Sharing Instagram photos in WordPress blog is a good way to enrich the website content and increase Instagram followers. And the benefits are even more for those blogging much about photography or images.
There are multiple approaches available if you want to share Instagram photos in a WordPress blog. In below, we will introduce three of them which work for bloggers with different requirements. The options include manually embedding individual photos, connecting Instagram to your WordPress site with IFTTT, and using a plugin.
Manually Embed Photos into WordPress Posts or Pages
Use IFTTT to Share Instagram Photos Automatically
Utilize a WordPress Plugin
Option A: Manually Embed Photos into WordPress Posts or Pages
WordPress comes with a built-in feature which allows you to share single Instagram photos easily without any technical skill. You just need to copy the URL of the photo you want to use, and then paste the URL in the place where you want the photo to display. Both pages and posts are supported.
The only thing that needs attention is that the URL must be in its own line in the post editor, and it should not be hyperlinked. Photos embedded in this way will be displayed in the largest dimensions by default.
If you want the ability to specify width, you can use the following pre-made WordPress shortcode. Besides width, you are also able to include or hide caption by changing the corresponding parameter. The “URL” refers to the URL of the Instagram content that you want to embed.
These methods are more than easy, but they are quite limited in custom options and lack automation. So they are a good option only if you:
Do not share a large number of Instagram photos on your WordPress site.
Do not need to add individual photos into a gallery.
On the contrary, if you would like to share many photos or want auto-sharing, you will need some automation. Just pick a solution from the options below.
Option B: Use IFTTT to Share Instagram Photos Automatically
IFTTT is a free web-based service that enables you to connect your WordPress site with your Instagram account by creating a recipe. When a recipe is created properly, it triggers automatic actions depending on how it is set up. For example, it can be configured to automatically publish a photo post on your WordPress site when a new photo is published on Instagram.
One benefit of using IFTTT is that you don’t need to install any plugin or extension. And another one is the service offers a central place for you to manage not only Instagram to WordPress, but also hundreds of other options which you may need in the future, such as Instagram to Twitter, WordPress to Tumblr, and WordPress to Twitter.
To make use of IFTTT, you have to open a free account first by heading over to its official site and clicking on the “Sign Up” link. Then, fill in the simple signup form and click on the “Create account” button. A few seconds later, you will be redirected to a start guide. Just follow the simple guide to get started.
Below are the steps you will have to take after getting an account. But before proceeding on, make sure you understand the important concepts in IFTTT, including “Channels”, “Triggers”, “Actions”, “Recipes” and “Ingredients”. If there is anything unclear, please refer to this tutorial.
Step 1: Connect WordPress and Instagram to IFTTT
To connect your WordPress and Instagram accounts to IFTTT, you need to create channels. To do this, you should click on “Channels” in the top menu.
To create an Instagram Channel, find Instagram by typing the name in the search box or scrolling down to the “Photo and Video” category. Click on the Instagram icon, and on the new page, click on the big blue “Connect” button.
Then, follow the IFTTT guide to log into your Instagram account and grant IFTTT the permissions to access the basic information of your account.
Once clicking on the “Authorize” button, you have created the channel successfully. In the channel, you can access your Instagram profile, settings and permissions quickly.
The next thing to do is to create a WordPress Channel. You have to find the WordPress icon among all available channels, enter into the descriptions, and click on the “Connect” button. Then, fill in the form with your blog URL, admin username and admin password. When this is done, hit the “Connect” button.
In the WordPress Channel, you can access the admin profile, blog settings and website notifications.
Step 2: Create an Instagram to WordPress recipe
In IFTTT, you can either create your own recipe or use any recipe created by others to trigger the actions you want. If you want to get things done quickly, you can pick up an existing recipe, but if you are looking to include a specific function or something special, you will need to create a recipe to get everything under full control. Here, we’d like to explain how to create a custom Instagram to WordPress recipe.
Firstly, click on “My Recipes” in the top menu. Under the IF tab, click on the “Create a Recipe” button.
On the next page, click on the “this” link.
Now you have to choose the trigger channel. Search “Instagram”, and then click on the Instagram icon.
The next step is to choose a trigger. There are altogether 12 options, and you can choose any one based on your needs. For example, if you want to share every new photo on your WordPress site, you can select “Any new photo by you”. All of the options are easy to understand. Just take a minute to think about what you really want.
Once the decision is made, you will be led to a “Create Trigger” button. Click on it. And for the next step of choosing the action channel, you should choose WordPress.
Next, you have to choose an action between “Create a post” and “Create a photo post”. The choice is yours, and for this example, we select the former one which generates a form like what shown in below.
In this form, you can give a title to the post, enter a piece of content for the body, choose the categories and tags, and select a status. For the post status, we suggest you choose “Save as draft”, so you can make necessary modifications in WordPress dashboard before the post is published.
For the last step, just give a title to the new recipe, and click on the “Create Recipe” button. After the recipe is created, you can update the post information at any time.
Now you’re done. IFTTT will create a new post on your WordPress site every time you post a photo, like a photo or add a specific hashtag to a photo in Instagram. When you no longer need the automation, simply turn off the recipe.
Option C: Utilize a Plugin
Plugins offer an easy way for you to integrate Instagram with WordPress, and they usually come with good functionality. So if you are looking for another way to share Instagram photos in WordPress, they are still good options.
There are several well-coded Instagram plugins for WordPress, and below are some of them. Depending on how you want the photos to be published and sorted, you can select one that fits your needs best.
DsgnWrks Instagram Importer – It is a light-weight yet rich-featured plugin which allows you to import Instagram photos as WordPress posts. You can choose the date from when the photos are imported, select categories, set tags, set the image size, and choose the import frequency. Post type and post status are also available for custom configurations.
Instagram Slider Widget – It is the best choice for displaying the latest Instagram photos in a sidebar widget. Also, you can select between a grid and a slider layout. Setting this plugin up does not require API access.
Alpine PhotoTile for Instagram – It is one of the best solutions for displaying Instagram photos in gallery. Besides, this plugin comes with widgets and shortcodes, which guarantees great usability. It requires setting up API, but there are detailed instructions available for doing that.
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