Smart Website Tools by AddThis is a very popular plugin among the general WordPress users. This excellent plugin comes with lots of useful tools and provides detailed customization options.
In today’s article, I will show you how to use this plugin in your WordPress site.
Setting up the Plugin
First of all, install and activate Smart Website Tools by AddThis. At this point, you will have a new sub-menu titled ‘AddThis for WordPress’ under the ‘Settings’ menu. The page will look like the following –
Click ‘Next’. In the next screen, you will be asked to log in. If you don’t have an account, you can create one or use your Google, Facebook or Twitter ID to login. Once you have created an account and logged in, you will be redirected to your website with a message like the following –
Click ‘Confirm and Save’. From the next screen, click the big blue button once again.
This will take you to the ‘Share Tools’ page. You will find two types of tools there – Pro and Free. In this article, I will only discuss the free tools.
Using a Tool
From the tools page, decide which tool you want to use and click the ‘Setup’ button. This will open a pop-up window containing customization options. The available options will vary depending on the tool. After making the necessary changes, click ‘Activate’. This will activate the tool for your website.
Now, get back to your website dashboard. If you go to the post editor, you will find a new meta box titled ‘AddThis for WordPress’ under each post and page. Checking the box will enable the tools for the post or page.
After publishing the post, you will see your selected tool in place.
Now that you know how to use the tools, let’s see what tools are available in the free version. If you go to the AddThis dashboard, you will see that the tools are divided into several categories. I will introduce you to the freely available tools from each category.
Share Tools
Sharing Sidebar: This tool will create a sharing sidebar floating on the left or right side of your posts. The number of shares will also be displayed.
Sharing Buttons: This tool will display a sharing tab before or after the content. You can choose the size, number of buttons and whether to show the share count beside the icons.
Original Sharing Buttons: If you want to use the original sharing buttons, you should use this tool. These buttons could also be placed before or after the content.
Mobile Toolbar: Designed for mobile users, this tool lets you create big sized buttons for following and sharing. Besides the position and theme, you can also choose which services to include.
Newsletter Sharing Buttons: This is a convenient solution for adding sharing buttons in your newsletter. You can define the size and services to use.
Follow Tools
Follow Header: Follow Header displays a list of your social profiles on top of your website. You can provide a custom title, choose the services and theme for the tool.
Horizontal Follow Buttons: If you want to place a horizontal social bar on any place of your website, this is the tool for you. Along with customizing the title and services, you can choose the size too.
Vertical Follow Buttons: This one acts almost like the Horizontal Follow Buttons. The only exception is this tool shows the buttons vertically.
Recommended Content
What’s Next: Want to keep your visitors engaged even after they have read a post? Enable this tool. This will automatically recommend a relevant content as the visitor scrolls down.
Recommended Content Footer: On the other hand, if you want to display a bunch of relevant content, you can try this tool. You can choose the number of rows and number of items per row.
Horizontal Recommended Content: This tool could be used to display recommended content in a horizontal bar at the bottom of your home page. It is possible to choose a theme for the tool.
Vertical Recommended Content: This is also for displaying recommended content. However, you can use this tool in the sidebar or any other place you want.
Final Thoughts
By using the smart tools provided by AddThis, you can take your website to the next level. The practical and useful tools could help you in keeping your users engaged and connected in various social networks.
Let me know which tools you like the best. And if you are already using the plugin, don’t forget to share your experience with us.