Embedding YouTube videos on a website is a common practice, and often, developers want to autoplay these videos as soon as the page loads. However, with the new embed code style for YouTube, the traditional method of adding &autoplay=1 to the URL no longer works. In this tutorial, we will explore how to autoplay YouTube videos using the new embed code style.
To start, you need to understand the structure of a YouTube embed URL. The basic format is https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID, where VIDEO_ID is the unique identifier of the video you want to embed. To enable autoplay, you need to add a query parameter to this URL.
The correct way to add the autoplay parameter is by using a question mark (?) followed by autoplay=1. For example, if your video ID is JW5meKfy3fY, the autoplay-enabled URL would be https://www.youtube.com/embed/JW5meKfy3fY?autoplay=1.
If you want to add more parameters, such as closed captions or mute, you can chain them together using ampersands (&). For instance, to enable both autoplay and closed captions, you would use https://www.youtube.com/embed/JW5meKfy3fY?autoplay=1&cc_load_policy=1.
When embedding the YouTube video in an iframe, you also need to add the allow="autoplay" attribute to the HTML. This is a security feature that prevents videos from autoplaying without user interaction. Here’s an example:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JW5meKfy3fY?autoplay=1" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
It’s worth noting that some browsers, like Chrome, block audio content from playing without user interaction. To work around this, you can start the video muted by adding &mute=1 to the URL.
In summary, to autoplay a YouTube video using the new embed code style, you need to:
- Add
?autoplay=1to the video URL - Use
&to chain multiple parameters together - Add
allow="autoplay"to the iframe HTML
By following these steps, you can successfully autoplay YouTube videos on your website.