Title: Simple X Buttons – Share, Follow, Mention & Hashtag for WordPress Author: topdevs.net Published: September 8, 2011 Last modified: May 2, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/simple-twitter-plugin/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3521068) ![](https://ps.w.org/simple-twitter-plugin/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3521068) # Simple X Buttons – Share, Follow, Mention & Hashtag for WordPress By [topdevs.net](https://profiles.wordpress.org/topdevs/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin.2.0.zip) * [Details](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/#description) * [Reviews](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/#reviews) * [Installation](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/#installation) * [Development](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/) ## Description **Simple X Buttons** adds X (Twitter) buttons to your WordPress posts and pages — the right way. #### Why not use X’s official embed buttons? X’s embed infrastructure (`platform.twitter.com/widgets.js`) has been unreliable since 2023, hitting HTTP 429 rate limits at scale and causing embeds to fail silently or load slowly. X has not committed to fixing this. This plugin takes a different approach entirely. #### What are X Web Intents? Web Intents are plain URLs provided by X for sharing, following, mentioning, and more. They open a lightweight native X popup — no JavaScript SDK, no third-party cookies, no external scripts loaded on page load. You click, a popup opens, done. That means: * **No API key required** — zero setup friction * **No external scripts** — nothing loads until the user clicks * **No rate limits** — static URLs, no API calls * **GDPR-friendly** — no cookies or tracking on page load * **Fast** — the plugin CSS is ~1 KB, loaded only when a button is on the page #### Four button types * **Share** — opens X compose pre-filled with the post title, permalink, hashtags, and via handle * **Follow** — opens X’s native follow dialog for your account * **Mention** — opens X compose pre-filled with @yourhandle so visitors can tweet at you * **Hashtag** — opens X compose pre-filled with #yourtag; optionally pulls in the post’s own tags automatically #### Features * **Auto-insert** before and/or after post content — choose which buttons and which post types per placement * **Per-placement button control** — show Share on all posts, Follow only on certain post types, etc. * **Post tags as hashtags** — Share and Hashtag buttons can automatically pull the post’s tags (capped at 5 to keep tweets writable) * **4 Gutenberg blocks** — X Share, Follow, Mention, and Hashtag blocks with live editor previews * **4 Shortcodes** — `[sxb-share]`, `[sxb-follow]`, `[sxb-mention]`, `[sxb-hashtag]` * **Template tags** — `sxb_share_button()` and `sxb_button_bar()` for theme developers * **Three button styles** — Dark, Outline, Ghost * **Popup or new-tab** intent window #### Integration Four ways to add buttons to your site: 1. **Auto-insert** (recommended): Enable a placement in Settings Simple X Buttons. Buttons appear automatically on every matching post type. 2. **Shortcode**: `[sxb-share]`, `[sxb-follow handle="yourhandle"]`, `[sxb-mention handle="yourhandle"]`, `[sxb-hashtag tag="travel"]` anywhere in content. 3. **Block**: Search for “X Share Button”, “X Follow Button”, “X Mention Button”, or “X Hashtag Button” in the Gutenberg block inserter. 4. **Template tag**: `` or `` in theme templates. #### Compatibility * WordPress 5.8 or higher * PHP 7.2 or higher * No API key required * No external JavaScript loaded on page load * Works with any theme ## Screenshots * [[ * Buttons added after post content * [[ * Share on X popup example * [[ * Gutenberg block editor — all four blocks * [[ * Settings page — Placements section ## Blocks This plugin provides 4 blocks. * X Hashtag Button Let visitors tweet with a pre-filled hashtag. No API key required. * X Follow Button Add a Follow button that opens the X follow intent. No API key required. * X Share Button Share the current post on X with a single click. No API key required. * X Mention Button Let visitors tweet to a specific X handle with one click. No API key required. ## Installation 1. Upload the `simple-x-buttons` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` 2. Activate the plugin in **Plugins Installed Plugins** 3. Go to **Settings Simple X Buttons** 4. Enable a placement and choose which buttons to show 5. Configure each button type (handle, hashtag, label) in the sections below 6. That’s it ## FAQ ### Does this load Twitter/X scripts on my pages? No. The plugin loads only its own ~1 KB stylesheet, and only on pages where a button appears. No external scripts are loaded at any point unless a user clicks a button and the intent popup opens. ### Does this need an API key? No. X Web Intents are plain URLs — no authentication, no app registration required. ### Why not use X’s official follow/share buttons? X’s `widgets.js` SDK has been intermittently rate-limited since 2023, causing buttons to fail to render or show HTTP 429 errors. Web Intents are unaffected because they are static URLs, not API calls. ### Is this GDPR-friendly? Yes. No external scripts, cookies, or tracking occur on page load. X’s servers are only contacted when a user actively clicks a button and the intent popup opens — the same as clicking any external link. ### What is the difference between “Popup” and “New Tab” intent window? Popup opens a small 600×360 window centered on the screen — the standard X intent experience. New Tab opens the intent URL in a new browser tab. If JavaScript is disabled, popup falls back gracefully to a new tab. ### Can I add buttons to custom post types? Yes. In the Placements section you can enable any public post type registered on your site, per placement. ### Why is the Hashtag button label just “Tweet” when post tags are enabled? When multiple tags are merged (e.g. #travel, #wordpress, #seo), displaying all of them in the button label would look cluttered. The label falls back to “Tweet” so the button stays clean regardless of how many tags the post has. ### Does this work with page builders? Shortcodes work in any context that processes WordPress shortcodes. The Gutenberg blocks work in the block editor. For Elementor, Bricks, or other builders, use the shortcode widget. ### Can I change the hashtag limit? Yes. The default cap is 5 post tags. Developers can adjust it with: add_filter(‘ sxb_hashtag_limit’, fn() => 3 ); ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Simple X Buttons – Share, Follow, Mention & Hashtag for WordPress” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ topdevs.net ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/topdevs/) [Translate “Simple X Buttons – Share, Follow, Mention & Hashtag for WordPress” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/simple-twitter-plugin) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/simple-twitter-plugin/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/simple-twitter-plugin/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-twitter-plugin/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/simple-twitter-plugin/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 2.0.0 * Complete rewrite — X Web Intents architecture, no API dependencies * Four button types: Share, Follow, Mention, Hashtag * Four Gutenberg blocks with live editor previews * Four shortcodes: [sxb-share], [sxb-follow], [sxb-mention], [sxb-hashtag] * Per-placement button selection (choose which buttons appear before/after content) * Post tags as hashtags for Share and Hashtag buttons (capped at 5) * Three button styles: Dark, Outline, Ghost * Popup or new-tab intent window * GDPR-friendly: zero cookies or external scripts on page load ## Meta * Version **2.0.0** * Last updated **2 weeks ago** * Active installations **80+** * WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher ** * Tested up to **6.9.4** * PHP version ** 7.2 or higher ** * Language * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/) * Tags * [follow](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/follow/)[share](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/share/) [social](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/social/)[twitter](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/twitter/) [x](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/x/) * [Advanced View](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/simple-twitter-plugin/advanced/) ## Ratings 5 out of 5 stars. * [ 1 5-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/?filter=5) * [ 0 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/?filter=4) * [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/?filter=3) * [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/?filter=2) * [ 0 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/?filter=1) [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ topdevs.net ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/topdevs/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/simple-twitter-plugin/)