When you edit a video’s title, description, or thumbnail on Vimeo, those changes do not automatically appear on your WordPress site. This is expected behaviour: Vimeotheque creates a WordPress post from the video data at import time. To bring that post up to date, you need to trigger a sync. This guide explains your options using the Vimeotheque plugin.
Why Vimeo Videos Don’t Update Automatically in WordPress
Vimeotheque imports Vimeo video data — title, description, thumbnail, tags, duration — and stores it in WordPress as a post. After import, the WordPress post and the Vimeo video are independent. Vimeo does not push changes to WordPress, so updates made on Vimeo are not reflected until you explicitly sync.
There are two ways to bring WordPress posts in sync with Vimeo: manual reimport, using the Video Details Re-Import add-on, and using the automatic sync available in Vimeotheque PRO.
Option 1: Video Details Re-Import Add-on
The Video Details Re-Import add-on, available with Vimeotheque PRO, lets you select multiple video posts from the admin list view and batch-reimport their metadata from Vimeo in a single operation. This is the right tool when you have updated many videos on Vimeo at once and need to reflect those changes in WordPress without manually editing each post.
To use it: go to the Vimeotheque video post list, select the posts you want to update, choose Re-import video details from the bulk actions dropdown, and click Apply.
Option 3: Automatic Sync with Vimeotheque PRO
For sites where Vimeo content is updated frequently, the best approach is to configure the automatic Vimeo sync in Vimeotheque PRO. The automatic importers for folders, showcases, and portfolios can be set to run on a schedule. When a scheduled import runs, it checks Vimeo for new videos and updates existing video data if changes are detected.
This is the most scalable approach for sites where video content changes regularly.
What Gets Updated on Reimport
When you reimport video data, Vimeotheque can update:
- Post title (from video title on Vimeo)
- Post content (from video description on Vimeo)
- Featured image (from Vimeo thumbnail)
- Tags (from Vimeo video tags)
- Video duration metadata
Fields you have manually edited in WordPress after the initial import may be overwritten during reimport, depending on your import settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Vimeotheque sync video updates from Vimeo automatically?
Not by default. Vimeotheque creates a WordPress post at import time. Updates to the Vimeo video are not pushed to WordPress automatically unless you use the automatic importer in Vimeotheque PRO with the update-on-reimport option enabled.
Will reimporting overwrite content I have manually added to the post?
It depends on your import settings. Fields mapped to Vimeo data sources — like title and description — can be overwritten. Fields not mapped to Vimeo data, such as custom fields or manually added content blocks, are not affected.
How do I update just the thumbnail for a Vimeo video in WordPress?
Use the single-video reimport option from the post editor sidebar. The reimport will fetch the current thumbnail from Vimeo and set it as the featured image on the post.
Can I update hundreds of videos at once?
Yes, using the Video Details Re-Import add-on in Vimeotheque PRO. Select all the posts you want to update in the admin list view and use the bulk action to re-import their data from Vimeo.
What happens if a video was deleted on Vimeo?
Reimporting a deleted video will return an error from the Vimeo API. The existing WordPress post will not be modified. You need to manually delete or unpublish the post in WordPress.