No plugins required: WordPress now fully supports VR content

By Jon Martindale Published December 17, 2016

Readying itself to be the content management system of the future as much as today, WordPress has now made it possible to publish and view virtual reality content through its platform. That means many of your favorite blogs and publications — Digital Trends included — can now display VR and 360 degree content in an easy-to-view fashion.

As nice an addition as this is for WordPress, it has been available through an additional plug-in for a while now (thanks Cnet). This is however the first official implementation of VR content in the WordPress platform, which means that more sites will have access to it without having to search it out, or look for additional updates for it.

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At the user side of things, the content will appear as a video in webVR-enabled browsers, giving viewers the ability to draw their perspective around a full 360 degrees in 2D. However for those with a VR headset, be it a Google Cardboard, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or any of a growing number of VR-capable headsets, there will be a small button which, when clicked, will broadcast the content straight into the VR goggles.

Although the audience for consumer virtual reality is still rather limited — a few million headsets at the last count — enabling VR to be a natively supported part of WordPress-powered publications makes it easier than ever to put VR content in front of consumer eyeballs. This will no doubt go a long way toward increasing awareness of what VR actually enables — even if a 2D display doesn’t get close to showcasing how effective an entertainment medium it can be.

This move could well be the beginning of more VR-centric websites, too. Perhaps we’ll start to see sites dominated by content which is best viewed in VR.

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Evergreen writer

Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…

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