Understanding HTML Music Video Codes

Basic HTML for Music Codes

Knowing just the tiniest bit of HTML will help you immensely in altering music codes. First, HTML uses things called "tags". Tags are special codes surrounded by greater than/less than signs, like this: Tags surround bits of text to tell the web browsers what to do. Closing HTML tags are identical to the opening tag except they're preceded by a slash:

The most common tag you'll see in music codes will be the tag, usually . This is the link tag that points users to another location on the web. Here's the basic structure of the tag:

<a href="<a href="http://WebsiteNameInsideOfQuotes.com" target="_blank" class="external free" title="http://WebsiteNameInsideOfQuotes.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >http://WebsiteNameInsideOfQuotes.com</a>">Text to be displayed</a>

Music and music video codes usually have these links. Change the display text to whatever you like!

What Can I Change?

This will vary depending on your music video codes source. You can usually tweak display parameters, such as video screen size, scrollbars, display text, and links to related websites, etc. Most code providers put a link back to their website on embedded videos. Leave this as a thank you to your source!

Types of Music Codes

There are three broad types of music video codes you'll find on the web: direct links, pop-up windows, and embedded files. The basic anatomy always includes a link to the file itself and display text, the same HTML coding we saw above in the tag section.

Direct Link Music Video Code

This shows up as a normal link on your webpage. Users who click on it are taken to a special page where the music video is loaded. The HTML simply links to the file and provides a name that will display as the link, in this case, Lyric by Zwan.

<a href="<a href="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136" target="_blank" class="external free" title="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136</a>" target="_blank">Lyric by Zwan</a>

Pop-up Window Music Video Code

This code creates a link on your page that, when clicked, opens a new window that plays the music video.

<a href="#" onclick="window.open('<a href="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'" target="_blank" class="external free" title="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'</a>,<i>,</i>
'height=765,width=756,scrollbars=no,resizable=no')">Lyric by Zwan</a>

It's easy to dissect this code and look at the individual parts:

<a href="#" onclick="window.open

• Tells the browser to open a new window when someone clicks the link. You shouldn't change this.

('<a href="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'" target="_blank" class="external free" title="http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >http://www.website.com/mp.php?id=11136'</a>,<i>,</i>

• The link to the video. Definitely don't change this part.

'height=765,width=756,scrollbars=no,resizable=no')">

• Sets the height and width of the window and defines whether or not it can be resized. It also sets the scrollbar to on or off. This can be altered if you like, but usually the default settings are best.

Lyric by Zwan</a>

• The name of the link. You can change this to whatever you like.

Embedded Media Player Insert Music Video Code

Embedded music video codes start playing right from your webpage. They're a little more complex than the above codes, but you can still tweak a few bits to make it your own.

It's best not to mess with the top half of the code, everything between the first div tag and the first closing /div. After that, some music code sites add a few links that will be displayed just below the music video. It's usually best to leave these links alone, as they're either relevant to the song (such as pointing to the record label or official website) or are links back to the site where you got the music code from.

You can, however, shorten the text displayed and add another link if you like. Just follow the tag instructions above to add your personalized links below embedded music codes.