How to Add an Instagram Widget to Your WordPress Site

Do you want to add an instagram widget to your website? When you embed Instagram to WordPress, you make it easier to turn your website visitors into Instagram followers. Plus, it’s an elegant visual element that can enhance the experience of your site.

In this article, we’re giving you a step-by-step guide on how to embed an Instagram widget to your WordPress site so you can convert visitors into loyal fans and followers.

Here are the steps for adding an Instagram widget to WordPress to help you navigate:

1. Install the Instagram Feed plugin by Smash Balloon
2. Connect your Instagram account
3. Choose which Instagram content to display
4. Select your Instagram widget layout
5. Add your Instagram widget to WordPress

Why Add an Instagram Widget to WordPress?

Embedding Instagram in WordPress and showing it on your website has several advantages:

• Building trust: Your site looks fresh and up to date, even when you haven’t updated it in a while. This helps clients understand that your business is active and thriving.
• Better engagement: It’s a simple way to increase social engagement and get new followers.
• Consistent branding: Your Instagram photos can act as a branding element reinforcing your company’s image.
• Boosting SEO: Your captions are embedded on your website, making search engines understand what your site is about, thereby helping you appear higher in search results.

Even better, when visitors enjoy your images, they’ll spend more time on your site. And the longer people stay on your site, the more it sends valuable ranking signals to search engines, which can further improve your rankings.

Easiest Way to Add an Instagram Widget to WordPress

The easiest way to add an Instagram widget to WordPress is to use a WordPress plugin. The best WordPress plugins enhance the functionality of your website and let you add new features without needing to hire a developer.

A plugin that comes in handy and makes the task (and your life) easier is the Instagram Feed plugin by Smash Balloon.

Smash Balloon’s Instagram plugin can be added as an Instagram widget for WordPress, embedded directly in the new WordPress block editor, or by pasting a shortcode right where you need the feed.

What’s more, you can filter your feeds to show Instagram hashtag feeds and content from multiple Instagram accounts.

The plugin also doesn’t require any coding or an Instagram Developer account, so it’s suitable for complete beginners.

With a few clicks, you can then use the following powerful Instagram features:

• Customizable layout: Choose between a classical grid format mimicking the look of Instagram, place images horizontally, or highlight specific photos
• Responsive design: Your feeds are  mobile-friendly and responsive, automatically adapting to different screen sizes
• Follow buttons: Make it easy for your visitors to follow you in a simple click
• Social engagement: You can show stories, comments, and likes in your feed
• Reduced load time: Thanks to reliable data caching, you don’t have to worry about the plugin slowing down your website
• Multi-display: Add different Instagram feeds to different areas of your site showing specific types of content

Ready to add an Instagram widget to your WordPress site? Dive in by following the steps below.

Step 1: Install the Instagram Feed Plugin

To begin, click here to get started with Instagram Feeds. Then download the plugin to your computer.

After that, you need to upload it to your WordPress website and activate it. If you need a refresher on how to install a WordPress plugin, check out this step-by-step guide.

Step 2: Connect Your Instagram Account

The next step is to link your Instagram account to WordPress. So click on Instagram Feed in the WordPress sidebar to access the dashboard for your newly installed plugin.

This brings you to the Instagram Feed dashboard, where you can click the blue Connect an Instagram Account button to get connected.

An overlay asks if you want to connect your personal or business account. For some types of feeds, such as hashtag feeds, a business account is required.

If you don’t have a business account, but want to use these features, we have a handy guide teaching you how to change a private Instagram account into a business profile.

After that, click Connect to confirm your choice. Your Instagram account is now connected!

You’ll see your account name and the buttons Remove from primary feed and Add to another feed. This allows you to have several customized feeds displayed on your site at once.

Now you’re ready to customize your feed and decide which content to display, which we’ll cover next.

Step 3: Choose Which Instagram Content to Show

You can choose the type of content you want to display in your Instagram widget on the same page.

The many filtering functions help you create the following types of feeds:

• Feeds filtered on specific hashtags
• Feeds with photos that you’re tagged in
• A video feed
• Shoppable feeds where you can link image captions to product pages

Maybe you want your standard Instagram feed in your site’s footer on all pages and a shopping carousel on your e-commerce page? How about a slideshow with branded photos of you on your About page?

Once you’ve chosen your preferred feed type, click Save Changes.

Step 4: Select Your Instagram Widget Layout

From the Instagram Feed settings page, click the Customize tab at the top.

Here, you can set parameters such as:

• Dimensions of your feed
• Background color
• Show/hide your Instagram bio
• Display a follow button
• Layout type
• Number of photos to show

More importantly, this is where you can choose the layout for your Instagram widget. With 4 different layout types, you can create beautiful Instagram galleries that showcase your photos in the best way.

The different layout types include:

• A standard grid with fixed square image sizes
• Scrolling carousels with rows, pagination, and navigation arrows
• Masonry galleries showing photos in their original horizontal or vertical format
• A highlight gallery showing specific photos larger in the grid

To choose a layout type, simply click the radio button and click Save Changes to preserve your settings.

Step 5: Add Your Instagram Widget to WordPress

Now you’re ready to add your Instagram widget to your WordPress site. The Instagram Feed plugin offers 3 different ways to embed your feed, including:

• Instagram Feed WordPress Block: Use the new WordPress block editor to add an Instagram widget to posts or pages easily.
• Instagram Feed Shortcode: You can use the simple shortcode to display your feed in the classic WordPress editor, or elsewhere within your WordPress theme.
• Instagram Feed WordPress Widget: Display your feed in a WordPress sidebar area using the built-in widget.

Don’t worry if you’re not sure which option to choose. We’ll show you how to do each method.

Add an Instagram Widget With the Instagram Feed Block

To add your Instagram feed to a new page using the WordPress block editor, navigate to Pages » Add New.

Then in the block editor, click the Plus (+) icon to search for a WordPress block. In the search bar type “Instagram” to reveal the Instagram Feed WordPress block. You can then click it to add the block to your page.

This gives you a preview of how your feed will look so you can tweak your settings to get things looking right.

Then you can go ahead and publish your page. When you preview your published page, your feed will look similar to the example below.

Add an Instagram Widget to WordPress with a Shortcode

To add your feed in the classic WordPress editor, simply paste your Instagram Feed shortcode directly into your post or page editor.

You can find different variations of the shortcode by clicking the Display Your Feed tab on the feed settings page.

Add an Instagram Widget to Your WordPress Sidebar

To show your Instagram widget in a sidebar area like your footer or primary sidebar, you can use the built-in Instagram Feed widget.

First, navigate to Appearance » Widgets. Then find the Instagram Feed widget and drag it over to your chosen widget-ready sidebar.

Remember to click Save to preserve your settings.

Then when you preview your website, you’ll see your feed in your sidebar area.

There you have it!

You’ve just added an Instagram widget to your WordPress site. Now you can engage your visitors with relevant visual content, transforming them into loyal Instagram followers.

Get started with Instagram Feeds by Smash Balloon today.

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