FAQ

Does it require WooCommerce?

Yes. Reel upgrades the WooCommerce single product gallery and does nothing without WooCommerce active.

Which video sources are supported?

Reel decides by the URL. A URL ending .mp4, .m4v, .webm or .ogv (a querystring is fine) is played with WordPress’s native wp_video_shortcode player. Anything else is treated as an oEmbed URL, YouTube, Vimeo and any other source WordPress supports, and embedded with wp_oembed_get.

How do I set a product’s video?

Set the video URL in the product’s _reel_video_url post meta field, and turn on Show featured video in settings. An optional _reel_video_title gives that product its own heading, overriding the Default heading setting. A product with no _reel_video_url simply shows no video.

Can I show the video somewhere other than the gallery?

Yes. Use the [reel_video] shortcode or the Reel: Featured video block to render the current product’s video anywhere, both use the same reserved-space, no-CLS frame. The shortcode takes id="123" to target a specific product and title="show" / title="hide" to force the heading.

Why did my video change not show up immediately?

Reel caches the built video markup in a transient (one hour for a successful build, five minutes for an empty result) so an uncached page view never blocks on a remote oEmbed request. The cache key includes the product ID, the video URL and the autoplay flag, so changing _reel_video_url or toggling autoplay clears it automatically. A heading-only or position change is served from cache until it expires.

Who can change the settings?

Anyone with the manage_woocommerce capability, that includes the Shop manager role, not only administrators.

Are there any filters or hooks for developers?

Reel registers no public filters or actions of its own, and no template-override path: its storefront markup comes from templates packaged in the plugin. Restyle it with the --reel-* CSS custom properties instead of overriding markup. (For developer extension points, per-product video field and more, see the planned Reel Pro.)

Does it use jQuery?

No. Reel ships a single small vanilla-JavaScript file, deferred and loaded in the footer, only on the single product page.

Will it cause layout shift?

No. The lightbox is a fixed overlay that starts hidden, the zoom transform is clipped to the gallery frame, and the video sits in a fixed-ratio 16:9 frame that reserves its space before loading.

Is the lightbox accessible?

Yes. It is fully keyboard operable, traps focus on its close control, restores focus on close and dismisses on Escape or a backdrop click. The dialog is named, the open control takes a custom accessible label, and the lightbox can show a caption from the image’s alt text.

Can I use only one of the features?

Yes. Hover zoom, the lightbox and the featured video each have their own on/off switch, so you can run any combination.

Does it work on touch devices?

Yes. The lightbox and video work everywhere; hover zoom can be disabled on touch devices, where hover is unreliable, while staying on for desktop pointers.

Can I re-theme it?

Yes. The storefront styling uses themeable CSS custom properties with fluid sizing and dark-mode support, so you can adjust it from your theme stylesheet without overriding markup.

Free vs PRO?

The free edition covers hover zoom, the accessible lightbox and the featured video. Reel PRO is planned for 360-degree spin, video autoplay rules and CDN-backed lazy media.