How to Embed an Instagram Feed on a Shopify Website

Displaying your Instagram feed directly on your Shopify store is a powerful way to turn website visitors into engaged followers and customers. It’s a dynamic and visual way to add social proof, keep your content fresh, and encourage sales. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do it, covering the easiest app-based methods and solutions for manual embedding, so you can choose the right path for your brand.

Why Should You Embed Your Instagram Feed on Shopify?

Before getting into the how-to, it’s worth understanding why this is such a valuable feature for e-commerce stores. Integrating your Instagram feed isn’t just about making your website look prettier, it’s a strategic business move that can have a real impact on your brand perception and bottom line.

Boost Social Proof and Build Trust

Your Instagram feed often showcases your products in a real-world context. Seeing photos of other customers using and loving your products is the ultimate form of social proof. This user-generated content (UGC) builds an incredible amount of trust and authenticity. New visitors see that real people are engaging with your brand, which can ease purchase anxiety and make them feel more confident about buying from you.

Increase Follower Count and Cross-Platform Engagement

Not every visitor to your Shopify store is already following you on Instagram. Embedding your feed creates a clean bridge between your website and your social media presence. Visitors can see your latest content and follow you with a single click, without ever needing to leave your site. This simple connection helps you grow your social audience organically from your existing website traffic.

Keep Your Store Content Fresh and Dynamic

A static website can quickly feel outdated. An embedded Instagram feed is a source of ever-changing content that automatically updates every time you post. This keeps your homepage or product pages looking fresh and active, signaling to visitors that your brand is thriving and current. It’s an effortless way to ensure there’s always something new to see, encouraging repeat visits.

Create a Shoppable Gallery to Drive Sales

Many modern methods for embedding an Instagram feed allow you to create a "shoppable gallery." This means you can tag products from your Shopify store in the corresponding photos within the feed. When a visitor sees a product they like in an Instagram photo on your site, they can click directly on it and be taken to the product page to make a purchase. This shortens the path from inspiration to conversion, turning your visual content into a direct revenue driver.

The Easiest Method: Using a Shopify App to Embed Your Feed

For most store owners, the fastest, simplest, and most feature-rich way to add an Instagram feed is by using a specialized Shopify app. The Shopify App Store is filled with incredible tools designed specifically for this purpose, and they require no coding knowledge whatsoever. These apps handle the difficult connection work with Instagram’s API and give you powerful customization options right inside your Shopify admin.

Step-by-Step: Installing and Configuring an Instagram Feed App

While each app is slightly different, the general setup process is very consistent. Here's a general walkthrough of what you can expect.

1. Find an App in the Shopify App Store: Navigate to the Shopify App Store and search for terms like "Instagram feed," "social feed," or "shoppable Instagram." You’ll find popular and highly-rated options like Instafeed, Foursixty, or Taggbox Widget. Read the reviews, check the pricing, and look at the feature lists to find one that fits your needs and budget.
2. Install the App: Once you've chosen an app, click the "Add app" button and approve the installation on the following screen. This will add the app's interface to your Shopify admin dashboard.
3. Connect Your Instagram Account: The first thing the app will ask you to do is connect your Instagram account. Because Instagram is owned by Meta, you'll likely need to authenticate through Facebook and connect an Instagram Business Profile that is linked to a Facebook Page. The app will guide you through this authorization process. It's usually just a few clicks.
4. Customize Your Feed's Appearance: This is the fun part! The app will present you with a dashboard where you can design how your feed looks. Common customization options include:
   • Layout: Choose between a classic grid, a horizontal slider, or a collage-style layout.
   • Columns and Rows: Decide how many posts you want to show at once (e.g., a 4x2 grid would show 8 posts).
   • Content Source: You can choose to display your own feed, or you can pull in posts based on a specific hashtag. Displaying UGC from a branded hashtag is an excellent way to showcase social proof.
   • Post Information: You can toggle on or off elements like the number of likes, comments, post captions, and the "Follow on Instagram" button.
   • Hover Effects: Configure what happens when a user mouses over an image, such as an icon appearing or the caption showing up.
5. Add the Feed to Your Store: Most modern apps work seamlessly with Shopify’s Online Store 2.0 themes. This makes placement incredibly easy. Go to Online Store >, Themes >, Customize. In the theme editor, navigate to the page where you want the feed to appear (like the homepage). In the left sidebar, click "Add section" and look for the name of the app you just installed (e.g., "Instafeed App" or "Social Feed Grid"). Click it to add the feed, then drag and drop the section to position it where you want.

Pros and Cons of Using an App

• Pros: Incredibly easy to set up, requires zero coding, offers rich visual customization, often comes with advanced features like shoppable tags and hashtag filtering, and includes dedicated customer support if you run into trouble.
• Cons: Many of the best apps come with a monthly subscription fee (though some have free plans with limited features). An improperly coded app could potentially have a minor impact on your site's loading speed.

The Free Manual Method: Using an Embeddable Widget

If you're on a tight budget or only need a very basic feed, you can use a third-party widget generator. These are web-based tools that connect to your Instagram account, help you create a feed, and then provide an HTML code snippet you can paste into your Shopify site. This method is free for basic use cases but requires a bit more hands-on work.

Step-by-Step: Generating and Placing the Widget Code

1. Choose a Widget Generator: Search for a tool like LightWidget or Elfsight's free Instagram feed widget. They offer free plans that are perfect for a simple display, though they may include the provider's branding.
2. Sign Up and Connect Your Account: You'll need to create an account with the widget service and then authorize access to your Instagram profile, similar to how you would with a Shopify app.
3. Design Your Feed: The customization options may be less extensive than a paid Shopify app, but you can typically still control the layout, size, background colors, and padding of your feed. Configure it to match your site's aesthetic.
4. Generate the Code: Once you're happy with the preview, the tool will provide you with a block of code. This is usually made up of a <,div>, and a <,script>, tag. Copy this code to your clipboard.
5. Embed the Code in Shopify: Now, go to your Shopify admin. Decide where you want the feed to appear.
   • On a Page or Homepage: Go to Online Store >, Themes >, Customize. Find or add a "Custom Liquid" or "Custom HTML" section. Paste the code you copied into the text box provided in the theme editor.
   • In a Blog Post or Product Description: When editing the page, look for a button that shows HTML view (usually an icon that looks like <,>,). Click it, and paste your code snippet where you want the feed to appear.
6. Save and Preview: Save your changes and view your live site to make sure the feed is displaying correctly. You may need to go back to the widget generator's settings to adjust the width or height to get it looking just right.

Pros and Cons of This Method

• Pros: Free for basic functionality, gives you precise control over placement using HTML, and is generally lightweight.
• Cons: A more manual process, free plans often include branding from the widget provider, fewer customization options, and no shoppable features or direct integration with your Shopify products.

Best Practices: Making Your Instagram Feed Work for You

Once your feed is up and running, there are a few things you can do to make sure it's as effective as possible.

• Placement is Everything: Don't bury your feed in the footer. Feature it prominently on your homepage to capture attention immediately. Other great locations include a dedicated "Shop Our Instagram" page or even on specific product pages to show how that product is used in the wild.
• Curate a High-Quality, On-Brand Feed: Remember, the content you display on your store directly reflects on your brand. Maintain a consistent aesthetic on Instagram that matches your website's design. Use high-resolution images, stick to a color palette, and make sure your feed tells a cohesive story.
• Embrace User-Generated Content: Actively encourage your customers to use a specific branded hashtag (e.g., #BrandNameStyle). Use an app that allows you to filter and display posts with that hashtag. This fills your feed with authentic social proof and makes your customers feel like part of your community.
• Check Mobile Performance: The majority of your Shopify traffic likely comes from mobile devices. After embedding your feed, always check how it looks and functions on a smartphone. Make sure the images are sized correctly and that it’s easy to interact with on a smaller screen.

Final Thoughts

Embedding your Instagram feed on your Shopify store connects your social presence with your e-commerce platform, building trust and helping drive sales. Whether you choose a user-friendly app or a manual embed code, adding this dynamic social content is a fantastic way to keep your site fresh, authentic, and engaging for every visitor.

Of course, a beautiful feed on your website starts with having great content on Instagram itself. Consistency is everything when you're building a brand, and that's where we wanted to make life easier. We designed Postbase to be the simplest visual planner and scheduler, so you can map out all your Reels, Stories, and posts in one clean calendar. It helps you build a cohesive, high-quality feed you’ll be proud to showcase on your store.