How to Put Social Media Links on a Website

Placing social media links on your website is one of the quickest ways to connect your online presence and turn casual visitors into loyal followers. This guide will walk you through exactly where to put those links, different methods for adding them to your site, and the best practices to make them as effective as possible.

Why Your Website Needs Social Media Links

Before jumping into the "how," let's briefly cover the "why." You've worked hard to get people to your website, giving them a path to your social profiles might seem counterintuitive. Shouldn't you keep them there? Not necessarily. Integrating your social media serves several important functions:

• Builds Community and Trust: New visitors can see that you have an active community around your brand. A lively Instagram or LinkedIn page acts as powerful social proof, showing that you’re engaged, current, and trusted by others.
• Cross-Promotes Your Content: Your website might host your blog, portfolio, or products, while your social media is home to daily updates, behind-the-scenes content, and promotions. Linking the two creates a richer brand experience and gives your audience more ways to connect with your story.
• Grows Your Audience: A person who lands on your blog from a Google search might leave and never return. But if they follow you on X or Instagram, you have an opportunity to engage them again and again, turning a one-time visitor into a long-term fan.
• Increases Brand Consistency: Prominently displaying your social media links reinforces your brand identity across all platforms, creating a seamless user experience.

Where to Place Your Social Media Links for Maximum Impact

Where you put your social media icons can significantly affect how many people click them. You don't need to put them everywhere, but placing them in a few strategic locations ensures they’re visible without being distracting. Here are the most effective spots.

1. The Website Footer

This is the most common and expected place for social media links. Users instinctively scroll to the footer for "secondary" information like contact details, privacy policies, and social links. It’s non-intrusive and serves as a natural endpoint for their journey on a page.

Why it works: Anyone who scrolls to the bottom of your page is likely engaged with your content and looking for what to do next. Placing icons here captures their interest at a key moment.

2. The Website Header

Placing small, subtle icons in the top bar of your website header keeps them constantly visible, no matter which page a visitor is on. This is prime real estate, so it's best suited for brands where social media is a primary channel for communication and customer engagement.

Why it works: Immediate visibility. The header is the first and last thing people see on your site, making it a powerful spot for a call-to-action. Just be sure the icons don’t compete with your main navigation, like "Shop" or "Contact."

3. "About Me" or "Contact Us" Page

A visitor browsing your About page is actively trying to learn more about you or your brand. This is the perfect time to invite them to connect on a more personal level via social media. Add your links alongside your contact information, mission statement, or bio.

Why it works: You’re connecting with an audience that has already demonstrated high interest in who you are. Offering a social connection here feels personal and relevant.

4. The Blog Sidebar

If you have a blog, the sidebar is a fantastic place for a dedicated social media section. You can use standard icons or embed a social feed widget (like your Instagram grid) for a more dynamic look. It keeps your profiles top-of-mind as readers enjoy a post.

Why it works: It's visible alongside valuable content, prompting readers who enjoy your article to follow you for more updates without having to search for the links.

5. Author Box

For websites with multiple writers or guest contributors, the author box at the end of an article is a great spot to include personal social media links. This allows readers to connect directly with the writer of a piece they enjoyed, building both the author's and the brand's network.

Why it works: It’s specific and targeted. Readers can follow the specific voices and experts they find most valuable on your platform.

How to Add Social Media Links to Your Website: 3 Methods

Now for the hands-on part. There are several ways to add social links to your site, ranging from super simple to a bit more technical. Pick the one that matches your comfort level and website platform.

Method 1: Use Your Website Builder's Built-in Features

Platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify know how important social media is. Most of them have dead-simple, built-in blocks or sections for adding social media icons. This is the easiest and most reliable method for most users.

Example Steps for WordPress (Gutenberg Block Editor):

1. Navigate to the page or template part (like the header or footer) where you want to add the links.
2. Click the '+' (Add Block) icon.
3. Search for the "Social Icons" block and add it to your page.
4. Once the block is added, click the '+' icon within the block itself to choose which social media platform you want to add. A list of popular platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn will appear.
5. Select your platform. An icon will appear.
6. Click on the icon and paste the full URL to your social media profile in the box that appears. (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/your-username).
7. Repeat the process for all your profiles. In the block's settings panel on the right, you can customize the icon style, color, and size.

Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify have very similar drag-and-drop or block-based functionalities. Look for a "Social Links" or "Social Icons" element in their page editor.

Method 2: Use a Dedicated Plugin or App

If your website builder's default options feel too basic, or if you're using a platform like WordPress.org, a plugin can offer more customization. Plugins often come with more icon styles, animation options, and placement settings (like floating sidebars).

Popular WordPress Plugins for Social Media Icons:

• Social Icons Widget & Block by WPZoom: Offers a huge library of icon sets and plenty of customization options.
• Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed: Goes beyond links by allowing you to embed a fully customizable (and clickable) Instagram feed on your site.
• Shared Counts: Focuses primarily on social share buttons but also includes simple options for follow icons.

Shopify users can find similar tools, called "apps," in the Shopify App Store. The installation process is typically straightforward: install the plugin/app, configure the settings (add your profile URLs and choose a design), and use a shortcode or widget to place it on your site.

Method 3: Add the Links Manually with HTML

For those comfortable with a little bit of code, adding your social media links manually offers total control over their appearance and placement. This involves writing basic HTML for the links and then styling them with CSS. You'll also need icon images, which you can download as SVGs or PNGs, or use an icon font library like Font Awesome.

Here’s a basic HTML snippet. You would place this in an HTML block, your theme's template file, or a widget area.

<,!-- Basic Social Media Links in HTML -->,
<,div class="social-links">,
<,a href="https://www.instagram.com/your-username" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="Visit our Instagram page">,
<,img src="/path/to/your/instagram-icon.svg" alt="Instagram Icon">,
<,/a>,
<,a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-company" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="Visit our LinkedIn page">,
<,img src="/path/to/your/linkedin-icon.svg" alt="LinkedIn Icon">,
<,/a>,
<,a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@your-username" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="Visit our TikTok page">,
<,img src="/path/to/your/tiktok-icon.svg" alt="TikTok Icon">,
<,/a>,
<,/div>,

A couple of important notes on the code above:

• target="_blank": This is critical. It forces the link to open in a new browser tab, so users don't navigate away from your website.
• rel="noopener": This is a security measure that should always be used with target="_blank".
• Don’t forget the alt text on the images for accessibility. This helps screen readers understand what the image represents. The aria-label attribute on the link itself adds even more context for assistive technologies.

Best Practices for Your Social Media Links

No matter which method you choose, follow these quick rules to get the best results:

• Keep It Simple: Don't display links to ten different profiles. Stick to the 3-5 platforms where you are most active and engaged. Quality over quantity.
• Use Official Brand Icons: Stick with the recognizable, official logos for each platform. Users are looking for the familiar Twitter "X," the Instagram camera, or the Facebook "f." Don't make them guess.
• Match Your Brand Style: Use the settings in your website builder or CSS to customize the icon colors to match your brand's palette. They should look like they belong on your site, not like they were pasted on as an afterthought.
• Choose a Sensible Size: The icons must be large enough to notice and tap easily on mobile devices but not so large that they dominate the page.
• Always Test Your Links: After you've added your links, click every single one to make sure it goes to the correct profile. A broken link is worse than no link at all.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your social media profiles to your website is a simple but powerful way to build a cohesive brand. By strategically placing icons in your header, footer, and other key areas, you create an effortless path for your audience to engage with you everywhere you have a presence.

Once you start driving more traffic to your profiles, keeping up with comments and DMs across all those apps can be a lot to handle. As a team that’s run social for a long time, we designed Postbase to solve this by bringing all your engagement into one unified inbox. We make it easy to manage your community without the chaos of app-switching so you never miss another conversation again.