InstaShow “Source” Tab and How to Customize Instagram Content

This is the first guide in the upcoming articles about InstaShow tabs. It will describe you the tab, which role can be hardly overestimated conformably to the use of your Instagram feed. Today we will tell you how to use “Source” settings section.
Share:
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share on WhatsApp
Copy Link
InstaShow “Source” Tab and How to Customize Instagram Content
Our Instagram plugin InstaShow has plenty of adjustable parameters, which you can manually customize as you want and, as a result, embed Instagram feed to your website with a unique look. We thought that it might be useful for our customers if we describe in detail all tabs presented in our plugin so that you can easily settle all settings and customize needed parameters.

Set Desired Instagram Sources to Start

Settings of our Instagram Feed Widget plugin include several tabs grouped according to relevant functions. The very first tab is “Source” that has a major role in the functioning of the whole Instagram plugin. It allows user to customize flexibly his content and to set Instagram sources, from which photos will be shown in his Instagram gallery.
Instagram Feed Source Tab
InstaShow source tab in action
After clicking on the concerned tab you will see the following settings:
  • Instagram sources
  • Filter
  • Limit photos
  • Cache media time
There are three available types of sources, which you can freely set in the Instagram sources field:
Create amazing galleries combining all three sources as you want.
  • @username – show photos from desired public Instagram accounts
  • #hashtag – display all images, which can have the similar signs
  • photo URL – choose any photo noticed in Instagram and paste its URL to the source field
Yet your eyes scatter from photos and variations of groups, which you can include in your Instagram feed for website? Keep calm! The next section will describe major possible cases in order to understand InstaShow source functionality.

Main Use Cases of “Source” Tab

Let’s view several major variants of adjusting “Source” tab, which you can easily implement on your website. Note that you can arrange cases listed below or think out your own approach to this tab.

1. Display Photos from Your Instagram Account on Website

Insert your username and show your portfolio on the website. In this case, your account should be public. Post photos in Instagram and they will be automatically shown on your website. Following this way, you will attract new audience to your Instagram account (as a result, increase the number of your followers) and entertain audience of your website (as a result, more interactions and views of the site).

2. Show Photos with Specific Hashtag

Sometimes companies and brands promote marketing campaigns through specific hashtags so that their customers could participate in the life of the community and post photos with such hashtags. You can show all photos with a corporate hashtag on your website so that all your customers will be able to share their photos (let’s say photos with your branding products) behind a wide Internet audience. Doing so you can definitely increase audience engagement on the website.

3. Show All Photos with Specific Topic

Show all photos you’d like due to the needed topic, which fits your website. For example, you can find several cool accounts and hashtags showing the beauty of the wild life and display them on your web page. You can also include separate photo URLs in your list.

Source Option

Be free to set any combination of sources for displaying the best there is. Source is one of the most important thing for Instagram plugin. If you can’t fill your photo gallery in full extent then it doesn’t make sense in using it.
Instagram Feed Source Option
Instagram feed source option
InstaShow doesn’t constrain the number of usernames and hashtags. Add the exact number of sources as you want.

Filter Option

There are two filters, which can come in handy while moderating your Instagram feed for website. You can set as many conditions, as you want. If you’d like to add one more filter, then click “Add condition” and enter desired usernames, hashtags and photo URLs.
Instagram Feed Filter Option
Instagram feed filter option
2 types of filters – twice more opportunities to organize the WP Instagram Feed on website.

Except

Show photos except those, which relate to the undesired usernames or hashtags. You can also delete photos from your Instagram feed one by one inserting its URL. Note that you can set as many sources as you want in the filter field.

Only

Show images that comply needed requirements. Note that if you set several, for example, hashtags at once, you will see photos, which necessarily include all mentioned hashtags. That’s why don’t overwork yourself with sources, as you can possibly get no photos.

Limit Photos

This option is very particular for the ordinary usage of our Instagram feed on a website. You are able to constrain the number of loaded images in the Instagram grid.
Instagram Feed Lim Option
Instagram feed limit option
Simply set the required number of latest photos which you would like to share. You can do this if, for example, you don’t want to show the old content on the web page.
Tip: Set “0” to show all photos. Less photos means faster speed!

Cache Media Time

You can increase the speed of gallery’s functioning with the help of the cache media time. It specifies how often the plugin addresses to Instagram in order to update the content, for example: new photos, comments, number of likes and other information.
Instagram Feed Cache Option
Instagram feed cache media time option
Photos are cached in a browser of each visitor of your web page with InstaShow – in other words, it’s a client cache. When someone opens your photo feed for the first time, all data are uploaded from Instagram and then they are cached in user’s browser. In case of reloading InstaShow page or visiting for the second time photos and all related data will be loaded from cache.
Tip: If you don’t upload new photos very often in your Instagram account and you don’t have holy wars in comments, then we recommend you to set Cache Media Time as 43 200 seconds.

Get Our Support

Stay tuned to our blog, as we are going to publish more guides for our plugins.
That’s all what we wanted to show you today. Hope our guide would come in handy and there will be new ways to improve your Instagram feed InstaShow. If you have any kind of questions concerning our InstaShow plugin or “Source” tab in particular, then reach us via Elfsight Support Center. We will make everything clear!

Learn More about InstaShow in Our Guides

  1. InstaShow “Source” Tab Guide
  2. InstaShow “Sizes” Tab Guide
  3. InstaShow “UI” Tab Guide
  4. InstaShow “Info & Style” Tabs Guide (coming soon)
Instagram Feed InstaShow Preview