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Does Webflow support YouTube Shorts for the Video Link in the CMS, as it is not working for me?

TL;DR
  • Convert YouTube Shorts URLs to the standard format (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID) before adding them to the Webflow CMS Video field.
  • Alternatively, use a custom Embed element with a Plain Text CMS field storing the video ID to build a manual <iframe> embed.

Webflow does not currently support embedding YouTube Shorts via the CMS Video link field in native components. Shorts links often use a URL format that Webflow's video field cannot interpret correctly for embedding.

1. Why YouTube Shorts Don’t Work in the Video Field

  • The Webflow CMS Video field is designed to accept standard YouTube watch URLs (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID) or Vimeo links.
  • YouTube Shorts URLs (e.g., https://youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID) use a different path structure that Webflow’s parser doesn’t currently recognize.
  • When you use a Shorts URL, Webflow cannot automatically extract the video ID for embedding.

2. How to Use YouTube Shorts in Webflow CMS

To make it work, update the URL in your CMS item:

  • Convert your Shorts URL to the standard YouTube video link format.
  • Instead of https://youtube.com/shorts/XYZ123, use https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYZ123.
  • Paste this converted URL into your CMS Video Link field. Webflow should then embed the video correctly.

3. Alternative Option Using Embed Code

If you want to embed the Shorts layout specifically, or need more customization:

  • Use a custom Embed element in your design.
  • In the CMS, create a Plain Text field to store just the video ID (e.g., XYZ123).
  • Inside the Embed element, use dynamic fields to construct a custom <iframe> manually (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/embed/XYZ123).
  • Note: Webflow limits script tags and may sanitize some custom embeds on the CMS.

Summary

Webflow CMS Video fields don’t directly support YouTube Shorts URLs because of their non-standard format. To fix it, convert Shorts URLs to the regular YouTube watch URL format (/watch?v=VIDEO_ID), or use a custom embed approach for more control.

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