How to Embed PDF, Spreadsheet, and others in WordPress Blog Posts

Do you want to embed PDF, spreadsheet, and other types of documents in your WordPress blog posts?

WordPress comes with a powerful content editor that allows you to add embed all kinds of content. However it isn’t always clear how to embed files like PDFs and spreadsheets in your blog posts.

In this article, we’ll show you how to embed PDF, spreadsheet, PowerPoint, and other documents in your WordPress blog posts.

Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the type of document you want to embed.

Adding PDF in WordPress Blog Posts without Plugin

WordPress allows you to upload PDF files to your website and then add a download link to your posts and pages.

This is a good choice for files that visitors need to keep. For example, you might create a downloadable PDF product catalog, or add ebook downloads in WordPress.

It’s also a good choice for larger documents.

While this method is easy and straightforward, it does not embed the actual documents in the blog. This means that users will have to download the file in order to see it, which may not be visitor-friendly, particularly for mobile users.

To use this method, simply open the page or post where want to add the downloadable PDF, and then create a new ‘File’ block.

After that, click on ‘Upload’ and choose the PDF file that you want to use.

WordPress will now add the file to the page or post, and display its filename along with a ‘Download’ button. To edit the file name and ‘Download’ button’s messaging, simply click on the text and then make your changes.

If you want to hide the download button, then simply click to disable the ‘Show Download Button’ toggle in the right-hand menu.

You can also use this method to add downloadable Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations to your website.

Embedding PDFs in WordPress Posts Using Embed PDF Viewer Plugin

If you want to embed a PDF directly in your website, then you’ll need to use a plugin. This method is often more convenient for visitors, although it isn’t recommended for sharing large PDF files such as ebooks.

The best way to embed PDF files in WordPress is by using the Embed PDF Viewer plugin. This plugin adds a new PDF block that makes it easy to add PDFs to any page or post.

First thing you need to do is install Embed PDF Viewer. For detailed instructions, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, simply go to the page or post where you want to show the PDF.

Then, click on the blue ‘+’ button and start typing ‘PDF.’ When the right block appears, click to add it to the page or post.

After that, click on the ‘Upload’ button and choose the PDF that you want to use.

You can also select a PDF from the WordPress media library.

After choosing a PDF, you’ll see that file embedded in the blog post.

You can resize the embed area using the settings in the right-hand menu or add custom CSS.

When you’re happy with how the embedded PDF looks, you can either update or publish the page as normal.

Now if you visit your website, you’ll see the PDF in action.

Embedding Microsoft Word, Spreadsheet, and Other Documents

Embed PDF Viewer only allows you to embed PDF files. If you want to embed more document types like Microsoft Word, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations, then you’ll need to use a different plugin.

We recommend Embed Any Document as it allows you to embed all kinds of documents. It also integrates with Google Docs Viewer and Microsoft Office Online.

First, you need to install and activate the Embed Any Document plugin on your website. You can follow our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin for more information.

After that, create a new post or open an existing one. Then simply click on the ‘+’ button and find the new ‘Document’ block under the ‘Embeds’ section.

Give it a click to add the block to a page or post.

After that, click on the Add Document button.

You can now upload a document from your computer.

If the document is published online, then you can also add the document’s URL.

After choosing a document, you’ll see different ways to customize the embed.

These settings are fairly straightforward so you can look through them and make any changes you want. When you’re happy with how the embed is set up, go ahead and click on ‘Insert.’

After that, you’ll see the document embedded in the post.

At this point, you may want to look at the document display options in the right-hand menu, and make any necessary changes.

Finally, make the document live by selecting either ‘Update’ or ‘Publish.’

Now if you visit your website, you’ll see the document embedded in the blog post.

Embedding SlideShare Presentations in WordPress Posts

You can embed some content from third-party websites using the built-in WordPress tools. In particular, WordPress has embed blocks for platforms like YouTube videos, Tweets, and SlideShare presentations.

Let’s use SlideShare as an example.

To embed a presentation in your WordPress blog post, create a new post or edit an existing one. Then, simply add a new ‘SlideShare’ block to the blog post.

Next, visit the SlideShare website and copy the link for the presentation you want to embed.

After that, paste the link into the embed SlideShare block and click on the Embed button.

WordPress will now fetch the SlideShare presentation and add it to the post automatically.

You can check the block options in the right-hand menu, and then either update or publish the post.

With that done, head over to the blog post to see the SlideShare presentation in action.

To scroll through the different slides, simply use the buttons below the presentation.

How to Embed Google Docs, Sheets, and Others in WordPress

So far, we’ve showed you how to add PDFs and other documents from your local computer. However many people use Google Drive to create and store documents online, especially small business owners.

Google Drive lets you create Docs, Sheets, Presentations, and other documents, and then store them online.

If you’ve created documents in Google Drive, then you can easily embed these files in your WordPress posts by using the iFrame method.

To embed a Google Doc in WordPress, start by opening the document in your browser. After that, go to the ‘File’ menu and then select ‘Share,’ followed by ‘Publish to the web.’

In the popup that appears, select the ‘Embed’ tab.

Then, click on the ‘Publish’ button.

Google Drive will now show a unique iFrame embed code.

You’ll need to add this code to WordPress, so go ahead and copy it.

Next, open the post where you want to embed the Google Doc.

You can then click on the blue ‘+’ icon and add a Custom HTML block to the page or post.

With that done, simply paste the iFrame embed code into the Custom HTML block.

Depending on how you want to display the document, you may need to add height and width parameters to the embed code.

Here’s an example of how these parameters might look:

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQXyRM7bAOY2Em38yYkFKDlFwMp7tlofsdfdgeGDFg4lVkv_9HB_5WbGLwfMScaGQmDf34mIH/pub?embedded=true" width="550" height="600"</iframe>

When you’re happy with how the code looks, you can save your post and then preview it on your live website.

To embed other documents from your Google Drive, simply repeat the same process described above.

How to Sell PDFs, Spreadsheets and Other Documents in WordPress

There are lots of ways to make money online blogging with WordPress, but many website owners choose to sell digital documents. For example, you might sell templates for important legal documents like contracts, wills, or tax returns.

If you sell online courses, then you might also create some helpful premium resources like mock exam papers or premium presentations.

Using the methods above, you can share documents for free, but if you want to earn money from your PDF, spreadsheets, and other documents then we recommend using the Easy Digital Downloads plugin.

Easy Digital Downloads is the best WordPress eCommerce plugin to sell digital documents.

With WordPress and Easy Digital Downloads, you can sell as many documents as you want without paying high transaction fees. This gives it a big advantage over other platforms such as Sellfy, Gumroad, Sendowl, and WooCommerce.

Even better, if you’re using SiteGround as your WordPress hosting provider then Digital Downloads comes pre-installed on your account, so you can start selling digital documents straight away.

For step-by-step instructions on how to sell all kinds of documents, please see our guide on how to sell Google spreadsheets in WordPress.

Track File Downloads in WordPress Posts

If you’re embedding downloadable documents, then you’ll want to know how those documents are performing. This is particularly important if you’re selling digital downloads, or using downloads to collect the visitor’s contact information and grow your email list.

By tracking your downloads, you can see which type of files are the most popular with your visitors. This allows you to offer similar content to visitors in the future and get even more downloads on your WordPress website.

The easiest way to track file downloads is by using MonsterInsights. It’s the best WordPress Analytics plugin and allows you to see detailed reports in Google Analytics.

You can get started with the MonsterInsights Lite version, as it includes everything you need to track file downloads.

However, if you upgrade to the MonsterInsights Pro version, then you’ll be able to see the most popular file downloads inside your WordPress dashboard, plus other advanced reports.

First, install and activate the MonsterInsights Lite plugin on your website. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Next, you’ll need to connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics. With MonsterInsights, you can make the connection without writing any code or hiring an expert.

For detailed step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.

Once you’ve added Google Analytics to your website, MonsterInsights will start tracking file downloads automatically.

If you’re using the MonsterInsights Pro version, then you can see your reports by going to Insights » Reports in the WordPress dashboard. Then, select the ‘Publishers’ tab.

After that, simply scroll to the ‘Top Download Links’ report to see which files are getting the most downloads.

By creating more of this top-performing content, you should be able to increase the total number of downloads on your website.

MonsterInsights tracks all the popular file types by default. However, you can track more files by changing the MonsterInsights settings.

For more details, you can check out our guide on how to manage, track, and control file downloads in WordPress.

We hope this article helped you to learn how to embed PDF, spreadsheet, and other documents in WordPress posts. You may also want to go through our guide on how to create a file upload form in WordPress and the best WordPress membership plugins.

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