Ultimate Guide to the Best WordPress Social Media Plugins

Last updated on Jul 10, 2024 by Southie Williamson Reader Disclosure

In today’s world, social media integration is crucial for any successful website. Whether you’re a photographer showcasing your portfolio, a blogger sharing your latest posts, or an eCommerce store promoting products, the right WordPress social media plugin can significantly boost your online presence and engagement.

But with countless options available, how do you choose the best WordPress social media plugin for your needs? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered!

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the top social media plugins for WordPress, their features, and how to select the perfect one for your website.

Why Do I Need a Social Media Plugin for WordPress?

Before diving into the best plugins, let’s quickly recap some of the benefits from integrating social media with your WordPress site:

• Increased visibility: Share your content across multiple platforms to reach a wider audience.
• Improved engagement: Make it easy for visitors to interact with and share your content.
• Social proof: Display share counts to build credibility and encourage more shares.
• Traffic boost: Drive more visitors to your site and social media channels.
• SEO benefits: Social signals can indirectly impact your search engine rankings.

A good WordPress social media plugin simplifies the process, saving you time and effort while maximizing your social media impact.

How to Choose the Best WordPress Social Media Plugin for Your Site

Social media plugins cover a wide range of uses. in a wide range. Some tools focus on specific social networks, other plugins specialize in sharing buttons or embedding feeds. So, it’s important to think about your specific needs and goals. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

1. Supported networks: Ensure the plugin covers the social platforms relevant to your audience.
2. Your primary goals & website type: Consider which plugins are better suited for blogs, eCommerce sites, or portfolio sites. Determine if you’re focused on increasing shares, growing your following, or displaying social proof.
3. Customization options: Look for plugins that allow you to match buttons or social feeds with your site’s design and offers placement flexibility.
4. Mobile responsiveness & compatibility: Buttons and features should look and function well on all devices. You’ll also want to ensure the plugin works well with your theme and other essential plugins.
5. Loading speed: The plugin shouldn’t significantly slow down your website.
6. Analytics integration: Some plugins offer built-in analytics or integrate with Google Analytics.
7. Support and updates: Choose a plugin with a track record of regular updates and responsive support.

By considering these factors, you can narrow down your options and choose the plugin that best fits your needs. Now, let’s explore some of the top tools to help you level up your social media game.

Top WordPress Social Media Plugins

Short on time? Here’s a quick comparison of the best social media plugins for WordPress.

Plugin	Best For
Envira Gallery	Sharing buttons on images and galleries, dynamic galleries from Instagram, YouTube video galleries
Smash Balloon	Dynamic social media feeds from multiple different platforms
RafflePress	Social media contests and giveaways
Shareaholic	Comprehensive sharing buttons, analytics, and monetization
Monarch	Social media buttons for Elegant Themes users
Novashare	Lightweight, fast-loading share buttons
Revive Old Posts	Repurposing post archives for social media
Social Media Share Buttons	Multi-action social media buttons
Better Click to Tweet	Adding tweetable quote boxes
Social Warfare	Content protection and detailed control over how content is shared

1. Envira Gallery

Envira Gallery, while primarily known as a powerful image gallery plugin, also offers a robust set of social media features that make it an exceptional choice for photographers, bloggers, and content creators.

The plugin’s Social Addon empowers your audience to share your gallery images or entire galleries across major social networks including Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. You can even add a Pinterest “Pin It” button to encourage easy image sharing.

Envira Gallery provides flexibility in how these sharing buttons are shown, allowing you to customize their location and orientation and display them in both gallery and lightbox views.

One of Envira’s strengths is its Instagram integration. The plugin allows you to dynamically create photo galleries based on your Instagram feed, seamlessly bridging the gap between your social media presence and your WordPress site.

This feature is particularly valuable for sharing travel photos, product images, or any content from your Instagram without the need to manually upload them to WordPress. Plus, you can directly link to your Instagram images to help boost your following.

For those working with video content, Envira’s Videos Addon expands its functionality even further. You can create WordPress video galleries from a variety of sources including YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, DailyMotion, Twitch, and VideoPress, as well as self-hosted videos. The addon also supports YouTube playlists, making it very well-suited to content creators.

Pros:

• Comprehensive social sharing options for images and galleries
• Instagram feed integration for easy content sharing
• Versatile video gallery creation from multiple sources
• Customizable button placement and styling
• Mobile-friendly and optimized for performance with lazy loading, automatic resizing, and more.

Cons:

• Primarily focused on image and video-based social sharing
• Only offers dynamic social feeds for Instagram

Who It’s Best For: Envira Gallery is ideal for those who want to combine powerful gallery functionality with social media features. It’s the top choice for photographers, visual artists, content creators, and other visually-heavy site who prioritize showcasing their work in an aesthetically pleasing and interactive manner.

Pricing: Plans start at $39.50 / year.

Aside from social media integration, Envira Gallery offers a ton of other advance gallery features like watermarking, built-in image compression and protection, featured content galleries, eCommerce integration, filterable galleries using tags, client proofing, animations, and so much more!

Get Envira Gallery Now →

2. Smash Balloon

Smash Balloon offers a comprehensive suite of social media integration tools for WordPress, providing 7 individual plugins that cater to different social networks. These plugins can be purchased and used separately or combined into a single feed using their Social Wall feature. The suite includes:

• Facebook Feed: Automatically display your Facebook updates on your WordPress website.
• Instagram Feed: Keep your website fresh with new Instagram content.
• X (Twitter) Feed: Seamlessly integrate X content into your website.
• YouTube Feed: Automatically feed your YouTube channel content to your website.
• TikTok Feed: Boost your followers while displaying fresh content on your website.
• Reviews Feed: Automatically display your best reviews from platforms like Google, Yelp, and more.
• Social Wall: Combine all your social media channels into one single wall to maximize your content.

Smash Balloon plugins are designed with simplicity in mind, allowing users to go from installation to having a functional feed in just seconds. The feeds automatically inherit styles from your WordPress theme, ensuring a cohesive look across your site. With numerous built-in styling and layout options, along with quick and easy customization features, you can tailor your social feeds to perfectly match your site’s aesthetic.

Smash Balloon’s plugins are built from the ground up for optimal performance, and all feed content is 100% SEO friendly. Reliability is a key feature, thanks to intelligent feed caching, a robust backup system, and smart issue reporting alerts.

All in all, Smash Balloon is extremely user-friendly and makes it very easy for visitors to engage with your content. Features like shoppable feeds can drive sales on social media, while testimonials and reviews can boost credibility and conversions.

Pros:

• Comprehensive suite covering all major social networks
• Easy installation and configuration
• Automatically inherits theme styles for cohesive design
• SEO-friendly content embedding
• GDPR compliance options

Cons:

• The setup can take a little while if you’re creating feeds for all the available social networks
• Some users prefer an all-in-one plugin rather than a suite of plugins

Who It’s Best For: Smash Balloon is perfect for website owners and marketers who want to display dynamic social media feeds on their WordPress site. It’s particularly beneficial for businesses and influencers who are active across multiple social platforms.

Pricing: Individual plugins start at $49 / year. The All Access Bundle, which includes all plugins and the Social Wall feature, starts at $299 / year. (There are also free versions available for all the individual plugins).

3. RafflePress

RafflePress positions itself as the best WordPress giveaway plugin, designed to help you grow your email list, increase website traffic, and boost your social media following through viral giveaways and contests. At its core is a user-friendly drag & drop builder that enables you to create successful giveaway campaigns in minutes, without any coding knowledge.

To streamline the process even further, RafflePress offers smart, goal-based workflows and pre-built giveaway templates. These templates are inspired by historically successful giveaway campaigns, allowing you to achieve significant results quickly.

The plugin also includes a bonus action system, where users can earn extra entries by completing tasks like joining your Facebook page. Where possible, these actions are verified via API, ensuring you gain high-quality social media followers with real engagement.

One of RafflePress’s standout features is its built-in viral sharing capability. This feature rewards users with bonus entries for referring friends or sharing your giveaway on social media using their custom referral link, effectively turning your visitors into promoters. The plugin also seamlessly integrates with popular email marketing platforms such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Drip.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use drag & drop builder
• Pre-built templates based on successful campaigns
• Viral sharing features for exponential growth
• Wide range of integrations with social media, email marketing, and CRM platforms
• Fraud protection to ensure fair contests

Cons:

• Focused on giveaways and contests, lacking more common social media features

Who It’s Best For: RafflePress is ideal for businesses and marketers looking to rapidly grow their email lists, social media following, and website traffic through engaging giveaways and contests.

Pricing: Plans start at $39.50 / year (free version available).

4. Shareaholic

Shareaholic is a versatile, free WordPress plugin that goes beyond simple social sharing. It’s designed to help websites of all sizes engage and grow their traffic, market their content, gain insights, and even monetize their audience. Out of all the plugins we tested, it was the best free social media plugin.

What sets Shareaholic apart is its all-in-one approach, offering a suite of tools that work seamlessly together within a single, user-friendly dashboard. One of Shareaholic’s standout features is its highly customizable visual editor for social media buttons. Users can adjust layouts, choose from pre-built themes, modify sizes and alignments, and even create custom color schemes.

The plugin also offers impressive no-code targeting options, allowing you to display social icons only on specific pages or to users on particular device types. You can even control when the buttons appear based on scroll depth or time spent on the page.

Shareaholic prides itself on its lightweight and fast performance, achieved through advanced code optimization techniques like selective and lazy loading. This means the plugin only loads the functionality you’ve selected, and only when necessary, minimizing its impact on your site’s speed.

Pros:

• Highly customizable social media buttons with a visual editor
• Comprehensive suite of tools beyond just social sharing
• Advanced targeting options for button display
• Lightweight and fast
• Built-in analytics and Google Analytics integration

Cons:

• The wealth of features may be overwhelming for users seeking a simple social sharing solution
• Some advanced features may require a paid plan

Who It’s Best For: Shareaholic is ideal for website owners and marketers who want a comprehensive social media and content marketing solution. It’s particularly suited for those who value customization and want to leverage social sharing as part of a broader strategy for engagement, traffic growth, and monetization.

Pricing: Free for all basic features (premium starts at $96 / year).

5. Monarch

Monarch, developed by Elegant Themes, is a versatile and highly customizable social sharing plugin for WordPress. It stands out with its wide array of options for button placement and triggering, making it a powerful tool for boosting social engagement across your website.

Monarch offers support for over 30 social networks and profiles, allowing you to display follow buttons with dynamically updated follower counts. The plugin provides extensive customization options, including various button shapes, colors, hover effects, and icon orientations. You can choose to use native network colors or select your own to match your site’s design perfectly.

One of Monarch’s strengths is its flexibility in button placement. You can add sharing buttons as a floating sidebar, above or below content, on images and videos, as pop-ups, or as fly-ins. Each of these placement options comes with unique features, such as hover styles for sidebars or fade-in effects for media sharing buttons.

Monarch also excels in its triggered display options for pop-ups and fly-ins. These can be set to appear based on various user interactions, such as time spent on page, scroll depth, after commenting, after purchasing, or even when a user shows signs of leaving the page. This level of control allows you to target visitors when they’re most engaged, potentially increasing your social shares and follows.

The plugin integrates seamlessly with the WordPress dashboard, offering an intuitive interface for managing settings, viewing stats, and analyzing data. For Divi Builder users, Monarch’s shortcode feature works well within Divi Text Modules, enhancing its functionality.

Pros:

• Supports over 30 social networks
• Highly customizable button designs and placements
• Advanced triggering options for pop-ups and fly-ins
• Intuitive dashboard for easy management and analytics
• Mobile-friendly design

Cons:

• Requires an Elegant Themes membership, which may be costly if you don’t already use their other products
• Share count can be inconsistent at times

Who It’s Best For: Monarch is ideal for website owners who already use Elegant Themes and want granular control over their social sharing buttons and strategies.

Pricing: Monarch is available as part of the Elegant Themes membership, which starts at $89 / year.

6. Novashare

Novashare is a lightweight and performance-focused social sharing plugin for WordPress. Developed with simplicity and speed in mind, Novashare stands out for its minimal impact on site performance and its optimization for Google Core Web Vitals.

This plugin allows you to add share buttons to your site’s most popular content, including blog posts, pages, custom post types, and even ecommerce products. You can display single or total share counts from various social media networks, encouraging visitors to share your content. Novashare uses inline SVG icons instead of third-party libraries, eliminating additional DNS lookups and improving load times.

The plugin only loads scripts where they’re needed, based on your settings. This targeted approach significantly reduces unnecessary code execution across your site. Additionally, Novashare offers flexible share count refresh rates, with options that balance performance and marketing needs.

The plugin integrates seamlessly with the WordPress interface, using native styling for its settings pages. This familiar design reduces the learning curve for users. Novashare also provides blocks for every feature, enabling on-the-fly previews and customization within the WordPress editor.

Pros:

• Extremely lightweight (under 4 KB on the front-end)
• Performance-focused design optimized for Core Web Vitals
• Uses inline SVG icons for faster loading
• Flexible share count refresh rates
• Native WordPress UI for easy configuration
• GDPR-friendly out of the box

Cons:

• Premium plugin with no free version available
• Lacks advanced features found in more complex plugins

Who It’s Best For: Novashare is ideal for website owners and developers who prioritize site speed and performance. It’s a great choice for those who want a simple, effective social sharing solution without any bloat.

Pricing: Plans start at $24.95 per year for a single site license.

7. Revive Old Posts

Revive Old Posts is a unique WordPress plugin designed to breathe new life into your existing content by automatically sharing it on various social media platforms. This tool is particularly useful for keeping your social media feeds active and driving traffic back to your older, but still relevant, content.

The plugin supports sharing to major social networks including Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile, as well as Tumblr and Buffer integration. One of its key strengths is the ability to share to multiple accounts on each supported network without limitations.

Revive Old Posts offers extensive control over how your content is shared. You can customize share messages, include hashtags automatically from post categories or tags, and even add UTM parameters for tracking. The plugin also integrates with popular URL shortening services and Google Analytics campaign tracking, allowing you to monitor the performance of your shared posts.

A standout feature is the ability to share various types of content, including posts, pages, media items, and custom post types like WooCommerce products. The plugin also allows you to set up content rotation, maximizing their reach over time.

For those looking to streamline their social media workflow, Revive Old Posts can automatically share new content as soon as it’s published. It also offers the ability to filter which content is shared based on tags, categories, or other taxonomies, giving you fine-grained control over your social media presence.

Pros:

• Automates social media sharing of old and new content
• Supports multiple social networks and accounts
• Offers detailed customization of share messages and scheduling
• Includes tracking and analytics integration
• Can share various content types, including custom post types

Cons:

• Free version is limited to Facebook, X, and LinkedIn
• Custom scheduling requires upgrade to Pro version
• May require careful setup to avoid over-sharing or repetitive content

Who It’s Best For: Revive Old Posts is ideal for content creators, bloggers, and small businesses who want to maintain an active social media presence without spending hours manually sharing content. It’s particularly useful for those with a large backlog of evergreen content that they want to keep circulating on social media.

Pricing: Starts at $99 / year (free version available).

8. Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons is a versatile WordPress plugin that offers a wide range of customization options for social media integration. This free plugin allows you to add share icons for various platforms including RSS, Email, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and a ‘Share’ option covering over 200 additional social media platforms.

One of the standout features of this plugin is its flexibility in button functionality. You can configure your social media icons to perform multiple actions. For instance, a Facebook icon can both lead visitors to your Facebook page and offer the option to like your page.

The plugin offers 16 different design options for your social icons (or you can upload your own), allowing you to match your website’s aesthetic. You can also add animations to your icons, such as automatic shuffling or mouse-over effects, to draw attention and potentially increase engagement. Additional features include the ability to make icons ‘float’ or ‘sticky’, add share counts, and display sharing buttons at the end of every post.

For those looking to grow their email list, the plugin includes an option for visitors to subscribe to your blog via email. It also offers a pop-up feature that can be configured to appear on all or selected pages, prompting visitors to follow or share your content.

Pros:

• Free plugin with a wide range of features
• Highly customizable icon designs and actions
• Supports over 200 social media platforms
• Offers animation options for icons
• Includes email subscription and pop-up features

Cons:

• User interface can be complex with settings scattered across different sections
• May have a steeper learning curve compared to simpler plugins

Who It’s Best For: This plugin is ideal for users who want extensive customization options for their social sharing buttons without the need for a premium solution. It’s particularly suited for those who want to combine following, sharing, and visiting actions within the same set of social icons.

Pricing: Free for all core features.

9. Better Click to Tweet

Better Click to Tweet is a specialized WordPress plugin that focuses on enhancing your content’s shareability on X (Twitter). This popular tool allows you to create tweetable quotes within your posts, encouraging readers to share your content with a simple click.

The plugin works by allowing you to embed customizable quote boxes in your content. These boxes contain pre-formatted text that visitors can instantly tweet, along with a link back to your post. This approach offers a more engaging and interactive way to promote social sharing compared to traditional social media buttons.

Better Click to Tweet is designed with ease of use in mind. You can add tweet boxes using either a shortcode or a dedicated block in the WordPress editor, making it accessible for both classic and block editor users. This simplicity allows content creators to quickly highlight key quotes or insights from their posts, increasing the likelihood of social shares.

Pros:

• Simple and focused functionality for X sharing
• Easy to implement with shortcodes or blocks
• Encourages sharing of specific quotes or insights
• Can increase engagement and social shares
• Lightweight plugin with minimal impact on site performance

Cons:

• May not be as useful for sites not focused on X audience
• If you’re not a developer, you may need the premium addon for style customization

Who It’s Best For: Better Click to Tweet is ideal for bloggers, content creators, and businesses who already have a strong presence on X or are looking to grow their audience. It’s useful for those who regularly produce quote-worthy content or want to highlight specific insights from their posts for social sharing.

Pricing: Free for all core features (Premium addon starts at $29.99 / year).

10. Social Warfare

Social Warfare is a comprehensive social sharing plugin for WordPress that aims to increase social media shares and website traffic while maintaining site speed and aesthetics. Social Warfare offers sharing buttons for major social networks including Facebook, X (Twitter), Pinterest, LinkedIn, and more.

For content creators who want precise control over how their content is shared, Social Warfare allows direct management of headlines, descriptions, hashtags, and featured images across multiple social platforms. It also includes content protection through the Frame Buster feature.

This level of control extends to the ability to customize share buttons for different pages and button placement. We loved being able to add floating share buttons that follow readers as they scroll to maximize engagement potential. The plugin also includes features like a Popular Posts widget based on share counts and Click-to-Tweet quotes.

Pros:

• Fast-loading and optimized for performance
• Customizable button designs and placements
• Detailed control over shared content across platforms
• Mobile-responsive design
• Additional features like a Popular Posts widget and Click to Tweet

Cons:

• May impact site speed if many features are utilized, especially on less powerful hosting
• Full feature set requires paid pro version

Who It’s Best For: Social Warfare is ideal for bloggers, content marketers, and businesses who want detailed control over their social sharing options and peace of mind with content protection.

Pricing: Free for all core features. (Premium starts at $29 / year).

Other Free Social Media Plugins that Are Worth Checking Out

11. AddToAny Share Buttons

A lightweight plugin offering a wide array of customizable share buttons for over 100 services, including a universal share button. It features vector icons, counters, and floating share buttons.

12. Feed Them Social

Displays customizable feeds from various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube on your WordPress site.

13. Blog2Social

Automates cross-posting to multiple social networks with customizable posts for each platform. It offers scheduling, re-sharing of old posts, and social media calendar integration.

14. Nextend Social Login

Enables social login for WordPress sites, allowing users to log in or register using their social media accounts, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter.

15. Shared Counts

A fast, lightweight plugin focusing on displaying accurate share counts from major social networks with minimal impact on site performance.

16. Simple Author Box

While primarily an author box plugin, it includes social profile links, making it easy to showcase author social media accounts at the end of posts.

17. Nelio Content

A content marketing plugin that includes social media scheduling and automation features, along with an editorial calendar for content planning.

18. Jetpack Social

Part of the Jetpack suite, this plugin enables automatic sharing of your WordPress posts to connected social media accounts, with options for customizing shared content.

19. WordPress to Buffer

Integrates WordPress with Buffer, allowing automatic sharing of new and updated posts to your connected social media accounts through Buffer.

20. Fuse Social Floating Sidebar

Creates a floating sidebar with social media icons, allowing visitors to easily access your social profiles from any page on your site.

21. Sassy Social Share

Provides a variety of stylish, customizable social share buttons with features like share counts, floating sidebars, and shortcodes for manual placement.

22. MashShare

Offers large, customizable share buttons with real-time share counts and a responsive design, aiming to increase social shares and traffic.

23. Social Icons Widget & Block by WPZOOM

Provides a customizable social icons widget and block, supporting over 100 social networks with various icon styles and sizes.

24. Social Snap Lite

Provides essential social sharing features including floating share buttons, click to tweet, and social follow buttons with a clean, modern design.

25. Super Socializer

An all-in-one social media plugin offering social login, share buttons, and social commenting features with support for over 100 social networks.

Tips for Maximizing Your Social Media Plugin’s Potential

Once you’ve chosen and installed your WordPress social media plugin, follow these tips to get the most out of it:

1. Optimize button placement: Test different locations to find where sharing buttons or embedded feeds perform best on your site.
2. Use eye-catching designs: Choose button and feed styles that stand out without clashing with your site’s design.
3. Enable share counts strategically: If you decide to use a plugin with share counts, display them when counts they’re high enough to provide social proof.
4. Leverage automation: Use scheduling features to maintain a consistent social media presence.
5. Monitor analytics: Regularly check your social sharing stats to understand what content resonates with your audience.
6. Keep it mobile-friendly: Ensure your sharing buttons work well and look good on mobile devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a social media plugin if I already have sharing buttons on my theme?

While many themes include basic sharing buttons, a dedicated plugin often offers more features, customization options, and better performance.

Will adding a social media plugin slow down my website?

A well-coded plugin should have minimal impact on your site’s speed. However, it’s always a good idea to test the plugin’s effect on your load times before committing to it.

Are there any downsides to using social share count plugins?

While share counts can provide social proof, low numbers might discourage sharing. Some plugins offer the option to hide counts below a certain threshold to mitigate this issue.

Integrating social media with your WordPress site is essential for maximizing your online reach and engagement. The right social media plugin can make this process seamless and effective. Whether you choose a comprehensive solution like Envira Gallery for image-heavy sites, or a focused tool like RafflePress for social media giveaways, there’s a plugin out there to suit your needs.

Have you tried any of these social media plugins? Or do you have a favorite that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below!

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If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out The Best Tools to Create Better Images for Blog Posts & Social Media.

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