Embedding Instagram Photos on WordPress

When it comes to embedding Instagram photos on WordPress people are often confused. Some are simply unaware of why it can be beneficial to embed Instagram photos on their website. While others are aware but are unsure how to do so effectively. Well, to help banish some confusion, we are going to take a closer look at what embedding Instagram photos is all about.

Why you should embed Instagram photos on WordPress

Before we start, it is important to mention that not all websites will benefit from embedding Instagram photos. If your website has little to do with images, adding Instagram photos will only be redundant. But, if you run a website with well-optimized images for marketing and promotion, embedding Instrama photos is only natural.

A website with embedded Instagram photos.
Embedding Instagram photos on WordPress can be a great idea for certain websites.

By doing so, you connect one of the largest social media platforms out there with your website. As you might guess, this has great SEO benefits as the online traffic will naturally flow to and from your website. You would be advised to carefully monitor and maintain your Instagram profile and only embed images that make sense within the website. Know that one of the easiest things to do si to over clutter your website with Instagram photos, and lose customer engagement. But, if you manage to properly implement Instagram photos, you should definitely see a substantial increase in natural traffic.

How important is Instagram for companies?

Business websites are sometimes reluctant to use Instagram for promotion. As it is based around images, it doesn’t leave much room for written content. For some companies, this is a big problem. If they base their marketing on written content like blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn can be a much better choice. If they do have some images, they can easily add a social media share button on their website.

A person holding a phone with various social media apps.
Connecting your website to various social media platforms is becoming more and more important.

But, if you market your company via images, Instagram is a clear choice. When used properly, images can be much more engaging than written content. And seeing that the popularity of short videos and story content is on the rise, we would guess that platforms like Instagram are only going to become more popular. So, if you haven’t so far, consider using it in your marketing efforts.

Embedding Instagram photos on WordPress with a plugin

So, how does one go about embedding Instagram photos on their WP website? Well, there are a couple of ways to do so. As it is usually with WordPress, the most straightforward one is through a plugin. And, as always, we need to remind you to make a backup of your website before installing any new plugins. Even relatively simple plugins can easily cause issues. And, while it may be possible to repair your website, the easier course of action is to simply have a backup.

With that out of the way, here is how to use a plugin to embed Instagram photos on WordPress.

Using the Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed

While there are different plugins you can use to embed Instagram photos, we feel that Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed is the best developed. Once you set it up, you will be able to display Instagram content on your website with ease. And the great thing about it is that it is free. The paid version is the Smash Balloon Social Feed Pro which gives you more customization options. If you opt for using it, you will be able to combine different feed types, show likes, comments, and captions, sort feeds based on hashtags, and more.

Comments in Instagram, showing one aspect to consider while embedding Instagram photos on WordPress.
In order to show comments and hashtags, you will need to get the paid version.

But, for now, let’s stick with the Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed. The first thing you will need to do is to install it. Once you do, you will have to activate, both of which are fairly self-explanatory. Once you activate it, head on to the Instagram Feed -> Settings, and open the “Configure” tab. There you will click on the “Connect an Instagram Account” button. By doing so you will get a popup where you will choose whether you are using a business or a personal profile. In this article, we will assume that you’re using a personal account. The business profile is a bit different, so we won’t cover it here. Once you’ve chosen the type of your account, click connect.

Connecting Instagram to your website

The next thing to do is to log into your Instagram account and click on the “Allow” button. What this does is that it allows Smash Balloon to access your profile, with all of its content and media. Back on your website, you will get a popup where Instagram is asking you to connect. As you might guess, you need to click on the “Connect This Account” button. By now, your Instagram and your WordPress website are connected. We would advise you to ensure that there are no issues with the images before you embed them on your website.

Embed Instagram photos

Once you’ve set up the Smash Balloon Social Photo feed, it will be fairly easy to embed Instagram photos. The first thing to do either edit or add a new post or page. Once you do that in the WordPress editor, click on the (+) sign. There the Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed will allow you to add “Instagram feed”. By clicking on that option, Smash Balloon will automatically load your current feed and show the preview in the content editor.

If by chance, you are using the classic editor, you will need to take a slightly different route. Here you will need to use the [instagram-feed] shortcode in order to implement it with your website.

Another option that Smash Balloon gives you is to add the feed in the sidebar. If you wish to do so, you need to head to the Appearance -> Widgets. There you need to select the Instagram Feed widget and drag it to the sidebar. Once you’ve done that, simply click on the “Save” button.

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