Want to display your Flickr photos or videos on your WordPress site? Adding a customizable Flickr widget is an excellent way to showcase this visual content to your visitors.
According to Hubspot, articles with images generate 94% more views than text-only content [1]. Images and video tend to have high engagement, so displaying Flickr media on your site may help attract more visitors and grow your following.
In this updated guide for 2023, we‘ll walk through the full process of adding a Flickr feed with various layout options to fit seamlessly into your WordPress website.
Why You Should Consider a Flickr Widget
Here are 5 compelling benefits of using a Flickr widget:
Showcase Your Best Photos and Videos
Rather than having to embed items one by one, a Flickr widget automatically pulls in your photos and videos for display. This saves a tremendous amount of time!
Engage Viewers with Visual Media
Articles with visual content can generate up to 180% more views than text-only pieces [1]. Take advantage of this by adding eye-catching Flickr images.
Refresh Your Content Automatically
As you add new media to your Flickr account, the widget will automatically showcase it on your site. An easy way to keep content fresh!
Attract Followers and Increase Engagement
Unique, high-quality photos or video often spark interest with readers. This may lead visitors to your Flickr profile to see more.
Complements Your Brand and Site Design
With numerous layout choices, you can easily match the appearance of your Flickr feed to fit nicely with your existing site design.
Required Steps to Add a Flickr Widget
The Photonic WordPress plugin developed by Sayanee Basu makes adding a customizable Flickr widget simple [2]. Just follow these key steps:
1. Install and Activate the Photonic Plugin
First, install and activate Photonic using the plugin installer in your WP dashboard. An SSL certificate is required for this plugin to work properly when pulling images from Flickr.
Tip: If you need help setting up SSL, see our guide on how to add free SSL certificates to WordPress.
2. Configure Initial Flickr Settings
Under Photonic‘s settings, click on the "Flickr" tab. Here you‘ll enter your unique API key and secret code.
- To obtain these credentials, you must register as a Flickr developer and create an "app" representing your WordPress site‘s use of the photos [3]. Sounds technical but it‘s very straightforward – I‘ll explain the steps next.
3. Generate Your Flickr API Credentials
In a separate browser tab, go to Flickr‘s API signup page and click "Apply for your key online now". Log into your Flickr account when prompted.
Flickr gives you a choice depending on usage:
| Non-commercial Use | Commercial Use |
| – Personal blogs | – Business websites |
| – Most side projects | – Client projects |
| – Nonprofit organizations | – Freelance work |
Select the appropriate option for your WordPress site. Then give your app a custom name when asked by Flickr.
For example: "My WordPress Site‘s Flickr Widget"
Agree to Flickr‘s API terms and conditions – then they will display your unique API key and secret. Copy both of these before continuing.
4. Connect Photonic to Your Flickr Account
Return to the Photonic settings tab in your WordPress dashboard. Under the Flickr tab, paste your new API credentials into the correct fields.
Then under "Authentication", click the button to "Login and get Access Token from Flickr". When prompted by Flickr, grant permission for Photonic to access your account‘s media.
This will generate an Access Token and Secret Token – click the button to save these to Photonic.
5. Insert the Flickr Widget!
You‘re now ready to add your Flickr widget inside a post, page, or widget area:
Click the "Add Block" + icon and search for "Photonic Gallery"
Choose your desired source, layout, sizes, tags, etc.
Preview it before publishing to ensure it appears correctly.
Refer to Photonic‘s documentation for detailed descriptions on all the available Flickr widget settings.
Let‘s go over some of the most essential configuration options…
Key Settings for Customizing Your Flickr Widget
When you add your Photonic Flickr widget block, there are abundant options to customize its appearance and content source:
Content Source
- Default user
- Specific Flickr photosets, albums or gallery collections
- Shared group pools
- Single photos
Layout Choices
There are 10+ responsive template options including:
| Slideshow | Circular Grid |
| Mosaic | Justified Grid |
Media Options
- Show photos, videos or both
- Filter by tags
Appearance
- Thumbnail dimensions
- Main image sizes
- Columns, rows
- Lightbox or fullscreen etc.
The possibilities are nearly endless! Mix and match to create a tailored Flickr widget fitting seamlessly into your WordPress site design.
I hope this expanded walkthrough gives you the confidence to add customizable Flickr photo and video feeds through WordPress widgets. Please reach out with any other questions.
