Getting started

On this page we explain the basic steps required to connect an Instagram account, create a feed, and add it to your project. This guide assumes that you've already created a free account.

Connect to Instagram

We refer to connected Instagram accounts as "sources." All feeds have an associated source.

Navigate to the sources page and click on the + Add source button. You will see an option to connect either a Basic source or Advanced source. For now, let's connect a basic source.

If you have login access to the Instagram account:

  1. Click on the Connect button
  2. After being redirected to Instagram, click allow. Make sure all permissions are granted. It will say "optional" next to some requested permissions, but they are required for Behold to function.
  3. You should then see a loading screen, followed by your sources page with a new source added.

If you do not have login access to the Instagram account:

  1. Copy your unique auth link, displayed below the Connect button
  2. Have the owner of the account visit that link. They can authorize the account without being logged in to Behold.
  3. Once they have completed authorization, their account will appear on your sources page

Create a feed

  1. Navigate to the feeds page and click on Add feed
  2. You will be prompted to choose between a user feed or hashtag feed. User feeds pull posts from a single account, hashtag feeds aggregate public hashtag content from across Instagram.
  3. Pick a source for your feed. If you are creating a hashtag feed, you must choose an advanced source.
  4. Choose between an embedded widget or JSON feed. If you are a developer and just want access to the raw feed, choose JSON. To get up and running fast with a drop-in JavaScript embed, choose Widget.
  5. Name your feed, or just click on Create feed to use the default name. You can change this later.
  6. You will be redirected to your feed admin page. Here you can see a preview of your feed, update settings, and access your embed code or JSON Feed URL.

Add your feed to a website

For details on coding your own feed UI with a JSON feed, please see our JSON feed docs. For instructions on adding the Behold embedded widget to various platforms, you can refer to our platform guides.

For now, here's how you can add an Instagram widget to a WordPress page using a custom HTML content block:

  1. Navigate to the feeds page and click anywhere on your widget to open the widget details popup.
  2. Click on Embed code in the sidebar
  3. Click on the copy button to add the code to your clipboard.
  4. Log in to the WordPress admin and navigate to a page or post edit screen.
  5. Hit return to add a new content block, click the +, and search for "Custom HTML."
  6. Paste your widget code into the Custom HTML block, and click update to save your changes. That's it! You can edit the number of posts, layout, appearance, mobile breakpoints, and more in the Behold admin.

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