10 ways to easily improve your website using embed codes

Companies (or third parties) can provide an embed code to make using a service as easy as copying and pasting. Not only is using embed codes extremely simple, it also allows for people to view content on the web without leaving your site. Here are 10 examples of how you can improve your site by simply pasting in a little HTML.

YouTube Videos

Over 1.2 billion YouTube videos are watched everyday and many of those are not at youtube.com. That's probably because YouTube makes nearly all their videos readily available for embedding. Just look on the right-hand side of the page, click on the... well... take a look at the embedded YouTube video below which explains how to do it.

Flickr Slideshows

While Flickr allows you to share a slideshow through email and not lose any of its elegance, in four simple steps you can generate the embed code to place it on your web page.

1. Go to idgettr.com and type in the URL of your Flickr page.
2. Go to fabiocavassini.com.ar/SlideShowGenerator.html and type in the ID you just got.
3. Ctrl + C
4. Ctrl + V

Basic RSS Feeds

Trying to promote another site's feed? Maybe you've built a microsite with a content-rich blog? Google provides a neat little gadget that not only provides the code for you to embed that feed onto your site but it also lets you customize the color, font, style and number of posts that display. Just go to Google's RSS Gadget page and customize to your heart's content.

Twitter Feed

People don't need to be following you to see your latest tweets, they just need to go to your website. You can embed your Twitter feed by going to twitter.com/badges and following the all-too easy instructions. You can choose from a variety of formats including a basic HTML feed and a flash feed (shown below if you've got Flash 9).

Facebook

While we're on the subject of social networks, Facebook provides two ways expand/share your community... depending on whether you're a person or a business.

If you're feeling a little unpopular and want to attract a few more friends via your web site, you can add a profile badge by going to the bottom of the left sidebar in your profile and clicking on Create a Profile Badge. 

If you're more in the business of building your fan base for your company page, embedding a Fan Box is the way to go. As long as you're an admin, simply go to your fan page, click Add Fan Box to your site, and voila!

Google Maps

Why list only the address of your company when you can throw an interactive map with notable landmarks and varying street views with a few clicks of a mouse? You can embed both a single location as well as directions at maps.google.com. Show the quickest route right on your web page by clicking on the 'Link' button in the top right-hand corner.

Audio

Google's got a lot of face time in this post so I thought I'd give a shout-out to Yahoo. Their media player takes the cake when it comes to embedding audio on your web page. Follow the steps below and let your readers really hear what's on your mind:

1. Insert URL of audio file into HTML in the following format: <a href="Your-Audio-File.mp3">Your Song Title</a>
2. Copy and paste this mediaplayer code: <script type="text/javascript" src="https://mediaplayer.yahoo.com/js"></script>
3. That's it.

And when it's that easy, why wouldn't we pay our respects to Patrick Swayze...

I've Had The Time Of My Life

Tweetmeme

You may notice the retweet button at the top of each of our (and many other people's) blog posts. It's a great way to track how often your content is being shared across the twitter universe. Thanks to Tweetmeme, it's incredibly easy to add to a post. Just go to their Feed Buttons page, follow the semi-HTML-knowledge-needed instructions and away you go!

Chat

Ever wondered who was looking at your site? Want to talk to them in real time? Get some feedback? Discuss a blog post? Well Meemo Me is right up your alley. That is as long as you're a Meebo member... which you probably aren't. That's okay though. All you have to do is go to meebo.com and register which takes all of 30 seconds. Meebo Me allows you to create a custom chat box anywhere with a little cut and paste code. 

Go to meebome.com, type in a chat title and display name, enter your meebo log in information and generate that code. If you have any trouble figuring it out, chat me up below if I'm online and I'll walk you through it!

Google Presentations

Put a Google Presentation onto your website by clicking the 'Share' button in the top right-hand corner and going to 'Publish/Embed'. The real advantage here is being able to upload your PowerPoint presentations into Google Docs and having the ability to share the presentation that you put so much hard work into with anyone who visits your site.