About this plugin
Displays your latest YouTube videos in a responsive grid — via shortcode, widget, or Gutenberg block — cached for 24 hours.
Getting your API Key
- Go to https://console.cloud.google.com/
- Create a project (or select an existing one).
- Enable the “YouTube Data API v3”.
- Go to Credentials > Create Credentials > API Key.
- Copy the key into the plugin settings.
Getting your Channel ID
- Go to https://studio.youtube.com/
- Settings > Channel > Advanced settings.
- Copy the Channel ID shown there.
Three ways to use it
Shortcode — place anywhere in a post or page:
[yt_recent_videos]
Optional per-instance overrides:
[yt_recent_videos count=”4″ columns=”2″ title=”Latest Uploads” views=”yes” date=”yes” button=”no”]
Widget — Appearance > Widgets > “CreativeAlys Recent Videos for YouTube”. Add to any sidebar or footer widget area, with its own title/count/columns/toggles.
Gutenberg Block — search “CreativeAlys Recent Videos for YouTube” in the block inserter. Configure count, columns, and toggles from the block’s sidebar panel, with a live preview in the editor. Works in the post editor, template parts, and block-based widget areas.
How caching works
Videos are cached in a WordPress transient for 24 hours per video-count setting, so the YouTube Data API is only contacted once a day even with the plugin used in multiple places. View counts are fetched alongside the video list, so toggling “show view count” on/off doesn’t require a fresh fetch. Use “Force Refresh Now” on the settings page to bypass the cache immediately.
External services
This plugin connects to the YouTube Data API v3, provided by Google, to retrieve your channel’s uploaded videos and their view counts so they can be displayed on your site.
- What is sent: your configured YouTube Channel ID and API key are sent to Google’s servers as part of each request. No visitor data, personal information, or site content is sent.
- When it’s sent: a request is made once every 24 hours per site (results are cached in a WordPress transient), or immediately if you click “Force Refresh Now” on the settings page. Requests are only made if you have entered an API key and Channel ID in the plugin settings.
- This service is provided by Google LLC: YouTube API Services Terms of Service, Google Privacy Policy.