Your YouTube channel, as a website Google can find.
ReelShelf syncs your channel into WordPress. Every video gets its own page with a transcript, chapters and search markup, shown in a cinematic player that looks like part of your site.
Free. Needs WordPress 6.5+ and PHP 8.0+. Early release, so feedback is welcome.
An illustration of the layout. The live demo shows the real thing.
Your videos live on YouTube. Your website doesn't know they exist.
When someone searches Google for what you talk about, YouTube gets the visit, not you. Your own site has no page for any of your videos, no words for Google to read, and nothing to keep a viewer around once the video ends.
ReelShelf fixes that without you re-uploading or retyping anything. Your channel stays on YouTube. Your website gets a proper home for every video.
Up and running in minutes
No Google Cloud account, no API keys to juggle.
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Install the plugin
Upload the zip in Plugins → Add New, then activate it. A welcome screen opens.
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Connect your channel
Press Connect YouTube and sign in with Google, or just type your channel's @handle.
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Your videos arrive
Every video is imported as a page on your site. New uploads show up on their own.
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Show them off
Press Create a video page, or drop the ReelShelf blocks onto any page.
Everything a video channel needs on its own site
Built for vloggers and creators, not for web developers.
A page for every video
Each video gets its own address, description and search markup, so Google can find your videos on your website, not just on YouTube.
A cinematic player
A big player with your newest video over a soft glow taken from the video itself. Click any card on the page and it plays right there.
Transcripts and chapters
Every video's transcript goes on its page. Click a chapter or any line to jump the video to that moment. Chapters can show up as key moments in Google.
Written for you by Claude
A summary, overview, chapters and topics for each video, written from its transcript. Chapters you already wrote in your YouTube description are always used instead.
Rows, grids and Shorts
A sideways-scrolling row like a streaming service, a grid with a "Show more" button, and your Shorts in a phone-shaped viewer.
Search inside your videos
Visitors can search everything said in your videos, and results jump straight to the exact moment.
Automatic
New uploads appear within a minute on public sites, and ReelShelf checks every hour as a backup. Views and details refresh daily.
Fast and private
Pages show a thumbnail and only load YouTube's player when someone presses play, from YouTube's privacy-enhanced domain. Everything works without JavaScript too.
Looks like your theme
ReelShelf borrows your theme's fonts, headings, buttons, colours and page width, so it fits any site. Or pick Dark or Light and your own accent colour.
Help viewers, and search engines, find the moment they want
A one-hour video is hard to skim. ReelShelf turns it into something readable: what it covers, where each part starts, and what was said.
- Overview and summary at the top of every video page
- Clickable chapters that jump the video to that moment
- A full transcript, searchable on your site
- VideoObject markup so your videos can appear in Google's video results
Get ReelShelf
Free to download and use. Upload the zip in your WordPress dashboard under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- WordPress 6.5 or later
- PHP 8.0 or later
- GPL-2.0-or-later
Questions
Does it cost anything?
The plugin is free to download and use. Video write-ups are included within a monthly allowance. If you would rather use your own Anthropic key for the AI features, you can add it in the advanced settings and pay Anthropic directly.
Do I need a Google Cloud account or an API key?
No. Press Connect YouTube and sign in with Google, or just type your channel's @handle. If you prefer to use your own Google keys, that's an option in the advanced settings.
Will it use up my YouTube API quota?
No. ReelShelf syncs on your server and caches everything, instead of calling YouTube for every visitor. A typical channel uses a few units an hour out of the 10,000 that Google gives away free each day.
Why do I have to connect my channel for transcripts?
YouTube only lets a channel's owner download its caption files. You can also add a caption file (.vtt or .srt, from YouTube Studio) to any video by hand.
Can I edit what it imports?
Yes. Change a title or description on your site and ReelShelf won't overwrite it on the next sync. YouTube playlists can become series that visitors can filter by.
What happens if I delete or hide a video on YouTube?
At the next daily refresh it becomes a draft on your site. If it comes back on YouTube, it comes back on your site.
Does it work with my theme and page builder?
It works with the block editor, and with classic editors and page builders through shortcodes. It reads your theme's styles so it looks like part of the site.
What does it send, and to whom?
It talks to YouTube and Google to read your public videos, and to ReelShelf Connect for sign-in and write-ups. The plugin's readme lists every service and what it sends, and our privacy page explains how Connect handles data.