Instagram Feed shows the latest posts from a business's Instagram account on its website. New posts appear by themselves, so the site always looks active. It's in the Media category of the Add panel. You can also search the Add panel for "instagram".
The posts come from the Instagram account of the client the site belongs to. Photos show as they are, carousels show their first photo, and videos and Reels show their cover with a play icon.
Before you start: connect the client's Instagram
The feed needs the client's Instagram professional (business or creator) account linked to their Facebook Page, connected in ContentForge in one of two places:
- Content → Social → Settings on the client (the same connection you use to publish posts). See Connect Facebook and Instagram. Keep Instagram ticked when you connect.
- Or the client's business app → Settings → Facebook & Instagram (the connection used for messages), with its Instagram account ticked. See Facebook and Instagram messages.
If both are connected, the feed uses the one in Content → Social. Personal Instagram accounts can't be shown: switch the account to a professional account in the Instagram app first.
How to add it
- Click Add in the left rail, open Media and drag Instagram Feed onto the page.
- If the client's Instagram is connected, the latest posts show straight away. If not, the widget says so and shows grey sample tiles; click Connect Instagram in the widget to open the client's Social settings.
- Click Manage Feed on its toolbar to choose which posts show.
- Use the Design panel to choose the layout and look.
- Publish the site.
Manage Feed
- Number of posts: 1 to 30, newest first.
- Caption length: how many characters of each caption show (0 shows the whole caption). Longer captions end with "…".
- Only posts with a hashtag: type one or more hashtags, such as
#newroof #beforeandafter. Only posts with any of them show. Leave it empty to show every post. The hashtags used in the latest posts are listed under the box. The filter picks from the latest 30 posts. - When someone clicks a post: Open the post on Instagram (in a new tab), Open the photo in a lightbox on the page, or Nothing. Videos and Reels always open on Instagram.
- Show a "Follow on Instagram" button, and its text. The button goes to the account's Instagram profile.
- Hide posts: click a post's picture to hide it from this feed. Click it again to show it.
- Refresh now: reads the account's posts again straight away. The account name and the last update time show at the top.
Design panel
Layout
- Layout: Grid (even rows), Masonry (each photo keeps its own shape, stacked in columns), Carousel (a row that slides), or Slider (one post at a time).
- Number of columns (grid and masonry) or Posts in view (carousel), per screen size.
- Space between posts, per screen size.
- Post shape (grid, carousel and slider): Square, Portrait (4:5) or Each photo's own.
Posts
- Corner radius.
- Hover effect: None, Zoom in or Darken.
- Play icon on videos and Reels.
Caption & Likes
- Show over the photo: Off, On hover or Always.
- Caption, Likes and Comments: choose what the box shows. Likes don't show for posts where the owner hid them on Instagram.
- Background color of the box and the text style (font, size, color). The defaults are white text on a dark box. The colors you pick are used exactly as you set them, so check the text stays easy to read on your photos.
Carousel (carousel and slider only)
- Arrows.
- Move by itself and Seconds per move. It pauses while the visitor hovers over it or uses the keyboard in it, and doesn't move for visitors who turn motion off.
Follow Button
Show or hide it, choose the theme's Primary or Secondary button style, and put it Above or Below the posts.
Spacing, Animations & Effects
See Widget design panel basics and Animations and effects.
How it updates
- The live site shows new posts by itself, every few hours. You don't need to publish again.
- Opening the widget in the editor also updates it when it's more than a few hours old.
- ContentForge keeps its own copy of each post's picture, so the feed keeps working when Instagram's picture links expire.
Good to know
- The feed shows posts from the client the site is linked to. A site that isn't linked to a client can't show a feed.
- With no posts to show (Instagram not connected, or nothing matches the hashtag filter), the widget shows nothing on the live site. It never shows an empty box to visitors.
- Disconnecting Facebook & Instagram (in either place), or the person removing ContentForge on Facebook, deletes the stored posts and picture copies straight away. The widget then shows nothing until Instagram is connected again. A feed no site has used for 30 days is deleted too.
- The pictures come from your own site, so they don't wait for the cookie banner.
- To show one particular Facebook, Instagram or Threads post, paste its link into an HTML Embed instead.
Troubleshooting
- "Connect the client's Instagram professional account…": nothing is connected for this client yet. Click Connect Instagram and connect Facebook & Instagram with Instagram ticked.
- "The client's Facebook Page is connected, but not its Instagram account": connect again and tick the Instagram account (and keep its permissions ticked).
- "…needs reconnecting": the Facebook sign-in stopped working (password changed, access removed). Reconnect in the client's Social settings.
- "Instagram feeds aren't available yet": Instagram feeds aren't switched on for your account yet. You can still place and design the widget; the posts show once they're switched on.
- "This site isn't linked to a client": link the site to a client first.
- A new post doesn't show yet: posts update every few hours. Click Refresh now in Manage Feed.
- Some posts are missing: check the hashtag filter and the hidden posts in Manage Feed. Stories aren't shown, and a video without a cover can't be shown.
- The feed shows a different account: the feed uses the Instagram account connected for the client. Reconnect with the right account.