How to Insert an Audio Player for WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress administrator account on your website.
2. Click the downward arrow next to the 'Plugins' widget on your administrative dashboard. You can find this widget on the left column of the dashboard screen. Clicking the downward arrow will expand the sub-menu for all the available options.

3. Click the 'Add New' link under 'Plugins' to add a new plugin.
4. Type 'Audio Player' and click the 'Search Plugins' button to search for all the available free audio player plugins in the WordPress plugins repository.
5. Scroll down to the option that says simply 'Audio Player.' The list will include several other plugin options for audio player functionality, but the one named simply 'Audio Player' is the highest-rated plugin. If you wish to explore the functions and features of the other similar plugins, clicking the plugin name takes you to the description page in the WordPress plugin repository.
6. Click the 'Install' button on the right side of the screen next to the audio player plugin of your choice. The screen displays a success message once the software has successfully installed the plugin. Click the 'Activate Plugin' link below the message to make the plugin active in your WordPress dashboard and site. This will also redirect you to your Active Plugins page.
7. Locate the Audio Player plugin in your list of plugins and click the 'Settings' link directly below it. Configure the settings of the plugin to your liking. Here, you can customize the way the plugin displays audio files, the location on the server where the files are stored and the look and feel of the player itself.
8. Create a new post or page in which you'd like to insert the audio player by clicking 'Add New' under the 'Posts' or 'Pages' widgets on the left column. If you'd like to insert the audio player into an existing post or page on your site, click 'Edit' under 'Posts' or 'Pages' instead, and select the post or page where you'd like to insert the audio.
9. Click the 'Visual' tab above the blank content box in the new post or page. This will be next to the 'HTML' tab. The 'Visual' tab is the editing option that allows you to insert the audio player through the dynamic interface.
10. Click the button with the music notes next to the 'Upload/Insert' field above the content box. Add a new music file to your site's media library by clicking the 'Select Files' button and uploading a file from your library. Alternatively, click the 'Media Library' tab on the top menu of this dialog box to view the audio files you have already uploaded to your site's media library. Click the 'Show' link next to the file of your choice, to open its dialog box.
11. Customize your audio file to your liking. Add a caption, description and alternate text. To create the audio player code, click the 'Audio Player' button under the 'Link' field toward the bottom. This will change the code in the 'Link' field to begin with '[audio:' instead of the usual link code.
12. Click the 'Insert Into Post' button below the audio file options in order to insert the audio player code into your page or post.
13. Customize your page or post by adding content, a title and any other details you wish to add or edit prior to publishing.
14. Publish the page or the post. Click 'Publish' on the right side of the publishing dashboard. This is a blue button next to several other options, including 'Preview,' which will allow you to preview the post before going live on your site, and 'Draft,' which allows you to save the post for publishing later.