Automatically Include YouTube Thumbnail As Featured Image
Itās easy to embed YouTube video in a WordPress post. All we need to do is copy-and-paste the actual YouTube URL on the post or block editor and the YouTube video will be automatically embedded.
But WordPress posting include postās Featured image :
![](https://willtan-media.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/15174741/Screenshot-2022-10-15-at-5.47.19-PM.png)
That means you might need to first download the YouTube video thumbnail at sites like https://youtube-thumbnail-grabber.com/, https://thumbnailsave.com/ etc., then upload it to WordPressās Media to set the featured image <== this is the process that I dislike.
Thank goodness the process above can be automatically accomplished with Automatic Featured Images from YouTube / Vimeo by WebDevStudios.
![](https://willtan-media.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/15182125/Screenshot-2022-10-15-at-6.21.13-PM-1024x544.png)
Unfortunately though, at this point of writing, thereās this message that the plugin hasnāt been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress.
Fear not. Iāve tested it and is using it right here ā¦ so itās affirmative that itās working.
Note that some themes which you can set the post Format will automatically do the above even without a plugin. The Pluto theme Iām using is able to do that. So why am I still using the above plugin?
Thatās because the theme also include Latest Posts right at the bottom of the post :
![](https://willtan-media.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/15183024/Screenshot-2022-10-15-at-6.29.45-PM-1024x330.png)
See the one on the right? Itās a post primarily to showcase a YouTube video. Yes, by default, the theme is showing the the YouTube thumbnail as the postās featured image on the index page. But the ābackgroundā featured image at Latest Posts was not showing up. Thatās why Iāve to use the Automatic Featured Images from YouTube plugin to let the thumbnail appears.
So the next time youād want to automate the process to set YouTube thumbnail as the postās featured image, you know how to do it!