WordPress MP3/OGG Audio Player Review: HTML5 jQuery Audio Player

So I’m in a band.

That’s right people – I am a genuine rock star, regularly playing to crowds well into the double digits. The men want to be me, the women want to be with me – it’s quite the life I lead.

And yet I still find the time to blog about WordPress. How’s that for dedication? But let’s face it – WordPress is rock ‘n’ roll, through and through. When it comes down to it, we’re all WordPress rockstars.

Anyway. The point of my rambling is this – my band is going to be recording some demos soon, and I need to get my hands on a kickass audio player for my band’s blog. It should be free, and easy to use and implement.

I found what I was looking for.

Introducing HTML5 jQuery Audio Player

With a name as exciting and sexy as that, you know you’re in for a treat.

But in all seriousness, HTML5 jQuery Audio Player is a great little plugin. It’s only been around on the WordPress.org Plugins Repository for a short few weeks, and yet it has already attracted over 2,500 downloads (at the time of writing).

The interface looks great (especially when featuring Katy Perry):

Bringing all of this information (and of course the tracks) together is a piece of cake with the settings screen:

In order to pull together the tracks themselves, you need to set up a playlist:

As you can see, you have control over all of the relevant information.

Is it Any Good?

Although HTML5 jQuery Audio Player looks very pretty and is an effective tool for showcasing audio tracks on your WordPress blog, it is not without its faults. Take the above Playlist Settings screen, for example. If you do not complete all of the required fields, it will reload the page with an error message, and wipe out all of the data you previously entered.

Also, its playlist management could do with some work. It would be good if you could have multiple playlists, each with their own descriptions.

I would consider HTML5 jQuery Audio Player a “bare bones” solution. It does what is required, but in perhaps the most basic fashion you would expect. With that said, it is a brand new plugin, and I expect it to be improved upon in the near future (the developer certainly seems enthusiastic). It’s got good potential.

Perhaps the best endorsement I can give it is that I am planning on using it for my band’s blog. However, I am doing so in the hope that it will be improved upon.

Download HTML5 jQuery Audio Player here.

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