Description
A lightweight plugin to embed YouTube videos while keeping the correct aspect ratio — all with a simple shortcode.
- Very simple shortcode. Use it in posts or widgets.
- Uses the default YouTube iframe embed, but fully responsive.
- Custom aspect ratio if you want a different video size.
- Automatically centered, so your video always looks neat in your content.
- Lazy load support to improve performance.
- 100% free — no ads, no trackers, no funny business.
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A brief Markdown Example
Pros:
1. Simple and lightweight — one shortcode per video
2. Lazy load support
3. Extra parameters available for advanced users
Cons:
1. Designed for simple embeds only (no playlist support, one video per shortcode)
Screenshots
Installation
- Install the plugin from Plugins > Add New
- Activate the plugin
- Done 🎉
- Insert the shortcode into your post or widget (multiple shortcodes are supported).
Reviews
September 16, 2025
I’ve wasted so much time with videos on various platforms trying to make them behave responsively. This plugin solves the problem. Robust. Simple. It just works. I even use with other plugins to ensure that they display video content properly. A no-brainer. Thank you to the developer for keeping this plugin alive.
October 12, 2021
I’ve been trying all sorts of fixes for several hours now trying to get a YT video to be responsive… iframe, custom CSS code, other plugins, and NONE of them have worked. Except this plugin! Thank you kindly for the code!
November 13, 2020
You can add a line to your functions.php to make videos responsive if you’re doing your own theme. However, if you’re not, this plugin works beautifully and gives other options like lazy load, etc.
If doing your own theme, add: add_theme_support( ‘responsive-embeds’ );
January 7, 2020
This plugin does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and is extremely easy to use.
I have tried a few ones with the same purpose, and have to say ‘Simple YouTube Responsive’ is by far the best. I’m really happy I found out about it.
Last but not least, the developer is very kind and answers promptly 🙂
I definitely recommend this plugin to anyone interested in showcasing YouTube videos on their WP website in the easiest way possible!
November 4, 2019
Your plugin works beautifully and can confirm it’s compatible with Gutenberg. 🙂
August 30, 2019
Simple and perfect!
Contributors & Developers
“Simple YouTube Responsive” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Simple YouTube Responsive” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
3.2.6
- Updated to the new YouTube iframe embed code. Some adjustments were needed to fully follow the official YouTube embed.
- Added a new filter: simple_yt_responsive_html, in case you want to modify the HTML output yourself.
- Fixed the YouTube thumbnail size options. Some URLs had changed, causing thumbnails to no longer display.
3.2.5
- Small fix for cover alt attributes when the title=”” attribute is used
3.2.4
- Added title=”” attribute to the iframe
3.2.3
- Fixed shortcode documentation (thanks dbrossa!)
3.2.2
- Tested up to WordPress 6.5.2
3.2.1
- Small HTML fix (missing double quotes)
3.2
- Fixed missing inline CSS attributes
3.1
- Removed double slashes from JavaScript links
3.0
- Improved security by preventing XSS via shortcode (Thanks to Darius Sveikauskas and yuyudhn from Patchstack for the report!)
- Database usage optimization
2.5
- Fixed an issue where lazy-loaded videos were sometimes not full width (caused by Elementor CSS)
2.4
- Fixed video alignment issue on mobile devices
2.3
- Added support for custom YouTube parameters per shortcode (advanced users) Full list: https://developers.google.com/youtube/player_parameters#Parameters
2.2.2
- Added more parameters: loop, fullscreen, controls, start time, end time
2.2.1
- Minor cleanup and removed unnecessary code
2.2.0
- Fixed an issue that could break WordPress after updating
2.1.0
- Fixed JavaScript conflicts with other plugins. Big thanks to @jkeasley2 for the help!
2.0.1
- Fixed AMP-related issues
- Added troubleshooting options for JavaScript placement
- Fixed typo in shortcode guide (use center=”” for auto centering)
- Stylesheet is now loaded in the header instead of the footer
2.0.0
- Added plugin settings page in the admin menu
- Lazy load support
- Custom thumbnails for lazy-loaded videos
1.2.6
- Fixed typos in ReadMe and description
1.2.5
- Minor bug fixes
- New contributor
- New documentation link
1.2.4
- Fixed an issue where posts could break if AMP was not installed
1.2.3
- Added Google AMP support
1.2.2
- Added alias attributes for YouTube ID (“video” or “v”)
1.2.1
- Fixed PHP division-by-zero error
- Removed default max width (600px)
1.2
- Fixed mixed-content issues on HTTPS sites (oops 😅)
1.1
- Fixed installation issues
- Minor typos
1.0
- First release 🚀