Beginners Guide How to Create a WordPress Audio Playlist Without Plugins

Want to create a WordPress audio playlist? You dont need a dedicated playlist plugin WordPress gives you several different ways to create an audio playlist using just core functionality. In this post, youll learn how to create a WordPress audio playlist by either:Uploading your own audio files and creating a playlist from inside your WordPress dashboardEmbedding an audio playlist from an external service, like Spotify or SoundCloudLets jump straight into the tutorials! Add Media  button.  You can use the following file extensions:mp3oggwmam4awavOnce you upload your audio files, youll be able to edit metadata in the  Attachment Details section on the right when you select an audio file.Its important that you make this information accurate because your front-end WordPress audio playlist will display the title, artist, and album:Once youve uploaded the audio files you want to use and made sure they have the proper information, you can click the  Create Audio Playlist button in that same  Add Media  interface:Once you click on this link you will be greeted with the Edit Audio Playlist window, which will list all of your audio tracks.Select all of the tracks that you want to include in your playlist.You can also drag-and-drop the files to change their order in the WordPress audio playlist. The track listing runs from top left to bottom right. Track 1 should always be on the top left and the final track on the bottom right.Additionally, you can use the  Playlist Settings area on the right to configure how your WordPress audio playlist looks, like whether to show the artist name or the image thumbnail:Once you are satisfied with the playlist and the settings, you can click Insert into post in the bottom-right corner to add your audio playlist to the WordPress post or page. Then, just publish the post or page like normal, and your visitors can start interacting with the playlist:Use the WordPress Text widgetIf you want to place a similar WordPress audio playlist in your sites sidebar, you can use the Text  widget.To get started, go to  Appearance - Widgets. Then, drag over the  Text  widget. From there, click the  Add Media button and youll be able to follow the same steps from above to insert an audio playlist in the widget:Method #2: Add an audio playlist in WordPress from SpotifyAnother really cool out of the box WordPress feature is its oEmbed support. oEmbed is a format that allows you to display content from a separate URL without hosting the content yourself.WordPress has supported Spotify embeds since v3.6.  The big benefit here is that you are not hosting any of the files yourself while still receiving the benefits of Spotifys huge audio content library.To generate the embed link:Click on the  three dots option in your Spotify dashboardHover over the Share  menu itemChoose the  Copy Playlist link optionNext, just paste that link into the WordPress editor (make sure youre using the  Visual  editor). Wo rdPress will automatically embed the playlist for you from the link:Now, just publish or update the post and youll have a nice front-end WordPress audio playlist courtesy of Spotify:If you want, you can also use a similar method to embed a Spotify playlist in a WordPress text widget.While this method is convenient, it does have two noticeable  downsides:You have little to no control over how the box looks. If you would like to make changes then you need the full embed code.If you have an international audience, then your users might not have access to Spotify yet.Method #3: Add an audio playlist in WordPress from SoundCloudIf you prefer SoundCloud, you can also perform a similar process using any playlist from SoundCloud. One nice thing about SoundCloud in comparison to Spotify is that SoundCloud makes it really easy to upload your own audio files.The easiest way is to just paste the direct link to a SoundCloud playlist into the WordPress Editor. Just like with Spotify, WordPress will automatically embed the playlist:If you want more control, you can also manually generate the SoundCloud embed code.To get started, head over to SoundCloud and find the playlist you need for your site. Then, look for the Share  button:Once you click Share, then choose the Embed option. You will see that it is very easy to customize the SoundCloud audio playlist. SoundCloud gives you the option to choose the header, the color, the height. You can even enable auto-play, though this might not be a good idea for your sites bounce rate.Then copy the embed code and head back to the text editor. Make sure you paste the embed code into the  Text tab. Then, you can publish or update your post like normal:If you want, you can also use a similar method to embed a SoundCloud playlist in a WordPress text widget.ConclusionAdding an audio playlist in WordPress does not need to be a difficult coding adventure or a plugin purchase. When you add an audio playlist in WordPress you have a numb er of excellent options. You can add your own hosted audio playlist via the native Add Media button, or you can use the oEmbed function to add Spotify or SoundCloud  playlists to any page or post on your website.You can also use all three methods above in the WordPress Text widget if you want to place a playlist in your sidebar.And if you liked this post, you might want to also check out some of the best podcast plugins  or learn how to create a podcast website.Do you have any other questions about how to create a WordPress audio playlist? Let us know in the comments! Learn how to create a #WordPress audio playlist without the need for a #plugin. #tutorial