Post Link Drop

Post Link Drop is a WordPress plugin that creates a “link-in-bio” style image grid by importing Instagram posts and letting you link each item to any destination URL.

Features

• Import posts from Instagram Business or Creator accounts
• Download and rehost images in your WordPress Media Library
• Link each imported item to any URL
• Responsive grid display via shortcode
• Automatic scheduled imports via WP-Cron
• Alt text generation from captions (editable)
• Supports images, video thumbnails, and carousel posts

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• Instagram Business or Creator account
• A Facebook Page connected to your Instagram account
• Meta (Facebook) Developer account

Installation

1. Upload the post-link-drop folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin in Plugins
3. Go to Post Link Drop > Settings to configure your Instagram connection

Getting Your Instagram API Credentials

Post Link Drop requires an Instagram Access Token and User ID to import posts.

Step 1: Convert to a Business or Creator Account

If your Instagram account is personal, convert it:

1. Open Instagram and go to your profile
2. Tap the menu icon (three lines)
3. Go to Settings
4. Go to Account → Switch to Professional Account
5. Choose Business or Creator
6. Connect the account to a Facebook Page (required for API access)

Step 2: Create a Meta (Facebook) App

1. Go to Meta for Developers and log in
2. Click My Apps
3. Click Create App
4. Enter an app name (example: “My Post Link Drop App”) and your contact email
5. Under Use Cases, select: Manage messaging & content on Instagram
6. Optionally assign your app to a business portfolio (recommended)
7. Continue through the remaining prompts to reach your app dashboard

Step 3: Configure Instagram Permissions + Connect Your Account

1. In your Meta App dashboard, go to: Use Cases
2. Locate Instagram and click Customize
3. In the Instagram Login setup section, complete Step 1 by adding all required permissions

Add Yourself as a Tester (Required)

To complete setup, you must add your Instagram account as a tester:

1. In your Meta app dashboard, go to App Roles → Roles
2. Click Add People
3. Choose Instagram Tester
4. Enter your Instagram username and select your account

Accept the Tester Invite in Instagram

1. Open Instagram
2. Go to Settings
3. Go to Website permissions → Apps and websites
4. Open the Tester Invites tab
5. Accept the invite for your Meta app

Step 4: Generate Your Access Token + Get Your User ID

1. Return to your Meta app dashboard
2. Go to Use Cases → Instagram → Customize
3. Under setup Step 2, click Add Account
4. Log in via the modal and authorize your Instagram account. Your Instagram account must be connected to the correct Facebook account/business. The Facebook user logged into Meta Developer must have full/manage access
5. Click Generate Token
6. Copy and save the token immediately. Meta will not show it again.
7. Also in Step 2, Meta will show your Instagram User ID (a numeric value).You need that for the plugin settings too.

Reminder: Access tokens must be refreshed before they expire.They typically last around 60–90 days, so set a reminder to regenerate every 60 days.

Step 5: Enter Credentials in WordPress

1. Go to Post Link Drop > Settings
2. Paste your token into Access Token
3. Paste your numeric ID into Instagram User ID
4. Click Test Connection
5. Click Save Changes

Configuration

Go to Post Link Drop > Settings to configure:

Instagram Connection

• Access Token: Instagram Graph API access token
• Instagram User ID: Your numeric Instagram user ID
• Test Connection: Verify credentials

Import Settings

• Enable Auto-Import: Toggle scheduled importing

• Import Interval:

  • Every 15 minutes

  • Every 30 minutes

  • Hourly (default)

  • Twice Daily

  • Daily

• Import Limit: Max posts per run (12, 24, 48, or 100)

Manual Actions

• Run Import Now: Manually trigger an import (rate limited to once per 2 minutes)
• Last Import: Timestamp of most recent successful import
• Last Error: Displays the most recent import error (if any)

Usage

Displaying the Grid

Use this shortcode:

[post_link_drop_grid]

Shortcode Attributes

• count (int, default: 12)Number of items to show.
• status (string, default: linked)Filters items by status meta value.
  • Use all to show everything except items with status hidden (hidden is always excluded).
• columns (int, default: 4)Number of grid columns. Used as the CSS variable --pld-columns.
• gap (string, default: 1rem)Space between grid items. Used as the CSS variable --pld-gap.
• new_tab (boolean, default: true)Whether links open in a new tab.
  • When true, links get target="_blank" and rel="noopener" and the aria-label notes it opens in a new tab.
• orderby (string, default: ig_timestamp)Currently not used in the query logic (the query always sorts by the ig_timestamp meta value anyway).
• order (string, default: DESC)Sort direction. Only ASC is honored—anything else becomes DESC.
• class (string, default: "")Adds an extra CSS class to the grid wrapper (appended to pld-grid).

Managing Grid Items

Viewing Items

Go to Post Link Drop > All Post Link Drop Items to view imported posts.

Item Columns

• Thumbnail: 60×60 preview image
• IG Date: Instagram post date
• Destination URL: Link target
• Status: linked / unlinked / hidden
• Actions: Hide/unhide controls

Linking Items

Quick Link (Recommended)

1. Find the item in the Items list
2. Enter the destination URL in the Destination URL column
3. Press Enter or click Link
4. Status updates to linked

Full Edit

1. Click an item to edit it
2. In the Linking meta box:

• Set Status (unlinked / linked / hidden)

• Enter a Destination URL, or

• Select an existing Post/Page

3. Click Update

Item Statuses

• Linked: Has a destination URL and appears in the grid
• Unlinked: Has no destination URL; excluded from default display
• Hidden: Explicitly excluded from the grid

Editing Alt Text

Alt text is generated from the Instagram caption. To customize it:

1. Edit an item
2. Find the Alt Text field in the Details meta box
3. Enter your custom alt text
4. Click Update

Troubleshooting

“Invalid Access Token”

• Your token may have expired — generate a new long-lived token
• Confirm you're using an Instagram Graph API token (not Basic Display)
• Verify the token has required permissions

“Invalid User ID”

• Confirm you entered the numeric ID (not your username)
• It should be a long number like: 17841400000000000

Images Not Importing

• Confirm the Instagram account is Business/Creator
• Confirm a Facebook Page is connected
• Confirm required permissions were added in Meta

Grid Not Displaying

• Confirm you have items with linked status
• Confirm destination URLs are set
• Clear caching and refresh

Import Rate Limited

• Manual imports are limited to once every 2 minutes
• Wait and try again, or enable auto-import

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a personal Instagram account?

No. The Instagram Graph API requires a Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook Page.

How often should I refresh my access token?

Long-lived tokens are typically valid for 60–90 days. Regenerate every 60 days to avoid interruptions.

Will deleting an imported item delete the Instagram post?

No. Post Link Drop Items are local copies in WordPress.

Can I import from multiple Instagram accounts?

Not currently. Post Link Drop supports one Instagram account per WordPress site.

Are my images hosted locally?

Yes. Images are downloaded to your WordPress Media Library for faster loading and independence from Instagram.

Does this work with videos?

Videos show as a thumbnail image. The video file itself is not imported.

What happens with carousel posts?

The first image in the carousel is used as the grid thumbnail.

Changelog

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Instagram import via Graph API
• Grid item management
• Shortcode display
• Scheduled auto-import
• Alt text generation

License

GPL v2 or later

Support

For issues and feature requests, please contact the plugin author.