image with a video on your blog.

Contributors & Developers

Changelog

1.1.5

• Updated tested up to version.
• Added Contributors.

1.1.4

• Updated tested up to version.

1.1.3

• Update: Corrected text domain, and minor formatting tweaks.

1.1.2

• Update: Added hook gfv_add_post_image to let theme developers add back featured images that were removed with gfv_remove_post_image.

1.1.1

• New: Added a hook gfv_remove_post_image to let theme developers remove featured images that are inserted with actions this plugin doesn’t consider.

1.1.0

• New: Added a featured posts widget that allows the featured video to display instead of the featured image. Must use the new “Featured Posts with Videos” widget for videos to display.

1.0.2

• Minor fix to ensure PHP 7 compatibility

1.0.1

• Initial release

1.0.0

• Initial release