How do I add my Instagram feed to my website?

Scenario

 

Making sure your Instagram account is a 'Business account'

In order for you to be able to intergrate your website with your Instagram account, Meta (the company that owns Instagram) have now stipulated that your Instagram account needs to be a business account. Don't worry, you don't have to pay for a business Instagram account and it's more of a formality than anything else. Having an Instagram Business account does unlock more features within Instagram itself though; such as being able to auto publish instagram stories, tag locations, tag collaborators, and more.

For instructions on checking whether you have a business account already, and/or to switch your account over to a business account, please see instructions provided by Instagram below :-

https://help.instagram.com/502981923235522

Note: Please note that your account being required to be a business account in order to display your feed on your website is a restriction imposed by Instagram and not anything within our control.

 

How do I add my Instagram account to my website so I can use the Instagram feed page?

After confirming that your Instagram account is a business account, you can intergrate your Instagram account with your website using the below instructions -:

 

1) Login to your website manager

2) From the left hand menu, select 'Settings' and then 'General settings'

3) Click the 'Social media' tab

4) Scroll to the bottom of this page to the section called 'Page of instagram posts on your website'

5) Under this section you'll see a link that says 'click here to authorise', simply click this link

6) You'll be prompted to login to your Instagram account, as such please login to the account you wish to display the feed for

7) After logging in, you'll see a box that is requesting your website to access your Instgram account, simply click 'Allow'

8) Once done, you'll be redirected back to your website with a confirmation that the link has been successful

9) If you then scroll back to the bottom of the 'Social media' tab on your 'General settings' page, you'll see a new link appear which allows you to view the instagram page on your website

Please note it can sometimes take around 5 minutes for the feed to be activated on your website

 

My Instagram account is already linked to my website, but the feed isn't working/showing?

Towards the end of 2024, Instagram (run by Facebook) updated how other services can connect to Instagram accounts. Because of this change, we had to adjust how your Instagram account links to your website. To keep showing your Instagram feed on your website, you’ll need to give permission again for your Instagram account to connect to your website, of which you can do using the below instructions -:

 

1) Login to your website manager

2) From the left hand menu, select 'Settings' and then 'General settings'

3) Click the 'Social media' tab

4) Scroll to the bottom of this page to the section called 'Page of instagram posts on your website'

5) There will be a section that says 'If you wish to unauthorise your instagram account then please click this link' as such just click the link to unauthorise your account

6) You'll be redirected back to the same page, as such you'll now be able to re-authorise your account. Scroll to the bottom of this page again to the section called 'Page of instagram posts on your website'

7) Under this section you'll see a link that says 'click here to authorise', simply click this link

8) You'll be prompted to login to your Instagram account, as such please login to the account you wish to display the feed for

9) After logging in, you'll see a box that is requesting your website to access your Instgram account, simply click 'Allow'

10) Once done, you'll be redirected back to your website with a confirmation that the link has been successful

 

If you're still having issues, and you're sure your Instagram account is a 'Business account' then please do just log a technical support ticket

 

How do I add a link to this page on my navigation bar?

To ensure your Instagram feed can be viewed by your customers, you can add a link to this page on your navigation bar. To do this, simply -:

 

1) Login to your website manager

2) From the left hand menu, select 'Page editor' and then 'Edit navigation (menus)'

3) Click 'Edit main navigation menu'

4) Click the 'Add item' button

5) Under 'What do you want to happen when it's clicked on?' select 'Page/link'

6) This will then bring up another selection box, of which you can select 'PAGE - Instagram' for this navigation item to go to your Instagram feed page

7) Press the 'Add item' button

 

Common issues / resolutions

If you see this error:
{"error_type": "OAuthException", "code": 400, "error_message": "Your activity off Meta technologies is currently turned off."}

It means your "Off-Facebook Activity" setting (now called "Activity off Meta") is turned off. This feature controls how data is shared between Facebook and other apps or services, and it needs to be turned on for LightWidget to work.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. Log in to Facebook
   Go to facebook.com and log into the account linked to your Instagram. If you're using a business page, switch to your personal account first, as the setting is tied to your personal profile.

   

2. Access Your Settings
   Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, then choose Settings & Privacy > Settings.

   

3. Find the Off-Facebook Activity Setting
   On the left side, click Your Facebook Information, then select Off-Facebook Activity.

   

4. Enable Activity Sharing
   Click Manage Future Activity, and turn on the option to allow activity sharing. Save your changes.

   

   

Once updated, try using LightWidget again—it should now work. Changes take effect immediately but might take up to an hour in some cases.