Nata Leto
Flo Instagram Rebuilt & Enhanced | Meet Flo Social.
IMPORTANT NOTE: FloSocial has been discontinued. If you use a Flextheme, here’s an alternative plugin to showcase your Instagram feed on your site. If you use a Classic theme, please consult this tutorial.
As photographers, we know how much you value and appreciate the possibility to link your Instagram account to your website, display your most fresh work and invite potential clients to connect with you and follow your work on Social Media. Since we care about the experience you have with each and every Flo product, and also because so many of you have been asking for the possibility to add multiple Instagram accounts to your site – we decided to rework and rebuild our Flo Instagram plugin. Please meet FLO SOCIAL. More enhanced, more intuitive, more design options.
Why rename it?
- That’s a requirement by Instagram.
What’s new in Flo Social?
- You can add multiple Instagram accounts to your site.
- We’re removing the token authentication system. Hence, no more token-reissue related errors.
- More advanced integration of the plugin with WordPress Gutenberg.
How to update your Flo Instagram plugin to Flo Social
If you want to fully enjoy Flo Social’s new design and features, you need to update your theme to its latest version, then update your Flo Instagram plugin. After the update the name of the plugin will change to Flo Social everywhere inside your dashboard. You can still find it under the Plugins tab and in your sidebar.
After updating, you’ll notice that the plugin’s dashboard got more user friendly and intuitive + we developed multiple features that we’re sure you will enjoy.
- Add as many Instagram accounts as you need to your dashboard, so you can easily choose which ones to display on certain pages of your website. You no longer require a token to authenticate your account, which makes the process simpler and eliminates the token reissue errors that some of you were struggling with.
Note: All Instagram tokens will expire at the end of the year. - When you add multiple accounts to your dashboard, you’ll notice that one of them is labeled as Master, this account is taken as default by the plugin and displayed on your site pages.
- The Make Master option allows you to mark a different account as the default one.
- The Refresh option allows you to preview (6) the current feed for a certain account.
- The option to Get a Shortcode triggers a pop up to open, that allows you to generate a shortcode and add it to any page to display your Instagram account. Read more about this below.
- A simple and fast way to preview the current live feed of any of the Instagram accounts linked to your Flo Social plugin
How to add your Instagram feed to your site
There are 4 ways you can add your Instagram feed to your site pages. Some options may not be available depending on the theme you have. For Legacy users – only the Shortcode and Widget options are available.
Via your Footer Layout
You can access your footer settings via Flotheme → Footer → Instagram Area, and scroll till the Flo Instagram Selector section. Choose the account you want displayed as default from the dropdown menu. This though allows you to showcase only 1 account at a time.
Note: themes that include the Custom Footer Layout are: Cannes, Evora, Fiji 2, LVY 2, Milea, Narcisse, Porto 2, Rosemary 2.
Custom Footer Layout
If you have one of the themes that include the Custom Layout option inside the footer block, you can easily tweak what account is displayed for each page individually. Simply enable the Custom Layout option inside your footer block and choose the needed account from the dropdown menu. This is particularly helpful if you offer various services or products, have separate pages for them, and individual Instagram accounts. Note: themes that include the Custom Footer Layout are: Cannes, Evora, Fiji 2, LVY 2, Milea, Narcisse, Porto 2, Rosemary 2.
After enabling the Custom Footer Layout, go into the Instagram Area tab to find the dropdown menu under the Flo Instagram Selector.
Via a Shortcode
In your Flo Social plugin’s dashboard, select the option Get Shortcode for the Instagram account you want to display on your site or a specific page (explained earlier under #5). Clicking on it will trigger a pop-up window to open. It includes various styling options that allow you to customize the way your Instagram feed will look on your page.
Select the styling options you want and copy the shortcode. Access the page where you want to display this Instagram account, paste the code into a WP content block or Text block. Move this block to the bottom of your page. Done. Repeat this if you want to show more than one account on your page. Experiment with how you want them displayed – how many images in a row, how many rows, what crop size, or have them displayed in original size, etc. Get creative with showcasing even your favorite vendors this way. Here’s an example.
Via Widgets
You can also add your Instagram feed to your website via a widget. All you have to do is access your Appearance → Widgets, choose the Flo Social widget and drag it into the widget area that you need.
Once you click on the Flo Social widget, a form similar to the ones before expands, with various styling options that you can choose from. It uses the Master account as default, but you can pick any other from the dropdown menu under Users.
Via a Gutenberg Block
If you have updated and are using Gutenberg on your site, you will be able to select Flo Social via your Gutenberg blocks, as shown below:
Once you add the FloSocial block, you’ll see all the settings on your left side bar, just like with all other Gutenberg blocks. Choose your settings and needed Instagram account and click on Update. Done. The beauty of this option, is that it easily allows you to add your Instagram feed to both, pages and posts.
Final Word
We hope you’ll be as excited about this new version of your Flo Instagram plugin as we are – now called Flo Social. Try out the 4 different ways to add your Instagram feed to your site, experiment with different layouts and be sure that your website visitors and potential clients will always find a simple and easy way to connect with you on social media.
