12 Instagram Plugins For WordPress Worth Installing
Trying to decide whether or not to use Instagram as part of your social media marketing strategy? If you’re not ‘gramming for your business yet, here are ten reasons why you should get started.
Pretty awesome, right?
As a WordPress developer, there are a few other reasons why you should be a fan of working with Instagram. Check out this extra motivation:
It’s Owned by Facebook
Instagram is now owned by Facebook, which means that the original Instagram we met back in 2010 is not the same as what we have today. Is that a good thing? I’d say so.
Thanks to Facebook’s contribution, we now have live video capabilities, stories, scrolling photos, and sponsored post possibilities which all make it even more appealing for businesses to use in their marketing efforts. As a developer, pay special attention to the built-in CTA feature for stories as well as enhanced analytics—Instagram is slowly becoming a more marketing-friendly platform.
The Instagram API
Again, because Instagram now has the backing of Facebook, we’re seeing a lot of overlap in what can be accomplished between the two platforms. Much like the API for Facebook, the one for Instagram gives developers like yourself more control over the app as well as insights into what’s happening with your audience. So, if you want a photo-centric social media platform that you can take control of and incorporate into your WordPress site, look no further.
One more bonus to consider here is the storage factor. Much like the YouTube, Instagram plugins prevent you from overloading your site’s server with image storage. What’s not to love about that?
With so many different ways you can use Instagram for business, it only makes sense that we should take a look at the plugins to help you integrate it within your WordPress site.
Editor’s note: This post was first published in 2014 but we’ve updated the content so it’s now current for 2021. Enjoy!
Best Instagram Plugins for WordPress
Because Instagram is a strictly visual social medium, this opens up the possibilities for how you can incorporate it into your WordPress site. It used to just be that you’d connect the Instagram API to WordPress and then import a copy of the feed into a widget or sidebar.
Nowadays, however, plugin developers have cracked the code and given us so much more control over what can be done with Instagram in WordPress. The following plugins mostly offer options for embedding an Instagram feed onto a page, but there are others here that make use of lightboxes, sliders, portfolios, and other creative options that focus on importing the photo content rather than all the other “stuff” that shows up on Instagram.
Spotlight Social Media Feeds (Free)
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use and reliable way to display your Instagram feeds on your WordPress website, look no further than Spotlight. The free version of Spotlight offers all you need to get started, with no ads and no feed limitations,
You can display multiple Instagram feeds at once and customize each feed individually with predesigned layouts to create a great experience for your visitors. All you need is an Instagram account and it’s easy to set up!
Spotlight (Premium)
If you like Spotlight’s intuitive interface, then you’ll really like the premium features it comes with. Not only can you show hashtagged and tagged posts in each feed, but you can also integrate a popup sidebar and get access to even more customization options. Create a Link in Bio feed, shoppable feeds that link to your products, and more importantly, filter and moderate your feeds before publishing them to your site.
With premium, you’ll get additional live Instagram stats and actionable analytics to help shape your marketing strategy.
AccessPress Instagram Feed Plugin (Free)
Want to include your Instagram feed’s photos without the widgeted box and distracting image descriptions surrounding them? This plugin from AccessPress removes all that excess noise and provides you with a few different layout options for your images, including a slider, lightbox, and basic gallery layout.
AccessPress Instagram Feed Plugin (Premium)
In this upgraded version of AccessPress’s Instagram feed plugin, there are more control options for how your photos are displayed as well as for the information you may want to include around them. For instance, you can show a likes and comments counter for each photo. You can also add animation effects to hover. And you can dynamically design the layouts to present your images in a style that is all your own.
Feed Them Social Plugin (Free)
Sometimes all you need is a simple solution. In the case of Instagram, that would involve placing a copy of your Instagram feed directly onto a page of your website, similar to how it would appear on Instagram (the desktop version, not the app). That’s what this plugin does. It also enables users to import feeds from other social media platforms, so it doesn’t only have to be Instagram if you have rave-worthy photos from other social media accounts you’d like to share.
Instagram Feed Plugin by Smash Balloon (Free)
If you have multiple Instagram feeds you want to consolidate into a single feed, then this is the plugin for you. You can customize the layout, size, color, spacing, and more with this plugin, too.
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Instagram Feed Pro Plugin by Smash Balloon (Premium)
If you’re a fan of the customizability that comes with the free version of this plugin, but want even more control over what you can do with your feed, try this one out. It still follows the basic premise—to help you import multiple feeds into one—but this plugin has many more options to play around with. You can create a carousel, open each photo with a lightbox, create shoppable feeds with purchase links, integrate video, and more.
Instagram Feed WD Plugin from Web Dorado (Free)
Although the profile and video for this plugin are a bit misleading, the free version of this plugin is still worth looking into if you want to import an Instagram feed (or feeds) into your site. With the free option, your customization options are limited, but if you don’t need much more than a simple way to display your photos as thumbnails or in a lightbox, this will do the trick.
Instagram Feed WD Plugin from Web Dorado (Premium)
This premium Instagram plugin from Web Dorado offers the same “classic” Instagram feed options as the free version… and then some. If you like the idea of fully customizable themes for your feed, filmstrip layouts, advanced filtering (including by hashtag), as well as comment integration, give this one a look. They also offer a few different plans if you want to use the plugin for multiple websites.
Instagram Journal Plugin (Premium)
Remember how I mentioned the Instagram API above? Well, this plugin takes full advantage of that, giving you more control over what you can do with your feed. There are fun layouts available like the infinity slider. Theme colors are customizable. You can host an Instagram contest right from within your website. And there’s even a free Instagram-centric WordPress theme included with the plugin.
Instagram Slider Widget
A slider widget that does exactly what it says on the tin.
Once installed and activated, it creates a responsive widget that displays the latest Instagram posts (up to 20) in either a slider or grid layout. There is no need to set up API access, the widget simply requires an Instagram username.
The widget also allows you to set the interval (in hours) for checking for new posts. Thumbnails are stored locally, so after initial load display is instant.
Very simple to install and configure.
DsgnWrks Instagram Importer
This plugin allows you to import your Instagram photos as posts (or an existing custom post type) into your WordPress blog.
Set up is extremely user-friendly and allows considerable control over how the photos are imported.
It’s definitely one to look at if you want to share your Instagram photos on your blog.
Wrapping Up
There’s no doubt that Instagram is one of the more creative social media platforms businesses have to work with. These Instagram plugins surely offer up enough flexibility in what you can do with your Instagram photos, so have fun with it! Get creative in where you place your Instagram feeds and how they’re displayed, and give your site another way to stand out from all the others.
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Chris Knowles A WordPress pro, Chris has a bent on hacking WordPress, content management, and online media.