Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Add Social Media Icons to WordPress Menus (Easy Way)

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Are you looking for a way to add social media icons to WordPress menus?

The logos for sites like Facebook and Twitter are instantly recognized by people all over the world. By adding these icons to your menus, you can promote your social media profiles in an eye-catching way that doesn’t take up a lot of space.

In this article, we will show you how to add social media icons to WordPress navigation menus.

How to add social media icons to WordPress menus (easy way)

Why Add Social Media Icons to Menus in WordPress?

By adding social media icons to your website, you can encourage people to visit your different social media accounts. This can get you more followers and engagement across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.

One option is to add social media icons to your WordPress sidebar or a similar widget-ready area. However, when people want to visit a new page, they typically look at your navigation menu first.

By adding social media icons to your WordPress menus, you can often get more clicks, engagement, and followers across all your social media profiles.

Social media icons can also grab the visitor’s attention without adding extra text to your menus. This allows you to promote lots of different profiles in a small amount of space.

That being said, let’s take a look at 2 beginner-friendly ways to add social media icons to WordPress menus.

Video Tutorial

Subscribe to WPBeginner

If you prefer written instructions, just keep reading. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use:

The easiest way to add social media icons to WordPress menus is by using Menu Image. This free plugin allows you to add image icons to your navigation menus, including social icons.

When creating your social icons, you can use any image that you have uploaded to the WordPress media library.

For example, many of the top social media companies provide logos that you can use on your website, such as the Twitter brand toolkit. You can also download icons from online libraries like the Font Awesome website.

Menu Image also integrates with the Font Awesome plugin. This allows you to browse and import all the Font Awesome icons directly from the WordPress dashboard, including icons for all the major social networks.

We recommend installing the Font Awesome plugin first before continuing with the tutorial. For detailed instructions on how to set up Font Awesome, please see our guide on how to easily add icon fonts to your WordPress theme.

No matter how you plan to provide the social media icons, you will need to install and activate the Menu Image plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you may want to take a look at the icon sizes and change them if necessary. To do this, you need to go to Menu Image » Menu Image.

How to add social media icons to a WordPress menu

When creating your social icons, you can use any of the default WordPress image sizes, such as thumbnail, image, or large. Menu Image also lets you choose between three unique sizes that are set to 24×24, 36×36, and 48×48 pixels by default.

These sizes should work well for most WordPress websites, but you can change them by typing different numbers into the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Menu Image fields.

Resizing social media icons in WordPress

With that done, click on ‘Save Changes’ to store your settings.

To add icons to a navigation menu, head over to Appearance » Menus. By default, WordPress will show your site’s primary menu.

Selecting a WordPress menu to edit

If you want to add social media icons to a different menu location, then just open the ‘Select a menu to edit’ dropdown.

You can then choose a menu from the list and click on ‘Select.’

Editing a WordPress navigation menu

For step-by-step instructions on how to create a new menu, please see our guide on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.

To start, you will need to add each social profile to your menu as a new link.

When you are ready, click to expand the ‘Custom Links’ section and then type in the address of the social media page you want to use. For example, you might enter the URL of your Facebook group or YouTube channel.

You will also need to type in some ‘Link Text.’ In a later step, you will have the option to change where this title appears in the menu or even hide it completely.

Adding link text to a website navigation menu

With that done, click on ‘Add to Menu.’

This item will now appear in the right-hand column.

Adding social links to a WordPress website

To add a social media icon, simply hover over the new menu item.

Then, click on the ‘Menu Image’ button when it appears.

Adding icons and images to a WordPress menu

Note: If you don’t see a ‘Menu Image’ button, then click on ‘Save Changes.’ Now, the ‘Menu Image’ button should appear when you hover over any item in the menu.

You can now decide whether to use an image from your WordPress media library or an icon provided by Font Awesome.

To use a ready-made Font Awesome icon, click on the radio button next to ‘Icon.’

Adding Twitter, Facebook, and other social icons to WordPress

Then, select ‘Fontawesome.’

You can then click on ‘Brands.’

Adding branded icons to a WordPress navigation menu

You will now see all the branded icons, including icons for all the major social networks, from Facebook to LinkedIn. When you see the image you want to use, just give it a click.

Another option is using your own icon from the WordPress media library by selecting the ‘Image’ radio button. Then, click on the ‘Set Image’ link.

Adding any file or image to a WordPress navigation menu

You can now either choose an image from the WordPress media library or upload a new file from your computer.

No matter where you get the icon from, Menu Image will show a preview on the right.

Previewing icons in a website or blog navigation menu

You can now change whether the link title appears above, below, before, or after the social media icon using the ‘Title position’ settings.

Many social media icons are instantly recognizable, so the link title may be unnecessary. If you are adding lots of social icons to a navigation menu, then titles can even make your menu look more messy and complicated.

With that being said, you may want to hide the title by selecting the ‘Hide’ radio button.

Hiding the menu link title text

As you make changes, the live preview will update automatically, so you can try different settings to see what looks the best.

Finally, if you are using your own image, then you can resize the social media icons using the ‘Image Size’ dropdown.

Resizing social icons on a WordPress navigation menu

Bigger icons will grab the visitor’s attention, but they can also be distracting. With that in mind, you may want to try different sizes to see what works best on your WordPress blog.

When you are happy with how the social media icon is set up, simply click on ‘Save Changes.’

Publishing social icons on a WordPress website

Simply repeat these steps to add more icons to your WordPress menu.

You can even add icons to other important items in the navigation menu. For example, you might add icons to your contact form or WooCommerce checkout page.

When you are happy with how the menu is set up, just click on ‘Save Menu.’

Publishing a menu with social icons

Now, you can visit your website to see the new social media icons in action.

This is how it looked on our demo website.

Adding social icons to a WordPress menu

Method 2: Using the Full Site Editor (Block Themes Only)

WordPress has a built-in Social Icons block that allows you to create a menu containing social media icons and then display them in a nice layout.

An example of a social media navigation menu

This block comes with built-in icons for all the major social networks, so you don’t need to install a plugin like Font Awesome or upload icons to your media library.

However, you can only add social media icons and links to the Social Icons block, so it isn’t as flexible as the Menu Image plugin.

If you are using a block theme, then you can add a Social Icons block to any part of your website, such as the header or footer. In this way, you can show a social media menu across your entire website.

To get started, head over to Appearance » Editor in the WordPress dashboard.

Selecting the Full-Site Editor from the WordPress admin panel

From here, you will see some menus to customize your block theme’s design.

To add social media icons to your menu, click ‘Navigation.’

Selecting Navigation in WordPress Full Site Editing

The next step is to click the pencil ‘Edit’ icon.

This will open the WordPress Full Site Editor.

Clicking the pencil edit button for Navigation in WordPress Full Site Editing

With that done, you will now be able to edit your navigation menu, which is a part of your WordPress header template.

To start, click on the blue ‘+’ icon in the top-left corner. In the search bar, you must type in ‘Social Icons.’

Adding the Social Icons block to WordPress

When the right block appears, drag and drop it onto the theme template.

To add the first icon, just click on the ‘+’ icon inside the block.

Adding social icons to a WordPress template

In the popup that appears, type in the icon you want to add, such as ‘Twitter’ or ‘Facebook.’

When the right icon appears, simply click to add it to your WordPress blog.

Adding a Twitter icon to a WordPress navigation menu

Now, click on the new social media icon.

This opens a small bar where you can type in the URL you want to link to, like your Facebook page.

Adding URLs to a social media menu

To add more social icons to WordPress, simply click on the ‘+’ icon and repeat the same process described above.

After adding all the social media platforms, you may want to customize the block. To do this, click to select the Social Icons block and then click on the ‘Block’ tab.

Customizing a social block in WordPress

You can change the icon’s justification, alignment, and orientation using the ‘Layout’ settings.

By default, all the social media links will open in the same tab. To keep visitors on your website, you may want to click to enable the ‘Open links in new tab’ toggle.

Opening website links in a new browser tab

By default, WordPress shows the social icons only, without any text.

If you want to show text next to each icon, then click to enable the ‘Show labels’ toggle.

Adding labels to a social menu

Next, click on the ‘Styles’ tab.

Here, you can change the button style by clicking on ‘Default’, ‘Logos Only’, or ‘Pill Shape.’

Adding button styles to a navigation menu

Finally, you can change the space between the social icons using the settings under ‘Block Spacing.’

When you are happy with how the menu looks, click on the ‘Save’ button.

Publishing a social icons block in WordPress

Now, if you visit your website, then you will see the social media icons live.

Bonus Tip: Embed Social Feeds on Your WordPress Site

Adding social media icons to WordPress menus is a great way to get more followers and engagement across your different accounts. However, there are lots more ways to promote your Twitter, Facebook, and other social profiles.

The best way to get more followers and engagement is by embedding a live social feed on your website. This allows you to show the latest posts from your social media sites, along with buttons that visitors can use to engage with your posts or follow you on social media.

The best way to add social media feeds to your website is by using Smash Balloon. It’s the best social media feed plugin for WordPress and lets you embed live feeds from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and more.

The Smash Balloon social media WordPress plugin

For more information, please see our WordPress tutorial on how to add social media feeds to WordPress.

We hope this article helped you learn how to add social media icons to WordPress menus. You may also want to see our guide on how to embed a Facebook video in WordPress or see our expert picks for the best Twitter plugins for WordPress.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

61 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Jiří Vaněk says

    The Menu Image plugin is fantastic. I actually wrote an article about it when I was dealing with the exact same issue. Creating a main ‘Contact’ folder in the menu and adding a submenu with links to social networks along with icons—it works like magic. Previously, I used Font Awesome, and it was quite impractical. This is a much more elegant solution.

  3. Ralph says

    As I love your article tutorials this time I only watched video and it was great! Short, no fluff and straight to the point. You guys should include more video tutorials. You are great at it and now I have new icons in my menu (not only for my socials). Thanks a lot!

  4. Jimmy Ekisa says

    Brilliant article!!! You saved me time to create social menus and add them in the NewsPack Theme header, thank you so much.

  5. Kerry says

    I’ve got the social media icons on my website. How do I link those icons to my social media profiles?

  6. Vicki says

    Thanks for this, I’ve managed to add the Goodreads logo to my Social Menu and chose the Social Menu location too. However when I view the page it shows the magnifying glass next to the new Goodreads logo, rather than just the logo on it’s own – why is this and how do I get rid of it?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You would want to check with your theme’s support to see if this is due to the design of the theme itself.

      Admin

    • WPBeginner Support says

      We would first recommend reaching out to the plugin’s support for them to take a look and ensure this isn’t a hiccup with the plugin.

      Admin

  7. Lisa Jackson says

    Love this, but the icons are displayed in a column rather than next to each other. How can I fix this?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      It would depend on your specific theme, you would first want to check with your theme’s support to ensure it is not an issue with how their menu is styled that could be causing that.

      Admin

    • WPBeginner Support says

      We do not have a specific set we would recommend at the moment but there are many different options available depending on the style you’re looking for.

      Admin

  8. Bob Wright says

    Setting up a social link on my site does not match the images in this article (perhaps our parent organization’s customization blocks that).

  9. Ankit says

    Hi,

    Once again, a great and helpful tutorial. I’m just facing one issue, though. For the last step, when I try to select the menu location option, I can only see the primary menu option there. How do I get the social menu option as well?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Your specific theme may not have a social specific menu location. If you reach out to your theme’s support they can clarify and assist.

      Admin

  10. Jonathan says

    I’m trying to get my head round how to add social media accounts to my WordPress blogsite. Any assistance appreciated. If I’ve skipped an earlier step in setting up the site, my apologies in advance for a stupid comment!

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You may want to check with the support for your specific theme to ensure there isn’t theme-specific CSS changing your colors.

      Admin

  11. Isaac says

    Hello, is there a way to space the icons farther apart from one another? Mine seem to be too close to each other…. Thank you

  12. Sam Simson says

    I tried to hide the title from being shown on the menu. Seems like that function didn’t work. the title is still visible.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You would want to check with the support for your specific theme to see if that would be overriding your customizations

      Admin

  13. Tracy says

    Hi! I tried using this method but I didn’t get the “select image” part. I only get to introduce the URL and Navigation Label… any ideas?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You may want to ensure the plugin was fully installed and activated for the select image to appear

      Admin

  14. Lea says

    Thank you! Seems to be a better working solution than with font awesome! Is it allowed though to just use a e.g. facebook icon picture from google pictures then for the image I upload?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You would want to be sure to check the image usage rights if you take an image off of Google but if you are allowed to use it you could upload it to your site.

      Admin

  15. Larry Hilton says

    I followed the directions for adding social images to my footer area and the Google & Yelp images aren’t visible. I did them the same way as those displayed. This does not appear to be browser related. Any suggestions

    • WPBeginner Support says

      Start by reaching out to the plugin’s support to ensure there aren’t any known issues with those icons or how the menu is being added

      Admin

    • WPBeginner Support says

      If the urls are structured properly then you would want to let the plugin’s support know about your error to take a look if the error is with the plugin itself.

      Admin

  16. Mr. Debtsmith says

    Hi guys,

    Installed the plug in. Added 3 social accounts and clicked “Main Nav” location box. The widget replaced the existing main menu instead of being added to it, and instead of the icons showing, the social account titles show instead. I’m looking forward to the benefits of this plug in. Hope you guys can help.

    Thanks!

  17. ARPIT says

    Thank You Very Much for Essential Information that I was Seeking on the Internet.
    Highly Appreciated.

  18. Dan says

    My current theme has social media icons on the main top header in the desktop version, but when switched to mobile version the social icons are gone. how can I get them to stay and possibly my header links also?

  19. David Cornish says

    Thanks for the advice, I use Simple Social Icons now and I like them very much. Any advice on what plugin to use to display a “share on twitter” or “share on facebook” button above and/or below a post, similar to what you have under the title of this article?

    • Editorial Staff says

      Yes, you can easily open the links in a new window. If you’re not seeing the option in your Custom Links by default, then you will have to click on the “Screen Options” tab on the top right of the screen and make sure that “Link Target” option is checked.

      Admin

  20. Aman Singh says

    Hello,

    Can I get the custom code for the widget to look similar to what it is on WPbeginner?

    I like the widget look for social media icons on WPBeginner so can I get the code.

    Thank you.

Leave A Reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.