Shorts use the same embed mechanism as any other YouTube video, with one key layout difference: they are vertical, and your embed needs to reflect that.
Finding the video ID in a Shorts link
A Shorts URL looks like youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID, rather than the usual youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID format. The video ID itself works exactly the same way in an embed URL either way; only the sharing link’s format differs.
Why a standard embed looks wrong
If you embed a Short using the usual 16:9 responsive wrapper (padding-bottom: 56.25%), you’ll get a narrow vertical video sitting in the middle of a wide horizontal box, with large empty bars on either side. That is a layout mismatch, not a bug in the video itself.
The fix: a 9:16 wrapper
<div style="position:relative;width:100%;max-width:315px;padding-bottom:177.78%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:0 auto;">
<iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VIDEO_ID" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>The 177.78% figure is 16 divided by 9, the inverse of the standard ratio, and a max-width keeps an embedded Short from stretching to an unnaturally wide column on a desktop page.
Doing it without the maths
Paste a Shorts link into the embed code generator and it detects the /shorts/ URL automatically, switching to the correct 9:16 responsive layout without any manual adjustment.
Where Shorts embeds work well
A vertical embed fits naturally in a sidebar, a narrow content column, or a dedicated “featured Short” section, rather than a full-width hero area designed for widescreen video.