Create a WordPress video lightbox

A video lightbox opens your video in a focused overlay on top of the page, so visitors watch it without the distraction of everything around it. It keeps your layout tidy — a small button or thumbnail instead of a large embedded player — and it’s great for demos, testimonials and product tours. Here’s how to create a WordPress video lightbox with VideographyWP.

Why use a video lightbox?

• Keeps the page light — the video loads only when clicked.
• Puts the focus entirely on the video in a full-screen overlay.
• Works from a button or a thumbnail, so it fits any design.

Step 1 — import a video

Edit a post or page, open the VideographyWP box and paste a YouTube, Vimeo or Dailymotion URL. See importing videos if you’re new to this.

Step 2 — add the lightbox button

Drop the video button anywhere in your content with the shortcode:

[cvwp_video_button text="Watch the demo"]

When a visitor clicks it, the video opens in a clean lightbox overlay and closes with the × button, a click outside, or the Esc key.

Step 3 — style it to match your site

You can customise the button text and title, and add your own CSS classes to match your theme. Developers can go further with the plugin’s template functions and hooks.

Tips

Pair the lightbox with a featured video for video-first posts, and keep lazy loading on so pages stay fast. Learn more on the WordPress video lightbox feature page.