How to Connect a Social Account

You can connect social media to WordPress through the WP Social Media Gallery Source tab. Each platform — Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and Dribbble — has its own connection card. The plugin handles the OAuth flow or API key entry, stores credentials encrypted, and refreshes tokens automatically. Social connections are a Pro feature.

Before You Start

You need a Pro license and a developer account on the platform you want to connect. Each platform requires its own app registration with client ID and client secret.

• WP Social Media Gallery Pro installed and activated.
• A developer app registered on the target platform.
• The app’s client ID and client secret.

Open the Source Tab

1. Go to WP Social Media Gallery > Settings.
2. Click the Source tab.
3. Find the connection card for the platform you want to connect.

The Source tab lists all supported platforms with their connection status. A card shows Connect when no connection exists, Connected with the account name when active, and an error message when the token has expired or been revoked.

Create a Connection

Click Connect on the platform card. The plugin opens the platform’s OAuth page in a new window. Log in and authorize the app. The plugin exchanges the authorization code for access tokens and stores them encrypted.

1. Click Connect on the platform card.
2. Log in to the platform in the new window.
3. Authorize the app when prompted.
4. The plugin redirects back and shows the connection as Connected.

Add the plugin’s redirect URI to your app’s allowed redirect list in the platform’s developer console.

Use Custom Credentials

By default, the plugin uses built-in OAuth credentials for Instagram and Facebook. You can switch to your own client ID and client secret by enabling Use Custom Credentials on the connection card. Dribbble requires an API key; it does not use OAuth.

1. Open the platform connection card.
2. Toggle Use Custom Credentials to on.
3. Paste your client ID and client secret.
4. Click Save, then Connect again.

Custom credentials are stored encrypted in the WordPress database.

Verify the Connection

After connecting, the card shows the account label and a Refresh button. Click Refresh to test the token. If the connection is healthy, the card stays green. If the token has expired, the plugin attempts to refresh it automatically.

• Label: The name you gave the connection, such as “My Instagram”.
• Status: Active, expired, or error.
• Accounts: Sub-accounts available under this connection.

Manage all connections from the Source tab or through the REST API at ccpwpsmg/v1/connections.

What to Check

Confirm the connection is working before building a social gallery.

• The connection card shows Connected with the correct account label.
• Clicking Refresh returns a success response.

Troubleshooting

If the connection fails, check the following.

• OAuth error: Confirm the redirect URI in your app settings matches the URI shown in the plugin.
• Token expired: Click Refresh on the connection card. If refresh fails, re-authorize the app.
• Custom credentials not working: Verify the client ID and client secret are correct and belong to an app with the required scopes.

Next Steps

With a social account connected, build a gallery from that source. Learn how to build an Instagram gallery to pull media from your connected account.