WPZOOM's Instagram Widget is a popular middle-ground option that includes essential Instagram features without overwhelming users with dozens of settings. It's frequently mentioned alongside more expensive alternatives in "best of" lists, typically ranking around #4 or #5 in most comparisons.
But is it the right plugin for your site? Let’s find out in this detailed review article.
Supported Feed Types and Integration
WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget offers a straightforward way to connect your Instagram content with your WordPress site.
The plugin offers flexibility in how you display your Instagram presence, supporting both Instagram photos and videos.
It allows you to showcase feeds directly from your own Instagram account. While the free version supports connecting one account per website, the Pro version lets you connect multiple Instagram accounts. This means you can create individual feeds for each account or even combine posts from different profiles into a single, unified feed.
Now, when it comes to integrating these feeds within WordPress, WPZOOM's Instagram widget provides several common and convenient methods:
- Shortcodes: A widely used method, the plugin provides shortcodes that allow you to embed your Instagram feed almost anywhere on your WordPress site, including within posts, pages, or even sidebar areas.
- Gutenberg Block: The plugin is fully compatible with the WordPress Block Editor. You get a dedicated block, which means you can easily add and customize your Instagram feed right within the editor.
- Widget: You can add your Instagram feed as a standard widget to sidebars, footers, or any other widgetized area of your theme. This makes it one of the most flexible solutions for creating compact, attractive galleries, positioning it among the best WordPress Instagram gallery plugins.
- Page Builders: The plugin works well with popular WordPress page builders like Beaver Builder, Elementor, and Divi. You can typically use their built-in shortcode or text editor widgets to insert your Instagram feed.
While WPZOOM offers multiple methods to add feeds to your website, it's important to understand that it supports only account feeds. This means if your strategy requires displaying hashtag feeds, tagged posts, or Instagram Stories, this plugin might not be the best fit for your website.
Ease of Use
WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget focuses on an intuitive setup process. Installation is straightforward, as it follows the typical process you'd use for any WordPress plugin.
Once it’s installed, connecting to an Instagram account is also straightforward. You can choose to connect either via a Facebook page or directly through your Instagram account. A popup window then guides you through granting the necessary permissions and automatically generating an access token for you. This action saves you from the complex manual process.
After your account is connected, creating and customizing your feed is also very user-friendly. You’ll find three tabs at the top bar that present customization options in the sidebar. Most of these options are self-explanatory and come with clear descriptions, which means you can easily adjust various design and display settings without guesswork. For example, you can easily modify the number of columns in your grid, select from different layouts, customize the widget header, or fine-tune colors.
It also provides a real-time preview, allowing you to see how your feed will look on your website before you publish it. This instant feedback helps you make design decisions quickly and confidently.
Customization Options
WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget offers a good range of customization features and allows you to make your Instagram feed look exactly the way you like.
When it comes to layout and design, the plugin provides multiple options for displaying your Instagram gallery. You'll find choices like a standard Grid arrangement or a simple Full-width display. The Pro version includes additional layouts such as Masonry and Carousel layouts. You also get control over elements like the number of columns in your grid layout and the padding around individual items.
The plugin even includes an option to let you choose higher resolution settings to improve your image thumbnails.
When it comes to content display, WPZOOM allows you to personalize what information appears with your posts. You can customize the entire Instagram widget header. For your account information, you have the option to add a custom avatar and bio directly within the dashboard, and you can toggle the display of your account name, username, or various bio details.
The Pro version takes this further, allowing you to display follower counts and a verified badge in your feed's header.
The plugin also includes useful interactive features. You can enable the image lightbox feature to let visitors preview Instagram content in a pop-up without leaving your site. You can also choose to display a "View on Instagram" button directly below your feed.
Lastly, you have options for color and style. You can customize the button and background colors of your feed to match your website's overall vibe.
While the plugin offers a great mix of features between its free and Pro versions, it's important to note that a key interactive element, the "Load More" button, comes with the Pro version only. This means the free version cannot display a continuous stream of posts, instead limiting your feed to a set number. It also doesn’t include moderation and filtering options to let you choose what posts show up in your feed.
Performance
WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget includes several performance features to ensure your Instagram content displays efficiently without bogging down your site.
The plugin is built with lightweight code to deliver a beautiful Instagram feed without adding unnecessary bulk to your website. It further optimizes performance by integrating lazy loading for images and only loading CSS and JS code on pages where the gallery is active.
Unlike other plugins that process your feed from the Instagram CDN server, WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget downloads the images to your server. This means that they can work with your image optimization plugin as well performance caching plugin. This also reduces the number of direct requests your website needs to make to the Instagram API, making the plugin a solid choice if performance is a key concern for you.
SEO
WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget includes a few features that directly contribute to your site’s SEO. For example, you’ll find that it automatically adds ALT text for images using the content found in the caption of the post.
Beyond that, you’ll find some indirect features that contribute to SEO. It displays fresh and regularly updated content on your site, which signals to search engines that your website is active and relevant.
Moreover, similar to other Instagram feed plugins, it helps you add an engaging social feed to your website. It uses a lightbox, which encourages visitors to spend more time on your page or interact with your content. This helps improve user engagement metrics, which are factors search engines evaluate.
Price
WPZOOM offers both a free version and several paid (Pro) plans to fit different needs and budgets. All paid plans are billed annually and vary based on the number of licenses.
Here’s a clear look at the pricing structures for the Social Feed Widget:
| Plan | Annual Cost | Sites Included |
| Starter | $49 | 1 |
| Professional | $69 | 3 |
| Business | $99 | 10 |
WPZOOM also offers broader bundles that include the Instagram Widget along with all their other premium themes and plugins. Its Lifetime All Access Pass costs $599 and includes unlimited licenses and lifetime updates.
The free version of the Social Feed Widget provides core features like compatibility with the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg) and shortcode embedding. You can connect one Instagram account per website and display feeds in a Grid and Full-width layout. It also includes a popup lightbox for photos and videos, and basic customization for feed, colors, and headers.
Summary: Is WPZOOM's Instagram/Social Feed Plugin Right For You?
As we wrap up our detailed look at WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget, let's decide if it's the right plugin for your WordPress site.
Compared to some of the more feature-rich plugins we've previously reviewed, WPZOOM only covers essential Instagram display needs. Its strength lies in simplicity, as you get an easy setup process and a familiar interface, all managed directly within your WordPress dashboard.
Unlike some other plugins, WPZOOM only specifically supports account feeds. This means if your social media strategy requires showcasing hashtag feeds, tagged posts, or a wider variety of content sources, this plugin won’t cover your other needs.
WPZoom Instagram Widget — Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to create an Instagram feed widget?
The Elevated Instagram Feed plugin lets you create your Instagram feed directly within your WordPress dashboard. Install the plugin, connect your Instagram account through the wizard, and follow the guided steps to customize your template, filters, layout, and styling. Once complete, use the generated shortcode to display your feed anywhere on your site, including WordPress sidebar widgets.
2. How to embed an Instagram feed on WordPress without plugins?
Embedding an Instagram feed on WordPress without installing a dedicated plugin typically involves using Instagram's native "Embed" feature for individual posts, where you copy and paste a direct code. Alternatively, you can use cloud-based services like Elfsight that provide a unique HTML/JavaScript snippet to embed the feed on your site.
3. How to get the Instagram embed code?
For WPZOOM's Social Feed Widget, you don't typically "get" a separate embed code in the traditional sense. Instead, once you've created and customized your feed within the plugin, it generates a shortcode you can use. You can also use its dedicated Gutenberg block or utilize the built-in WordPress widget for direct embedding.
