Social share buttons for WordPress, explained step by step

Everything about social share buttons on WordPress: adding them, choosing networks, sticky bars, mobile, styling, speed, privacy and short links.

1. 01How to add social share buttons to WordPressAdd social share buttons to WordPress with a plugin, a block, or plain links in your theme. Placement, networks, counts and the checks to run afterwards.4 min read
2. 02Which share networks to show, and how manyHow to choose which social share buttons to display: match networks to your audience, keep the row short, and add copy link, email and messaging options.3 min read
3. 03Sticky and floating share bars: when they helpSticky share bars and floating sidebars keep buttons visible while readers scroll. Where to place them, when they hurt, and how to avoid layout shift.3 min read
4. 04Share buttons on mobile: layout, size and native sharingMake share buttons work on phones: tap target sizes, one-line rows, bottom bars, the native share sheet, and how to show different buttons on small screens.3 min read
5. 05Highlight to share: letting readers share selected textHighlight to share lets readers select a sentence and share it with a link back. How it works, when it helps, accessibility concerns, and a lightweight setup.3 min read
6. 06Click to tweet boxes: how to build them in WordPressBuild a click to tweet box in WordPress with a block or a simple link. Wording, the 280 character limit, how links are counted, and how to style the quote.3 min read
7. 07Follow prompts, like bars and share popupsAfter-share follow prompts, Facebook like bars and share popups: what they were, which still work, and how to ask for a follow without annoying readers.3 min read
8. 08Styling share buttons with CSSStyle WordPress share buttons with CSS: override colours and text safely, keep focus states, use one icon style, and match your theme in both modes.3 min read
9. 09Share buttons and page speedWhy some share buttons slow WordPress pages and others cost almost nothing. How to measure the impact, and what to change to keep sharing fast on every page.3 min read
10. 10Share buttons and GDPR: what needs consentWhich share buttons need consent under GDPR and ePrivacy rules, why plain share links usually do not, the two-click pattern, and privacy policy wording.3 min read
11. 11Bitly short links for share buttons: getting an access tokenHow to get a Bitly access token for your WordPress share buttons, where to paste it, why short links fail, and when you do not need short links at all.3 min read

How social share counters get their numbers, why counts break or disagree, Facebook access tokens and app IDs, the Graph API, and tracking shares yourself.

1. 12How share counts work, and why most networks stoppedHow Facebook and other networks calculate share counts, why X, LinkedIn and others removed them, what a share counter really shows, and how plugins fetch it.3 min read
2. 13Facebook share count: getting it from the Graph APIHow to get the Facebook share count for a URL from the Graph API, why the old REST API stopped working, rate limits, and how plugins should cache the result.3 min read
3. 14Share count not updating or not accurate: a fix listShare counts stuck, stuck at zero or wrong? Work through tokens, caches, cron, URL variants and rate limits in order, and why you should never add fake shares.3 min read
4. 15How to create a Facebook access tokenCreate the right Facebook access token for share counts and plugins: user, page and app tokens compared, how long each lasts, and how to keep the token safe.3 min read
5. 16How to create a Facebook app IDCreate a Facebook app ID for share counts, the fb:app_id tag and sharing plugins: the dashboard steps, the settings that matter, and vanishing like buttons.3 min read
6. 17Tracking shares and pageviews in analyticsTrack share button clicks as analytics events, tag shared links with campaign parameters carefully, and read shared traffic in referrer reports without cookies.3 min read

Open Graph tags decide the title, text and image networks show when your pages are shared. Setup in WordPress, image sizes, Twitter cards and wrong previews.

1. 18Adding Open Graph tags in WordPressAdd Open Graph tags to WordPress with an SEO plugin or theme code: the four required tags, image tags, per-post overrides, and how to avoid duplicate tags.3 min read
2. 19Facebook showing the wrong image or share textFix Facebook showing the wrong image or text when you share a WordPress post: duplicate tags, small images, cache, blocked crawlers, and the Sharing Debugger.3 min read
3. 20Twitter cards on X: tags and testingSet up Twitter card tags so links to your WordPress posts show a large image on X: the summary_large_image card, fallbacks to Open Graph, sizes and testing.3 min read
4. 21Open Graph image size: 1200 by 630 and the safe zoneThe right Open Graph image size is 1200 by 630 pixels at a 1.91:1 ratio. Minimums, file limits, formats, and a centre safe zone for square crops.3 min read

MashShare was a WordPress share buttons plugin sold here until it closed in 2025. What it was, what happened, and what to do if your site still runs it.

1. 22MashShare add-ons: what each one didA plain record of the MashShare add-ons and licences once sold on this domain, what each feature did, and where to find a current guide to the same feature.3 min read
2. 23MashShare alternatives: choosing a replacement share pluginMashShare was closed in 2025. How to choose a replacement share plugin: features to compare, questions to ask, and when plain links are the better answer.3 min read
3. 24Removing MashShare cleanly from a WordPress siteRemove MashShare from WordPress without breaking posts: find leftover shortcodes and theme calls, decide what to do with stored share counts, and clean options.3 min read

Short, practical WordPress notes that share plugins keep running into: troubleshooting order, deprecated function notices, and replacing WP-Cron with real cron.

1. 25Fixing the get_currentuserinfo() is deprecated noticeWhat the get_currentuserinfo() is deprecated notice means, how to find the plugin or theme calling it, and the one-line fix using wp_get_current_user().3 min read
2. 26External cron jobs for WordPress, the right wayReplace WP-Cron's visit-triggered schedule with a real server cron job: disable WP-Cron, call wp-cron.php or WP-CLI on a schedule, and check tasks actually run.3 min read
3. 27Plugin troubleshooting: what to try firstTroubleshoot a WordPress plugin problem in a safe order: caches, conflicts, debug logging, recovery mode, and disabling a plugin when the admin is down.3 min read