How To Add Instagram To Shopify

Many e-commerce companies post pictures and encourage community engagement on this social network these days, but surprisingly only a handful of them embeds social content on their Shopify page. Planning and creating stunning Instagram Feed takes a lot of sweat, so it makes sense to unlock the potential of that content on your Shopify website. You can also check our full Instagram integration guide for any CMS.

3 Options For Integration

Shopify has many options for Instagram integration, which allows you to add an Instagram feed to your website, post pictures on your Shopify store, or share products on Instagram Stories.

Method 1: Third-Party Social Plugin

Meta’s internal services do not provide an out-of-the-box plugin that would allow integration of the content from your Instagram profile. So if you want to embed hashtag feeds or your Instagram account content, you need to use third-party plugins. 

These plugins work by allowing you to link your account and then embed a unified gallery and feed of your recent Instagram posts, the content you want to share or specific hashtags. This is an easy and hassle-free option for beginners, and you should check out the easy-to-use integration solutions available today. Elfsight offers any user the ability to create a custom Instagram Feed plugin and embed it in their Shopify website free of charge for testing.

Start with creating the Instagram Feed for your Shopify site!

Why is the Elfsight Instagram Feed plugin one of the best on the market?

• No programming knowledge or designing skills required – anyone can create a personal Instagram Feed app and embed it on any website builder or e-commerce CMS (including Shopify).
• Free professional customer service – If customers have problems with the setup, support experts are always available and will install the plugin on your Shopify store for free.
• Not necessary to register an account – you mustn’t login to the service to access the full functionality. Investigate the power of the plugin in an online demo.
• All devices supported – Fully responsive and mobile friendly interface that looks good on any screen and device.
• Adaptable plugin interface – you can disable anything to keep your feed minimalistic or create a developed Instagram section for Shopify with header, CTA button and other elements.
• Different layouts and templates available – customizable rows and columns and numerous other settings. You can add content by URL, hashtags, and username.
• Try and embed Instagram Feed for free – if you decide to use Shopify app permanently, the pricing is reasonable, and you really can use the plugin at the cheapest tariff plan.

Method 2: Add Individual Posts Manually

You may want to perform the integration of individual images and form custom feeds on your Shopify website. While this is easy, it can become cumbersome over time as you have to embed certain posts over and over again. This means that every time you create a new Instagram post, you have to go back and edit your embed if you want it to show the most recent posts. For most people who post daily, this would be a big deal for little value.

Embedding a single Instagram post is easy. 

1. Just navigate to the post and select a 3 dot menu button in the top left corner. 
2. You will see several options including Embed. Tap  this option. 
3. Copy the data shown in the pop-up window.
4. Next, paste this installation code from your Instagram post into a custom HTML block on your Shopify website and it will  automatically become an embed.
5. Done! The process is that simple. You can add several Instagram posts this way to a website to create your own feed.

You can also add additional parameters, e.g., specify the width of the post, hide the captions, and only show the image.

Method 3: Develop Custom Code

If you are tech savvy and able to code, you also have the option to create web applications yourself. You’ll need to request an authentication token, which will grant you access to the official API (and this is where things get tricky for most programmers).

First, Instagram does the process of changing its API after multiple data leaks. There is an accelerated plan to drop Instagram API in favour of Facebook’s Graph API. The potential result you should expect from this step is removing the ID that allows you to collect photos from other users.

One problem with creating your own Shopify Instagram plugin is that you also have to update it yourself as the platform makes changes. This means that any Instagram change will make your app  unavailable until you can update the code. This re-embedding and re-application can take days or weeks, leading visitors to think your site is incomplete.

How To Embed Instagram Feed To Shopify

Now, when you have got the Instagram Feed code, it’s time to add it to your Shopify website. Embedding a app on the home page is really easy and any internet user with average skills can do it. You will work in an online editor with an intuitive interface to create a plugin that best suits your Shopify use case and website design. Just follow the instructions of the detailed guide below.

1. Register at the service
2. Go to the editor to create your own plugin.
3. Design your Instagram feed.
4. Get installation code.
5. Proceed to your Shopify Admin Board

Sign up for an account with Elfsight to gain access to your admin panel. There you can copy the code of the Instagram plugin for installation. First you need to connect your Instagram profile to the Feed app interface or enter a hashtag to add the content. Then choose one of two types of filters – exclude by source and show only specific sources.

Next, play around with numerous customization and functionality options. You can create walls, grids, carousels, and slideshows that display the images. Change the number of posts shown, hide items, change the colour theme, and more. Click the ‘Add to Website’ button and copy the code that appears in the pop-up window. After you’ve copied the code of your created Instagram Feed, go to your Shopify account to embed it there in a custom section.

Instagram Feed Templates for Shopify

Instagram Feed Templates help to embed an engaging feed on your website so that users will want to explore more about what you have to offer on your Shopify site. And even if they don’t buy anything from you today, there is always the chance that they will want to come back and make a purchase in the future.

Instagram Hashtag Feed

The feed that combines all the hashtags that are related to your post or account on Instagram and you can embed them to use as needed for your Shopify marketing campaign or just for getting new followers who might be interested in your product or service

Instagram Profile App

There are many ways in which you can use embedded Instagram feeds to promote your brand and grow your audience. One of them is through the integration of the Instagram profile on your e-commerce site on Shopify. This way, you can link the products on your site to the corresponding posts on Instagram Feed.

Instagram Grig

This Grid template of Instagram app presents the feed pictures in a minimalistic manner. This is done to accentuate the images of your products and make them look like a unified gallery or portfolio embedded on your Shopify website.

Small Instagram App

This small embedded app can fit into a sidebar area  or footer of your Shopify website. It would help you to use your page space wisely, showcase your social media feed, presence and activity, and gain more Instagram followers

Where To Place Instagram Feed On Shopify Website

While many products from well-known global and local brands are highly compatible with Instagram, there is currently no easy way to link to every post with your Shopify site. The only clickable link available on Instagram is in the profile description. 

Although there are many business tools and web applications for Instagram, the question for web designers remains: How to seamlessly embed Instagram feed and posts in web design using simple code? The number one way to integrate social content into Shopify web design is by embedding a plugin. Integration is more consistent with a theme that blends well with your current products and web design colours.

Method 1: Inspiration Page

While a simple Instagram timeline is also called a feed, a whole page of your website can be connected to your Instagram account without the need to create any additional content. Many brands use this technique as a Style Book Page for their Shopify products.

Method 2: Product Catalog

Another option to use Instagram content is creating a page by embedding there your feed with a strong sales focus. Titled Buy Our Catalog Online, the purpose is clear even before a user lands on the page. If the user clicks on the images, a list  with links to the displayed products appears, which leads them directly to the purchase on Shopify.

Method 3: What Our Customer Say

Our digital lifestyle has made Influencers and word of mouth hyperactive. That means  customer retention is becoming increasingly important for brands everywhere. Create a unified hashtag feed of Instagram posts and comments combined into one section and connected to the Shopify homepage. Stimulate your clients to post their pictures with your hashtag to gain more wonderful content for free. This way users would feel part of something bigger than themselves.

Method 4: Featured Products

The integration of a shoppable Instagram feed on your Shopify website can be an example of a Like2Buy page where your visitors can easily view the beautiful photo content and land on the product webpage with a single click. This makes the conversion to purchase much easier and the user experience for the customer makes the overall experience more enjoyable. 

Who Needs the Instagram Feed

Five percent of users on Instagram act after being inspired by a post, whether it’s a purchase, donation, purchase, sharing, or visiting a website. Why not use that conversion rate to your advantage? Using your Shopify homepage to drive traffic to your social media platforms will increase your influence on social networks, especially photos-sharing platforms. 

Local and Niche Brands: The algorithm of Instagram platform can be tricky, especially for small businesses and extremely niche brands, but if you have a working website, you can easily get the profile views and likes you need. Adding your social profile feed to the Shopify website builds trust with your readers and adds credibility and authenticity to your brand.

Startups and Growing Businesses: Your readers will see your consistent and strong social media presence and  feel more connected to you. And the added benefit of potential sponsors and/or partners seeing your curated and unified Instagram feed will only bring additional revenue streams to your brand. 

Beauty and Fashion Industry Brands: The embedded visual content works wonders for the aesthetics of your page, especially  a well-curated section. You can easily draw more benefits from an image and get amazing  web content. Via integration of your Instagram feed and posts, customers also get an up-to-date portfolio page on Shopify. It’s a great way to showcase your services or lifestyle brand. 

Distributors and resellers: Another benefit of integration of the Instagram Feed plugin is  testimonials of your brand in the form of comments. It’s a manageable way to build trust with your customers and keep up a regular stream of unofficial testimonials. This keeps your Shopify start page clear.

Conclusion

Embedding Instagram Feed on a website is extremely beneficial for your business. It’s a great way to build a community and a loyal customer base, boost trust, demonstrate authenticity and increase sales. It doesn’t require a huge investment of time and money and can be automated through Elfsight social aggregation tool for Shopify. Therefore, it is  recommended to embed the unified Instagram posts feed on your website to add vibrancy, creativity and interactivity.

Above we gave you  some effective  ways to easily display Instagram feeds and posts on Shopify website. Now it’s time to consider how you can leverage this networking content for your visitors. This will encourage users to spend more time on your page and start interacting with  responsive content. The integration of Instagram feed is the perfect opportunity for your brand to generate leads, increase conversions, and increase brand awareness.