Google Web Stories Plugin for WordPress Receives Major Update

SEO September 30, 2024

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Google is launching the first major update to its Web Stories plugin for WordPress, introducing three useful new features.

The Web Stories plugin for WordPress version 1.1 now allows site owners to:

Add GIFs to Web Stories via integration with Tenor.
Create Web Stories with a greater variety of typography options.
Add captions to Web Stories with video content.

Here’s a rundown of each of the new updates:

GIFs!

Google is integrating Tenor into its Web Stories plugin, making it possible to add GIFs using a simple drag-and-drop interface. These aren’t just regular GIFs; Google uses high performance video instead of the GIF format behind the scenes to ensure stories load quickly. Users can search through a vast library of GIFs using keywords and then drag one into the Web Story.

GIFs in Web Stories

It’s designed to be nearly as easy as adding GIFs to an Instagram or Facebook story.

New Typography

Users can select new fonts from a list of high-quality text sets when creating a Web Story. Google partnered with typography experts at iA, known for their app iA Writer, to ensure the highest quality typography. The specific fonts chosen for the Web Stories plugin are designed with editorial use-cases in mind.

“The result is a set of carefully created combinations that let you mix and match different harmonious typography, and a dynamic toggle (“Fonts in Use”) that shows you only text sets that match what you’re already using, so you can be confident that your choices pair well together.”

New Typography

Video Captions

Users of the Web Stories plugin can now create more accessible content by adding video captions. Captions can be uploaded directly in the editor as long as they are formatted in the required VTT format.

Video Captions