How to Add Facebook Like Reactions to Your WordPress Posts

A basic like button doesn’t always tell the full story. Sometimes your readers want to show they **love** your post, **laugh** at a story, or express **amazement** at your results. Facebook-style reactions give your audience the emotional vocabulary they’re looking for. 😍 😂 😮

This simple change makes people feel more connected to your content and more likely to engage. It’s a quick, low-effort way for visitors to respond without having to write a full comment.

I tested a few popular reaction plugins on a demo site to see how they work and which one offers the best balance of features and ease of use. After comparing them, one stood out as the clear winner. 🏆

In this guide, I’ll show you the easiest way to add Facebook-style reaction buttons to your WordPress posts so your readers can engage in a more expressive, meaningful way. Let’s get started!

Why Facebook Like Reactions Are Better Than a Basic Like Button

With Facebook like reactions, you give your audience a more expressive way to respond, without needing to leave a comment.

A basic like button doesn’t tell the full story. Did your reader love the post? Did it make them laugh? Were they surprised or even confused?

Think of them as a mini emotional feedback system.

You’ve probably seen them on Facebook, those floating emojis like ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 😡 that you can tap to show how you really feel.

Now, you can bring that same kind of interaction to your WordPress posts.

I tested this on a demo site, and even without real traffic, the difference was noticeable. It immediately felt more dynamic, like readers would have a reason to pause and respond, not just scroll past.

Adding reactions makes your blog feel more interactive and gives readers a quick, low-effort way to engage. And from my experience running blogs, that kind of engagement often leads to more comments, more shares, and a stronger connection with your audience.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to easily add Facebook like reactions to your WordPress blog posts.

How to Add Facebook Like Reactions to Your WordPress Blog Posts

You can easily add Facebook like reactions to your WordPress posts using the ShareThis Reaction Buttons plugin.

I’ve tested it on a demo site, and while it does require a bit of configuration, the setup process is straightforward and beginner-friendly.

It offers a clean design and flexible options that let you tailor the reactions to match your site’s style. That’s why I believe it’s the best option for the job.

Keep reading to see how you can set it up in 3 easy steps.

Step 1: Install and Enable the ShareThis Reaction Buttons plugin

First, you need to install and activate the ShareThis Reaction Buttons plugin. For detailed instructions on how to do that, take a look at our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activating the plugin, head over to the ‘ShareThis’ page from your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Enable Tool’ button.

Once you do that, you’ll be able to configure the plugin settings and choose which reaction emojis to show on your blog posts.

Step 2: Choose and Configure Your Emoji Reactions

By default, the plugin includes six Facebook like reactions: Like, Love, Laugh, Wow, Sad, and Angry, and all of them will be turned on automatically.

If you want to remove any of them, just click on the emoji. It will turn gray in the ‘Select your reactions’ section and disappear from the preview above. That means it won’t show up on your site.

Now, scroll down and choose an alignment for your Facebook like reactions. You can place them on the left, right, or center of your blog post.

I recommend using the center alignment because it immediately draws attention to the reactions. If the buttons are placed on the side, some readers might overlook them.

Next, choose a language for your emojis from the dropdown menu. This is important because when users hover over an emoji, they’ll see a small label explaining what it means.

For example, if someone hovers over 😍, they’ll see the word “Love.”

The language you select here will be used for those reaction labels, so make sure to pick the one that matches your audience.

Step 3: Decide Where to Show Emoji Reactions

Next, it’s time to configure where your emojis will appear across your site.

The plugin gives you the option to automatically show or restrict the reaction buttons on specific content types. Besides blog posts, you can also display them on WordPress pages and even excerpts.

You’ll also be able to choose the position of the reactions — whether they appear at the top or bottom of your content.

I recommend starting with the placement below posts since this feels most natural to readers. You can always adjust the positioning later once you see how your audience responds to the reactions.

If you want to maximize visibility, you can even toggle multiple options to show the reaction buttons at both the top and bottom of posts, pages, and excerpts at the same time.

Finally, simply click the ‘Update’ button to store your settings.

Once that’s done, head over to your WordPress site and open any blog post. You’ll now see the Facebook like reaction buttons added to your content.

🎯Bonus Tip: Create a Custom Facebook Feed in WordPress

Once you’ve added Facebook like reactions to your WordPress site, you might want to bring more of your Facebook community into your site.

A good way to do this is by adding a custom Facebook feed. This lets you automatically show your latest Facebook posts, photos, and videos directly on your website.

Plus, it keeps your site content fresh and encourages visitors to check out your Facebook page, helping you grow your social presence.

By using the Smash Balloon Facebook Feed plugin, you can show your Facebook posts, photos, or videos directly on your WordPress site.

This keeps visitors updated and engaged without them needing to leave your site.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the process:

1. Install and Activate – Get the plugin set up on your WordPress site. It’s straightforward, even if you’re a beginner.
2. Connect to Facebook – Link your Facebook page or group to your WordPress installation. This connection allows for seamless content sharing.
3. Customize Your Feed – Choose how your feed looks and operates. With options to adjust layouts, colors, and shown content, your feed can fit perfectly with your site’s theme.

Smash Balloon is easy to use and offers powerful features, making it a perfect choice for beginners.

To follow along step-by-step, you can read our tutorial on how to create a custom Facebook feed in WordPress.

Frequently Answered Questions: Facebook Like Reactions in WordPress

Here are some questions frequently asked by our readers about adding Facebook like reactions to WordPress.

Do I need coding skills to add reaction buttons in WordPress?

Not at all! Most reaction plugins are designed with beginners in mind and don’t require any coding knowledge. For example, the ShareThis Reaction Buttons plugin used in this guide comes with a point-and-click interface, so you can set it up quickly.

Can I customize the emojis used in the reaction buttons?

It depends on the plugin you’re using. With ShareThis Reaction Buttons, you get a default set of six reactions, which you can enable or disable individually. While you can’t upload custom emoji in this plugin, the built-in options cover most common reactions.

If you need more advanced customization, like using your own icons or adding new emotion types, you might want to explore premium plugins that offer extended features.

Will these reactions slow down my website?

Most emoji reaction plugins like ShareThis are optimized for performance.

However, since the plugin loads scripts from its servers, it’s always a good practice to test your site speed after installation. You can use tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to see if the plugin has any impact on your loading times.

If you notice a slowdown, you can look into lazy loading or disabling reactions on certain pages. To get started, you can see our ultimate guide on WordPress speed and performance.

Is my data private when using reaction buttons?

Since ShareThis is a third-party service, the reaction data (like the number of likes or loves) is stored on their servers, not your WordPress website. This is a common practice for many engagement tools and helps keep your site from slowing down. However, it also means you’ll need to rely on their service for analytics and data.

For full details on how this data is managed, we always recommend checking the plugin provider’s privacy policy.

I hope this article helped you learn how to easily add Facebook like reactions to your WordPress blog posts. You may also want to see our step-by-step tutorial on how to add a points system in WordPress to ignite user engagement and our top picks for the best social media plugins.

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