How to Add Social Media Icons to WordPress

Adding social media icons to your WordPress website is one of the fastest ways to connect your site traffic with your social channels. This guide will walk you through several straightforward methods to get those icons up and running, from using simple plugins to leveraging features already built into WordPress.

Why Add Social Media Icons to Your Website?

Before jumping into the how-to, it’s worth quickly touching on the reason. Placing social media icons on your site isn’t just for looks - it’s a direct line to building a stronger brand and community. Here’s what it accomplishes:

• Turns Visitors into Followers: Someone who enjoys your website content is a perfect candidate to become a follower on Instagram, X, or TikTok. Icons make it effortless for them to find and follow you, bridging the gap between your web audience and your social audience.
• Boosts Social Proof and Authority: Displaying links to active, engaging social profiles shows visitors that you are a legitimate, active brand. It provides social proof that you’re connected with a community, strengthening your credibility.
• Creates a Seamless User Experience: People expect to find social links easily, usually in the header, footer, or sidebar. Meeting this expectation makes your site feel more professional and user-friendly, helping visitors connect with your brand on the platforms they prefer.
• Promotes Your Content More Effectively: By growing your social following, you build a ready-made audience for your latest blog posts, videos, and announcements. Every new follower gained from your website is another person who might see and share your future content.

Method 1: Use a Dedicated Social Media Icons Plugin

For most WordPress users, a plugin is the simplest and most flexible way to add social media icons. Plugins handle all the technical details, offer extensive customization options, and don't require you to touch a single line of code. They are perfect for beginners and anyone wanting a quick, powerful solution.

While there are many great options, Social Icons Widget &, Block by WPZOOM is a popular and straightforward choice that integrates nicely with the modern WordPress editor.

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

First, you need to add the plugin to your WordPress site.

1. From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins → Add New.
2. In the search bar at the top right, type "Social Icons Widget by WPZOOM."
3. When you find the plugin in the search results, click the "Install Now" button.
4. After a few seconds, the button will change to "Activate." Click it to turn the plugin on.

The plugin is now ready to be configured and added to your site.

Step 2: Add Your Social Profile Links

While some social plugins have a central settings page, this particular one is managed directly where you place the icons. This makes the setup process very intuitive. You’ll add your links in the widget or block settings.

Step 3: Place the Icons on Your Site

You can add your new icons to nearly any part of your site, but the footer and sidebar are the most common locations. Both use the widget system.

To add your icons to the footer or sidebar:

1. Go to Appearance → Widgets from your WordPress dashboard.
2. You will see the available widget areas for your theme (e.g., "Sidebar," "Footer Column 1," "Footer Column 2"). Click the "+" (Add Block) icon in the widget area where you want the icons to appear.
3. Search for the "Social Icons by WPZOOM" block and click to add it.
4. The block will appear in the widget area. You can now start adding your social profiles by choosing from the list of over 400 icons. Simply click "Add an Icon" to select your platform and paste your profile URL.
5. Repeat this process for each social profile you want to display. As you add links (e.g., https://instagram.com/yourusername), the icons will automatically appear.
6. Click the "Update" button at the top right to save your changes.

Step 4: Customize the Look and Feel

One of the biggest benefits of using a plugin is the ability to easily change the appearance of your icons. With the Social Icons by WPZOOM block selected, look at the block settings panel on the right-hand side.

Here you can adjust things like:

• Icon Styles: Choose from various designs (solid, outlined, colored, etc.).
• Icon Size and Shape: Make icons larger or smaller, and change their shape from square to rounded or circular.
• Alignment: Align the icons to the left, center, or right of their container.
• Link Behavior: Make sure to enable the "Open links in a new tab" option. This is essential for keeping visitors on your site.

Play around with these settings until the icons perfectly match your website's branding.

Method 2: Use Your Theme's Built-in Social Media Feature

Many modern WordPress themes come with a built-in feature for adding social media icons, usually located in the header or footer. This is the cleanest and most performance-friendly method because it doesn't require an extra plugin. The icons are designed to match your theme perfectly, creating a seamless look.

Step 1: Locate the Social Links Option in the Theme Customizer

1. From your dashboard, go to Appearance → Customize. This will open the live WordPress Customizer view.
2. Look for a menu option labeled "Social," "Social Media Links," or "Social Networks."
3. Sometimes, this setting is nested inside other menus like "Header Options," "Footer Options," or "General Settings." Take a moment to browse the different sections if you don't see it immediately.

Step 2: Add Your Social Profile URLs

Once you find the social settings, you will typically see a series of input fields for different social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok). Simply paste the full URL of your profile into the appropriate field. Most themes will automatically detect the platform and display the correct icon.

If your theme doesn't show a field for a specific social network you use, it may not support it out-of-the-box. In that case, using a dedicated plugin (Method 1) is a better approach.

After adding your URLs, you should see the icons appear in the live preview window, often in the site header or footer.

Step 3: Save and Publish Your Changes

When you are happy with how the icons look, click the "Publish" button at the top of the Customizer to make your changes live on your website.

Method 3: Use the Native WordPress Social Icons Block

WordPress has its own default "Social Icons" block, which is perfect for adding icons directly within your page or post content. This method is great for adding social links to an "About Us" page, a contact page, or in an author bio at the end of a blog post.

Step 1: Edit a Page or Post

Open the editor for any page or post where you want the icons to appear. Click anywhere in the content area to add a new block.

Step 2: Add the "Social Icons" Block

Click the blue "+" icon to browse for a new block. In the search bar, type "Social Icons" and select it from the results. An empty container for your icons will be added to the page.

Step 3: Add and Link Your Social Icons

Inside the empty block, you will see another "+" icon. Click it to bring up a list of available social network icons. Click on the one you want to add, like Facebook. An unlinked Facebook icon will appear.

Click on the new icon, and a small toolbar will pop up. Paste your Facebook profile URL into the field and click the "Apply" arrow. The icon is now linked. To add more icons, simply click the "+" icon to the right of your existing icons within the block and repeat the process for networks like Instagram, X, TikTok, and others.

Step 4: Customize the Block's Appearance

Like any other WordPress block, the Social Icons block has customization options in the settings sidebar on the right. With the main block (the outer container) selected, you can change:

• Justification: Align the icons left, center, or right.
• Icon Style: Choose between "Default," "Logos only," and "Pill shape."
• Colors: You can set a custom color for the icons themselves and for their background.
• "Open in new tab": Click on each individual icon and toggle this option on to prevent users from leaving your website.

Customize these settings until they fit seamlessly with the surrounding content, then update or publish your page.

Best Practices for Your Social Media Icons

Just adding the icons is the first step. To make them truly effective, follow these simple best practices:

1. Choose the Right Placement

Where you place your icons matters. The most effective locations are typically:

• Footer: Almost everyone expects to find social links here. It's a standard, non-intrusive spot.
• Header: Placing icons in the header (usually as small, secondary navigation items) makes them highly visible across your entire site.
• Author Bio Box: If you run a multi-author blog, let readers connect with individual writers by placing icons in their bios.

2. Less is More

Don't overwhelm visitors by linking to every social media profile you've ever created. Display icons for the 3-5 platforms where you are most active and engaged. Listing a profile you haven't updated in six months is worse than not listing it at all. It signals that your brand may not be active and can harm your credibility.

3. Match Your Branding

Your icons shouldn't stick out for the wrong reasons. Use the customization options available (either in your plugin or theme) to match the icon style, color, and size to your website's overall design. A consistent visual appearance looks professional and reinforces your brand identity.

4. Always Open Links in a New Tab

This is the golden rule. When a visitor clicks a social icon, it should always open in a new browser tab. If it opens in the same tab, you've just sent a visitor away from your website. You want them to follow you on social and stick around on your site. Nearly every tool or setting mentioned above has a checkbox for "Open in new tab." Make sure it's enabled.

Final Thoughts

Adding social media icons to your WordPress site is a simple task with a big payoff. Whether you use a flexible plugin, your theme’s built-in options, or the native WordPress block, you can have them up and running in minutes, creating a critical link between your website and your social communities.

Now that your visitors can easily find your social profiles, keeping those channels filled with consistent, engaging content is the next move. Speaking from experience, I know how chaotic it can be to manage content planning, scheduling, and community engagement across multiple platforms. To make that whole process smoother, we built Postbase from the ground up to handle today’s social media reality - short-form video, scheduled Reels, and all the content formats that drive growth right now. It helps you keep your content calendars full and your audience engaged without the clunky feeling of older tools.