Overview #
Social profile links are static, clickable buttons that direct users to your various social media profiles. These links offer a simple way for visitors to connect with you on platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. They function similarly to the buttons found in the Social Followers counter module of the Easy Social Share Buttons plugin for WordPress, but with a key difference: there’s no need to configure any access details or integrate third-party APIs for tracking follower counts. If you wish to display the number of followers for each profile, you can manually input those values, providing flexibility without the need for complex setups or dependencies. This makes social profile links an efficient, low-maintenance way to promote your social presence while keeping your website clean and streamlined. Whether you’re running a personal blog, business site, or portfolio, these links ensure that visitors can easily find and follow you across your social platforms.
The social profile links may not appear in the plugin’s menu if the module is not activated. If that’s the case, go to ‘Activate/Deactivate Features‘ and enable the ‘Social Profile Links’ under the Social Features section.
Enabling and Setting Up Social Profile Links #
To start using social profile links on your site, you need to enable the module through the settings. You can do this from the Profile Links menu.
Once the module is activated, you’ll have several options for adding the profile buttons to your site. You can display them automatically as a sidebar or content bar, or use a widget, shortcode, or page builder element. Before you proceed with adding the buttons, however, you’ll need to select the networks you wish to display.
From the available network list, choose the ones you want to include. You can easily reorder the networks by dragging and dropping them. Once you’ve finalized your selection, head to the Networks menu. Here, for each selected network, you’ll be able to set your profile address and optional call-to-action text.
In addition to the call-to-action text, there is also a field where you can specify the number of followers for each network. If you choose to display follower numbers, the call-to-action text can be customized to reflect this. For example, if you set the follower count for Facebook to 1,000, you could enter “Likes” or “Followers” as the call-to-action text, depending on your preference.
The call-to-action text (accompanied by an icon) is used when you choose a design with text, or it can serve as alternative text for your links. We recommend filling out this field in your preferred language. If left blank, the plugin will automatically use default text.
A few additional options for the profile buttons are available in the General Settings:
- Include alternative text to the profile links – Recommended if you optimize your website for accessibility. It will add an alternative text to all social profile links showing the name of the social network.
- Add rel=”me” instead of rel=”nofollow” to the buttons – The rel=”me” attribute in HTML is used to indicate that two URLs refer to the same person or entity. It’s particularly useful for linking social media profiles back to a main website, helping search engines verify ownership and establish a stronger connection between different online identities. Recommended if you are linking only social profiles connected with your website.