Simple Follow Buttons

FAQ

Where are the settings?

In your dashboard under Follow Buttons. It is a top-level menu item, not under Settings.

I picked a network but nothing appears on my site. Why?

A network is only rendered once you give it something to link to. Open Set Follow URLs on the settings screen and fill in your username or page for that network. Networks with an empty field are skipped rather than linking to an empty profile.

What do I put in the follow URL field?

Just the part that comes after the address shown beside the field. For example, enter sharethis for Facebook and the button links to https://www.facebook.com/sharethis.

A few networks have no fixed address, so paste the complete profile URL instead: Mastodon, ResearchGate, WeChat, Bandcamp and Google Maps. The Email button takes an email address.

Can I put the buttons somewhere other than my posts and pages?

Yes, in three ways:

• The Follow Buttons widget, for sidebars and other widget areas.
• The [sfb] shortcode, anywhere shortcodes are allowed.
• Turn off Pages and Posts under Locations and use only the shortcode or widget.

How do I hide the buttons on one particular post?

Add the [sfb_hide] shortcode anywhere in that post’s content. The buttons are left off that post, while every other post is unaffected.

Can I change the colours?

Yes. Leave the colour fields empty and every network keeps its own brand colour. Fill any of them in – button, button hover, icon or icon hover – and your choice is used for every button instead. The preview on the settings screen updates as you type, so you can see the result before saving.

What happened to the image sets and the custom image uploads?

Version 2.0.0 replaced them with eleven button themes and colour controls. The icons are now scalable SVG, so they stay sharp on high-resolution screens and can be resized and recoloured without uploading anything.

If you were using a custom image for a network, pick the theme and colours that come closest. Your network selection, follow URLs and other settings are kept.

Does the plugin load anything from ShareThis?

Only after you accept the ShareThis terms on the settings screen. Until you do, no ShareThis script is loaded and no request is made. Once accepted, a ShareThis property is created for your site and the ShareThis platform script is loaded on your pages.

The follow button icons themselves are served from your own site, not from a third party.

Does it work with a caching plugin?

Yes. The buttons are rendered as ordinary HTML with no per-visitor content, so they cache safely.