How to Add Social Media Sharing Buttons

Adding social media sharing buttons to your WordPress website is a great way to encourage visitors to share your content across their social media profiles. This can help increase traffic, boost engagement, and enhance your online presence. Thankfully, WordPress makes it easy to add social media buttons, whether you prefer using a plugin or doing it manually.

Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to add social media sharing buttons in WordPress:

---

Why Should You Add Social Media Sharing Buttons?

Before we dive into the “how-to,” let’s quickly go over why you should add social media sharing buttons to your posts and pages:

1. Increase Traffic: Social sharing buttons make it easy for readers to share your content, which can drive more visitors to your site.
2. Improve Engagement: Social sharing buttons encourage users to interact with your content, resulting in more shares, comments, and likes.
3. Boost SEO: Increased social media sharing can result in more external links, which indirectly improves your website’s SEO ranking.
4. Enhance User Experience: It gives your visitors an easy way to share content without needing to copy and paste links.

---

How to Add Social Media Sharing Buttons in WordPress

Method 1: Using a Plugin (Most Recommended for Beginners)

Using a plugin is the easiest and most efficient way to add social media sharing buttons to your WordPress site. There are several high-quality plugins that provide customizable options for social sharing.

Here are some popular social media sharing plugins:

• Social Warfare: A highly customizable plugin that allows you to add buttons to your posts, pages, and more.
• Jetpack: This plugin from WordPress.com includes social sharing buttons as one of its many features.
• AddToAny: A popular plugin with a wide range of social media platforms and customizable buttons.
• ShareThis: A user-friendly plugin that adds social media sharing buttons with customizable designs.

Steps to Add Social Media Sharing Buttons with a Plugin:

1. Install the Plugin:
   • From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
   • Search for a social sharing plugin (e.g., Social Warfare, Jetpack, AddToAny, or ShareThis).
   • Click Install Now and then click Activate.
2. Configure the Plugin Settings:
   • After activation, you’ll usually find the plugin’s settings under the Settings menu or in the Plugin’s own menu in the WordPress dashboard.
   • Customize the settings, including:
     • Choosing which social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.) to display.
     • Deciding where to display the buttons (top, bottom, or both).
     • Adjusting the button style, size, and layout (horizontal, vertical, floating, etc.).
3. Save Changes:
   • Once you’ve configured the plugin, save the changes.
   • Your social media sharing buttons should now appear on your posts and pages.

---

Method 2: Using WordPress’s Built-in Jetpack Plugin

If you prefer not to use a separate plugin, Jetpack is a popular plugin from WordPress.com that adds many features to your site, including social media sharing buttons.

Steps to Add Social Media Buttons with Jetpack:

1. Install Jetpack:
   • From the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
   • Search for Jetpack and click Install Now, then click Activate.
2. Connect Jetpack to WordPress.com:
   • After activation, Jetpack will ask you to connect your site to a WordPress.com account.
   • Follow the prompts to sign in or create an account if you don’t have one.
3. Enable Social Media Sharing:
   • After connecting to WordPress.com, go to Jetpack > Settings in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Click the Sharing tab.
   • Enable the Social Media Sharing Buttons option.
   • Choose the social networks where you want to display sharing buttons (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.).
4. Customize the Button Position:
   • Jetpack allows you to choose whether the buttons should appear at the top or bottom of your posts.
   • You can also enable a floating bar for the sharing buttons.
5. Save Changes:
   • Once you’ve configured Jetpack’s settings, save your changes.
   • The social media sharing buttons should now appear on your posts and pages.

---

Method 3: Manually Adding Social Media Sharing Buttons with Code

If you have coding experience, you can manually add social media sharing buttons by editing your theme’s files. This gives you complete control over where and how the buttons are displayed.

Steps to Add Social Media Sharing Buttons Manually:

1. Find the Appropriate Location:
   • Go to Appearance > Theme Editor in your WordPress dashboard.
   • Depending on where you want to display the sharing buttons (before or after the post content), find the appropriate template file (usually single.php or content-single.php).
2. Add Social Media Button Code:
   • Copy and paste the following basic HTML and JavaScript code into the file where you want the social media buttons to appear (after the post content, for example):
   <div class="social-sharing">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=<?php the_permalink();
?>" target="_blank">Facebook</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=<?php the_permalink(); ?>" target="_blank">Twitter</a>
<a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=<?php the_permalink(); ?>" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>
</div>
   • This code adds buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and automatically pulls the post URL to share.
3. Customize the Button Style:
   • You can customize the appearance of the buttons by adding CSS styles in your theme’s style.css file or via the Customizer.For example, add a basic style to make the buttons look better:
   .social-sharing a {
margin-right: 10px;
padding: 5px 10px;
background-color: #333;
color: white; text-decoration: none;
}
.social-sharing a:hover {
background-color: #555;
}
4. Save Changes:
   • Once you’ve added the code and customized the appearance, save your changes.
   • Refresh your website to see the social media buttons on your posts.

---

Best Practices for Adding Social Media Buttons

1. Keep It Simple: Only include the most relevant social platforms. Adding too many buttons can overwhelm users and make your site look cluttered. Stick to the most popular ones like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
2. Use Clear Icons: Use recognizable icons for each social media platform to make it easier for users to understand where the buttons will take them.
3. Position Buttons Strategically: Display buttons either at the top or bottom of your content, or use floating buttons that stay visible as users scroll through the page. This ensures they’re always accessible.
4. Test Button Placement: Experiment with different placements for the buttons and see where users engage most. You can use Google Analytics to track how many clicks the buttons receive.
5. Don’t Overload: While social media sharing buttons are important, avoid overloading the page with too many elements. Keep it neat and aligned with your website’s design.

---

Conclusion

Adding social media sharing buttons to your WordPress website is a powerful way to encourage users to share your content and increase traffic. Whether you choose a plugin, use Jetpack, or manually add buttons with code, it’s easy to integrate sharing functionality on your site.

If you’re looking for a simple solution, using a plugin like AddToAny or Social Warfare is a great choice. For more control over the design, you might want to add buttons manually using HTML and CSS.

Make sure to test your social buttons and track their effectiveness in increasing engagement. If you need help with any of the steps, feel free to reach out!