Here at LinksAlpha.com, we are always building new tools that enable easier sharing of content. And today, we are excited to announce the launch of a new version of our Social Discussions plugin for WordPress.org. The new version of the plugin is faster, and offers comprehensive set of options for publishing and sharing of your content. With added support for Pinterest and new widget styles, this plugin should take social sharing of your content to new highs.
Getting Started with Social Discussions
Getting started is as easy as downloading the Social Discussions plugin from WordPress.org directory and activating it. In case you are looking for more detailed steps, we have prepared a complete help document to guide you through the installation, activation, and configuration process.
Once the plugin has been activated, you will get social sharing buttons above and below your blog post. You can always customize the set of buttons and button styles(more on this below) you want to show on your blog posts.
Customizing the Plugin
We want to make the plugin as customizable as possible to the needs of web publishers. And to do that, plugin provides number of options that makes it easy you for you. You now get 4 widget styles to choose from, set Facebook, Twitter, and Google+1 specific options, set languages for buttons, and much more. Lets me give more details about the widget styles we offer in this release, which is at the core of this release of the plugin.
Widget Styles
Social Discussions plugin provides 4 widget styles to choose from.
Social Sharing Buttons with Counters
For bloggers and publishers looking to show the reach and traction of their content on social networks, this is the style they should opt for. With the support for native buttons from the major social networking services, it becomes easier for users to connect and share, leading to viral spread of content. Like all other styles the plugin offers, this buttons style also includes a LinksAlpha Share button. For any services that you dont want to take up the premium space on your web page, you can configure them to be part of the LinksAlpha Share button, and when a user clicks on the Share button, a nifty popup enables sharing on other social networks.
Social Sharing Buttons
This buttons style is same as the one above, except it does not show the count provided by each social network. For example, if a blog post has 100 shares on Google+1, what will really show up on the blog post is a Google+1 button without the share count. For bloggers and publishers looking for compact set of buttons, this is the style they should opt for. With the support for native buttons from the major social networking services, it becomes easier for users to connect and share, leading to viral spread of content.
Social Sharing Icons
This buttons style shows icons for each Social Network you select. You can choose the icon size you need, which can be either 16px or 24px or 32px. For bloggers and publishers that have a need for speed and dont want to load javascript from various social networks, this is the style they should opt for. Even though this buttons style does not offer native sharing buttons, we have optimized the sharing experience for each social network resulting in similar user experience.
Social Sharing Icon
This buttons style shows a single LinksAlpha Share button. When a user clicks on the Share button, they get to choose the social network they want to share the content to. For bloggers and publishers that have a need for speed and dont want to load javascript from various social networks, this can be a style they should opt for. Again, this button style does not offer native sharing buttons, but we have optimized the sharing experience for each social network resulting in similar user experience.
What Else is New?
This new version of the plugin also comes with quite a few new options. Among others, you get to choose the language of buttons, and you can also set Twitter specific options. We would recommend that you jump right into the plugin settings page(WordPress Admin Console > Settings > Social Discussions) and set it as per your needs.
Back to the Future
As always, LinksAlpha.com is already developing something new for its users. But if you think we have missed something or should support a feature you would like, do let us know. You can leave a comment here or always get in touch via our support site.
