The Complexity of Sharing on WordPress

As we step into the digital era, sharing information online has become a common practice, thanks to social media platforms that provide efficient and easy ways to share ideas globally. If you’re a blogger or content creator, sharing your content on social media can expand your outreach, increase your exposure, and drive more traffic to your website. But, how do you enable easy sharing of your blog posts on WordPress? The solution is simple – social media share buttons. This article will guide you on how to put share buttons on WordPress, but be warned – it’s not as straightforward as you might think.

Step 1 – Installing a Social Share Plugin

Plugins are great – they add new functionalities to your website with a single click. To enable social share buttons on your WordPress blog, make sure to install and activate a social share plugin. Now, there are several social share plugins available in the WordPress plugin repository, but do you know which one to choose? Have no fear, just pick any, ShareThis, AddThis, or Jetpack – they all do the trick.

To install the plugin, go to the WordPress dashboard and hit “plugins”. Then, click “Add New” and search for your plugin of choice. Once you find it, click “Install Now” and “Activate”. It’s that simple.

Step 2 – Configuring the Plugin Settings

Now that you have a social share plugin, it’s time to configure it. This step is where things can get a bit complicated. While most social share plugins allow you to choose from a wide range of social networks, change the design of the share buttons, and decide where the share buttons should appear, the process of configuration varies depending on the plugin you’re using.

To access the plugin settings, go to the WordPress dashboard and click on “Settings.” Once there, look for the social share plugin settings, which should be under the “Sharing” or “Social” menu. Good luck!

Step 3 – Adding Share Buttons to Your Blog Posts

Trust us, you’re not done yet. After configuring the plugin settings, the final step is to add the social share buttons to your blog posts, but how do you do that? Well, most social share plugins come with two options: automatic and manual placement. Sounds easy, right? Well, sort of.

Automatic placement will add the social share buttons automatically to your blog posts, while the manual option lets you add the share buttons wherever you want. If you choose the manual option, you need to use the plugin shortcode – a piece of code that lets you add dynamic content anywhere on your website, including social share buttons. You can place the shortcode to the beginning or end of your blog posts, on a sidebar widget, or even on your website’s header or footer.

The shortcode may differ depending on the social share plugin you’re using. Don’t worry, though, most plugins provide the shortcode in the plugin settings under the “Shortcode” option. Just copy and paste it wherever you want, and voila. Easy peasy.

Step 4 – Advanced Settings

Finally, things are getting exciting. Most social share plugins come with advanced settings that let you customize the social share buttons further. For example, some plugins allow you to track how many shares a post receives, add social proof, or display the share buttons only on specific pages.

To access the advanced settings, take a deep breath and go to the plugin settings, and look for the “Advanced” or “Customize” option. From there, you can tweak the settings to suit your needs – or just ignore it all and hope for the best.

Conclusion

Adding social share buttons to your WordPress blog can significantly increase your content’s outreach with minimal effort, but don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy. To recap – to enable easy sharing of your blog posts, install and activate a social share plugin, configure the plugin settings, and add the social share buttons to your blog posts manually or automatically using a shortcode. It’s that simple, or so they say. Good luck.