If you run a brand, Instagram can be a storytelling tool for building it, finding an audience, and getting conversions. If your brand also has a website, you can leverage all your great Instagram content to make it look even better. For WordPress websites, that means using the top Instagram feed plugins.
Using an Instagram feed plugin can help you boost engagement on your website, improve its style, and help you build trust with visitors. Being able to check your Instagram posts from your site can help a lot of people overcome concerns about trusting brands they don’t know.
In this article, we’ll dig deeper into the benefits of integrating Instagram with your site, what features to look for in an Instagram feed plugin, and our top recommendations. Let’s get to it!
What are the benefits of using an Instagram feed plugin?
The main benefit of using an Instagram feed plugin is that it enables you to leverage your social media content on your site. Instagram lets you embed some of its content on the web, but it doesn’t give you any control over how it looks.
Here’s a quick example of how a real Instagram feed, created with a feed plugin, can look on your website:
Those images are Instagram posts and reels, all part of the overall website’s design and aesthetic using Spotlight. Here’s how Spotlight and other Instagram feed plugins can help you:
- Increase engagement. Ideally, visitors will spend as much time as possible on your site. That’s possible if your website is highly engaging and adding Instagram content to it can help you get there.
- Re-use content. If your brand is already spending time creating content for social media, it makes sense to repurpose it for other channels, like your website.
- Boost your site’s design. Instagram is built around the idea of making your images and videos look amazing. It stands to reason adding Instagram content on your site can help it look even better.
Some Instagram feed plugins also give you access to a lot of cool features. For example, Spotlight enables you to create shoppable feeds. Which we’ll cover in the next section.
Key features to look for in an Instagram feed plugin (and how to choose one)
There are a lot of strong WordPress Instagram feed plugins to choose from (and other social media plugins in general). A big part of which tool you use should depend on what features you really need and which User Interface (UI) you’re more comfortable using.
Putting personal preferences aside, here’s what we recommend that you look for in a plugin to integrate Instagram with WordPress:
- Customizability. You want to be able to customize how Instagram content and entire feeds look on your website. This is so you can create feeds that fit into your site’s aesthetic.
- Mobile responsiveness. Instagram is a mobile-first social media platform. Any Instagram content on your site should also look great on mobile devices. If it doesn’t, it can be due to the plugin you’re using to import the content.
- Performance. Instagram plugins can have an impact on your site’s performance. The best plugins minimize that impact as much as possible to keep page loading times fast.
- Moderation tools. You may not want to share all of your Instagram content on the brand’s website. The best Instagram feed plugins provide you with moderation options to decide what content to include or exclude.
- Shoppable feeds. If you run an e-commerce site, shoppable feeds enable you to link users to product pages from an Instagram feed. This gives you a new way to promote products across your site.
- Analytics integration. You should be able to measure how visitors engage with Instagram content on your website. Analytics tools enable you to do this and they’re a must for Instagram plugins.
When considering what plugin to choose, think about the features you need. For example, if you care about customizing how feeds look and you want a high degree of design customization, you’ll want to consider Spotlight.
You may want to focus on finding the plugin that offers the more user-friendly experience or the best features on a budget (or for free). In the next section, we’ll go over all the information you need to choose the right WordPress Instagram feed plugin for your project.
5 top Instagram feed plugins for websites
These are the Instagram feed plugins that we recommend for most users. We’ll discuss the unique features each plugin offers, so keep reading.
1. Spotlight
Spotlight is a user-friendly plugin that enables you to set up Instagram feeds. These feeds can combine posts, reels, and stories, from one or multiple Instagram accounts. The plugin gives you full control over how feeds look and what happens when visitors click on an item.
The free version of the plugin gives you access to all of those features and you can use it to put together stylish Instagram feeds. Some advanced features, like the option to set up shoppable feeds or feed analytics, are only available with a premium license. Purchasing Spotlight also enables you to choose from several more feed layout options.
Key Features:
- Live preview customizer. Adjust layouts, colors, and image spacing, and see updates instantly.
- Multiple layouts. Choose from grid, carousel, highlight reels, and more.
- Hashtag support. Curate your feed based on specific hashtags or mentions.
- Tagged post display. Pull in posts where your account has been tagged.
- Shoppable feeds. Perfect for e-commerce brands looking to tag products in posts.
- Responsive design. Automatically adapts to any screen size.
- Analytics integration. Track feed performance from the WordPress dashboard.
- Performance optimization. Lazy loading ensures your feed doesn’t slow down your site.
Price: There’s a free version and premium licenses start at $59 per year.
2. Smash Balloon
Smash Balloon makes it easy to display Instagram feeds on your WordPress site without much fuss. You can connect Instagram accounts and show posts in different layouts like grids, carousels, and masonry. The plugin automatically updates your feed with new posts and includes built-in caching to keep things running smoothly. It also offers customization options, letting you tweak colors, spacing, and layout styles to match your site’s design.
Key Features:
- Multiple layouts. Display feeds in grid, carousel, masonry, or other styles.
- Customizable design. Adjust colors, spacing, and layouts to match your website.
- Multiple feeds. Show different Instagram feeds on various pages or sections.
- Shortcode integration. Easily place feeds anywhere on your site with shortcodes.
Price: There’s a free version available. Premium licenses start at $49/year.
3. Tagbox
Tagbox is a full-on social media aggregator plugin. If you need to display content from multiple platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, this tool makes it easy to bring everything together in a unified feed. Brands and businesses can use it to showcase user-generated content, run hashtag campaigns, and even create shoppable Instagram galleries.
The downside here is that the free version of Tagbox only supports a single feed and it includes ads. If you want to do away with ads and set up more feeds, you’ll need to sign up for a premium monthly subscription.
Key Features:
- Multi-platform feeds. Display content from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms in combined feeds.
- Shoppable feeds. Tag products in Instagram posts for direct purchases.
- Advanced moderation. Filter posts by keywords, hashtags, or user content.
- Analytics dashboard. Track impressions, clicks, and conversions.
- Customizable layouts. Choose from multiple layouts for your social media feeds.
Price: The base plugin is free and there’s a free basic plan too. Premium plans start at $17/month.
4. Social Feed Gallery
Social Feed Gallery is a user-friendly WordPress plugin designed to seamlessly integrate your Instagram feed into your website. The plugin offers customizable layouts to help you get your Instagram feed looking how you want.
The premium version of Social Feed Gallery includes features like support for multiple Instagram user accounts, masonry and highlight gallery layouts, boxed mode with customizable colors and borders, and the option to display user profile avatars and custom descriptions.
Key Features
- Versatile layouts. Choose between multiple layouts to match your site’s aesthetic.
- Optimized performance. The plugin uses caching to minimize requests and reduce loading time.
- Customizable lightbox. Display your content with a customizable lightbox on your website.
- Responsive design. Ensures your feed looks great on any device, from desktop to mobile.
Price: There’s a free version of the plugin. Premium plans start at $49/year.
5. Easy Social Feed
Easy Social Feed lets you display Facebook and Instagram posts directly on your WordPress site with minimal setup. Whether you want to showcase posts, images, or videos, the plugin provides multiple layout options, including grids, carousels, and masonry. A built-in live customizer makes it easy to adjust colors, spacing, and design elements in real time, so your feed blends in with your website.
The premium version unlocks features like shoppable Instagram feeds, visual moderation for curating content, and an advanced popup that lets users view media without leaving the page. It also includes additional layout options, post filtering, and comment displays for a more interactive feed.
Key Features
- Multiple layouts. Choose from multiple feed layout styles.
- Live customizer. Adjust colors, spacing, and layouts in real-time.
- Advanced popup. Display images and videos in a popup without redirecting visitors.
- Visual moderation. Filter and control which posts appear on your site.
Price: Free version available. Premium plans start at $24.50/year.
Conclusion
If Instagram is a key component in your marketing strategy (and it should be), it makes sense to use all that great content on your site as well. Instagram feed plugins help you integrate the social media platform with WordPress and set up feeds to show off your best content.
If you’re still on the fence about which Instagram feed plugin to choose, here’s a quick recap:
- Spotlight. A beginner-friendly plugin with a live preview customizer and multiple layout options. Great for users who want full control over design and features like shoppable feeds and feed analytics.
- Smash Balloon. A well-optimized Instagram feed plugin that offers multiple layouts and caching for performance. Ideal if you need a simple, reliable solution with shortcode support.
- Tagbox. Best suited for businesses and brands looking to aggregate social media content from multiple platforms. Includes advanced moderation, shoppable feeds, and analytics.
- Social Feed Gallery. A lightweight plugin that lets you display Instagram posts with customizable layouts. Works well for those who want a straightforward setup with a focus on performance.
- Easy Social Feed. Supports both Facebook and Instagram, offering customization options, popups, and shoppable feeds. A good choice if you want to display content from both platforms.
Ultimately, the best Instagram feed plugin depends on your specific needs—whether that’s customization, e-commerce integration, or multi-platform support. With the right plugin, you can make your website more engaging, visually appealing, and better connected to your social media presence.
If you want to set stylish, modern, and fully customizable Instagram feeds for your WordPress website, try Spotlight. Check out the Spotlight plans and get to work on a new feed today!
