Adding a sound file to your website
There are a number of media hosts online that allow users to upload and host their own sound or music files for free. In this post we’ll cover how you can utilize the services of a free media host to embed a sound file into your WebSpawner website so it will play automatically for visitors to hear.
Many free media hosting sites exist, including FileFactory, 4shared, DivShare, MediaMax, and SoundUpload. Some offer paid upgrade options for even more storage capacity for “power users.”
The process of creating an account, uploading a sound file and embedding the hosted sound file in your website is basically the same regardless of which media host you choose, so we’ll walk through the steps using the free services offered by SoundUpload.com. Before you begin, you should have your sound or music file on your computer’s hard drive, located where you can easily find it, and saved in a common audio file format such as MP3.
Open a new window in your web browser, and go to http://www.soundupload.com/.
Click ‘Register.’
The Register form prompts you for a Username, a Password, and a valid Email Address; enter these (remember your choices) and click the ‘Register’ button.
A confirmation message will appear stating “Your account has been setup and you may now access it.” Click the ‘Continue…’ link.
Next you are prompted to provide your Username and Password; enter them and click the ‘Login’ button.
Under ‘Upload Your Audio’ locate and click the ‘Choose File’ button.
Navigate to the location of your sound file; click on the file name and click the ‘Choose’ button.
When prompted to “Make it Public?” select ‘No, Please hide it’ (this helps prevent your sound file from being used by other people without your permission). Then click the ‘Upload Now’ button.
A confirmation message stating “Successful!” appears to indicate that your file was uploaded. Click the ‘Your Audio’ link in the bar at the top.
The ‘Viewing Your Audio’ screen shows the uploaded files in your account. Click on the name of the sound file (be careful to avoid clicking the “Delete Audio” link beneath it).
Click in the box titled “Embed Audio onto Webpage” and select all of the code within the box by pressing Control-A on a Windows computer or Command-A on a Mac (the Command key has a small apple on it).
Then, copy the code by pressing Control-C on Windows or Command-A on a Mac.
Now you are ready to embed your sound file into your WebSpawner website. Open a new browser window and go to http://www.webspawner.com.
At the upper right side of the WebSpawner homepage, enter your Username and Password, then click the ‘Login’ button.
In the Member Menu under Step 1, select the webpage to which you would like to add your sound file, and click the ‘Modify’ button under Step 2.
Scroll down to the Body Text step and click inside the box (you’ll probably want to click beneath any text you have entered there, so your embedded sound file appears lower than the text on your webpage). Now paste your copied code into the Body Text box, using Control-V on a Windows PC or Command-V on a Mac.
At the bottom of the Modification form, click the ‘Continue’ button. Then, at the test page preview, click the ‘I Like It’ button to save and publish your changes.
Your webpage will contain your embedded audio file, which will play automatically for visitors to hear when they view your page. The embedded file will appear on your webpage as shown in the image below, with controls that allow the viewer to pause or replay the sound file and adjust the sound volume.
