How do I connect my social media accounts to my website?
How social media feeds work on your website
Social media feeds on Innermedia-built websites are powered by third-party plugins or widgets — usually Smash Balloon (for Facebook and Instagram feeds), Elfsight, or a similar service. These tools create a connection between your website and your social media account, then display your latest posts automatically.
Because these connections are live, they can occasionally need refreshing — particularly after a password change, account update, or when the platform itself makes security changes.
Connecting your Instagram feed
Using Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard (your website address + /wp-admin).
- In the left-hand menu, look for Instagram Feed or Social Photo Feed and click on it.
- Click Add Source or Connect an Instagram Account.
- A pop-up will appear — click Connect with Instagram and log in with your Instagram credentials.
- Once authorised, your feed should appear in the preview. Click Save Changes.
Connecting your Facebook feed
Using Smash Balloon Social Feed:
- In the left-hand menu, look for Facebook Feed and click on it.
- Click Add New or Connect a Facebook Page.
- Click Connect with Facebook and follow the prompts to log in and give permission for the plugin to access your Page.
- Select the Facebook Page you want to display and click Next.
- Click Save Changes once the feed is configured.
Connecting your Twitter / X feed
Twitter (now X) feeds are often handled differently due to changes in the Twitter API. If your website displays a Twitter feed, it was most likely set up via Elfsight, a Twitter widget, or directly embedded from Twitter's own tools.
If your Twitter feed has stopped working, this is most likely due to Twitter/X's ongoing API changes. Get in touch and we'll assess the best option for your site.
What to do if your feed stops showing
If a social media feed suddenly disappears or stops updating, it almost always means the connection needs to be refreshed. Here's what to check:
- Has your social media password changed recently? — Changing your password disconnects all linked apps and websites. You'll need to reconnect the feed.
- Has your account been updated or migrated? — Moving from a personal to a business account, or changing your username, can break the connection.
- Is the plugin or widget up to date? — Outdated plugins can lose compatibility with the latest social media APIs. Contact us if you think this might be the issue — it's not something to update yourself without checking first.
For Instagram specifically, see our separate guide: How do I reconnect or fix a broken Instagram feed?
Can't find the feed plugin in your dashboard?
If you can't see a social feed plugin in your dashboard, it's possible the feed is managed through an external service like Elfsight, or is embedded via a code snippet that was set up by our team.
In this case, get in touch and let us know which feed isn't working and which page it's on — we'll investigate and sort it for you.
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