Best Social Sharing Plugins for WordPress in 2024 (Compared)
Can you think of the last time a friend did not recommend a restaurant after having visited it? Did you still go on and visit it? Chances are you did not bother visiting that restaurant.
Do you remember having a great time at another restaurant and leaving a review on their Facebook page? These are examples of word of mouth marketing.
Word of mouth is one of the most effective marketing strategies that helps you build trust among new customers.
When you get a recommendation from a friend or family member, you are highly likely to follow that recommendation.
Have you ever wondered how word of mouth would work for a website? Would people go around telling others about your website? Some would tell others about it, however, there are several problems with verbal word of mouth marketing for a website.
For example, the user will need the exact spelling of the domain name. A more effective way of allowing people to tell others about your website is through social sharing.
It would be surprising if you are not using social sharing on your website. Social sharing allows your visitors to share your websites links, articles, products, etc. easily on their social accounts with their friends and family.
Social sharing helps build more revenue, draw new customers and helps you stay connected with your customers. It builds trust for your brand among users.
If you are running a WordPress website, you can easily enable social sharing by using plugins. Choosing the right social sharing plugin can be a daunting task though.
We, therefore, compiled this stellar guide on the best social sharing plugins for WordPress, to make your life easier. We will look at the standout, the effect on website speed, and the price of each plugin.
For the speed tests, we are using GTMetrix and are monitoring the results before installing the plugin, and after installing the plugin.
Without further ado, here are the best social sharing plugins for WordPress.
1. Social Rocket
Price: $29 per year for a single site license and $249 per year for an unlimited site license for the premium version. There is also a free version of the plugin available.
Social Rocket is probably one of the best social sharing plugins for WordPress. Here are some of the best features of the plugin:
- It allows you to easily add social sharing buttons anywhere on your website, in the manner that you want, and it has several customization options to help you match your website’s design.
- It has individual post and page level settings, so you can customize the sharing options for each post or page.
- The plugin has been tested extensively with several themes and hosting environments. You can rest assured of its compatibility with your current setup. It will not break your website.
- You can easily import and export options giving you the flexibility to easily use the same options on different websites. This also comes in handy when you want to backup your settings.
- The social sharing buttons are mobile responsive. The plugin also has mobile-specific settings allowing you to have different buttons on desktop and mobile. You don’t need to force your visitors to use desktop buttons on mobile.
Speed
Before installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 2.9 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 94%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 84%
After installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 3.0 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 94%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 84%
As one might expect with social sharing plugins, they will have an effect on the speed of a website. We noticed a very minimal change in speed by only 0.1 seconds. This means the plugin is lightweight and does not necessarily affect the speed of your website.
2. Super Socializer
WordPress Social Share, Social Login and Social Comments Plugin – Super Socializer
Price: Free
Super socializer is another great social sharing plugin. Here are some of the highlight features of the plugin:
- It allows social sharing for 100+ social networks. This makes it one of the few plugins with such a wide range of social sharing options.
- It integrates social media follow icons as well. It combines social login, social share, and comments into one plugin. This saves you from the hassle of installing several different plugins for these functionalities.
- The plugin has several customization options for the social sharing buttons. You can easily customize the background, icon types, icon size, sharing counter, layouts of the icons, etc.
- The plugin is GDPR compliant and compatible with the Gutenberg editor. GDPR compliance has become vital for any website.
Speed
Before installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 2.9 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 94%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 84%
After installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 3.4 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 87%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 80%
There is a significant difference in the speed of our website before and after installing the plugin. Our page load time decreased by 0.5 seconds which can be detrimental to our user experience. In addition to the load time, the page speed and YSlow score also took a hit.
3. Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons
Price: $29.98 for the premium version. A free version of the plugin is also available. The premium version has several extra features.
This plugin also has a vast list of features. However, here are some of the highlights:
- The plugin allows sharing to all major social networks and you can also upload your custom icons. This means if a social network is not included by default you can upload a custom icon and still include it in your social sharing options. The premium version of the plugin allows sharing to a wider range of social networks than the free version.
- The plugin has 16 different designs for the social media share icons. You can also customize the layout of the social icons, including making them float or sticky.
- The plugin’s social icons are responsive by default. They look great no matter the device your visitor is using.
- The plugin is also GDPR compliant and compatible with almost any theme. It integrates easily into popular page builders such as Elementor and Beaver Builder.
Speed
Before installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 2.9 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 94%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 84%
After installing the plugin:
- GTMetrix load time: 3.2 seconds
- GTMetrix PageSpeed score: 90%
- GTMetrix YSlow score: 84%
There was an increase of 0.3 seconds. This can also be a significant increase in load times. However, this was with several animations, slide-ins etc. enabled on the social share buttons. Turning off some of the animations can help improve the speed. Animations are only available in the premium version of the plugin.
Conclusion
There are several other social sharing plugins available and no list can cover these comprehensively. We have cherry-picked 3 of the best social sharing plugins.
The one you use will largely depend on your goals. For example, if you don’t have the budget for a paid plugin you might need to use Super Socializer. Or if you are more concerned about the speed of your website, then Social Rocket might be your choice.