ShootCal Social Feed
A lightweight, cached Instagram feed for professional accounts with local hashtag filtering.
Solid choice
ShootCal Social Feed is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 8 hours ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed ā last update 8 hours ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release ā each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where ShootCal Social Feed stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| feed | >100 |
| gallery | >100 |
| hashtag | >100 |
| >100 | |
| social media | >100 |
About ShootCal Social Feed
From the official readme Ā· v0.5.0Description
ShootCal Social Feed displays recent posts from one connected Instagram Business or Creator account on your WordPress website. Connect with Facebook, choose your linked account, and add a shortcode. The plugin refreshes posts on a schedule and serves visitors the last successful WordPress cache without visitor-triggered Instagram API requests.
ShootCal also provides website building, scheduling, booking, contracts, invoices, client galleries, and a print store for photographers.
Features:
- Feed assets load only on pages containing a feed.
- Responsive image grid with no jQuery or heavy libraries. Static embeds need no JavaScript; dynamic embeds use one small deferred script.
- Images, video thumbnails, Reels, and carousel cover images.
- Exact, case-insensitive caption hashtag filtering with a single tag, any-of lists, and optional exclusions.
- Saved feeds: name a filter set once in ShootCal Apps > Social Feed, paste
[shootcal_instagram_feed feed="1"]anywhere, and later edits apply everywhere. - Shortcode-specific hashtags and display limits.
- One to six columns and initial images, with older saved display counts preserved.
- Optional View more button reveals one responsive row at a time, up to 30 cached matching posts.
- Additional images load when revealed, without a new Instagram request.
- Optional phone display count and account follow button.
- Optional post-load refresh that bypasses full-page caches while reading only WordPress’s saved feed.
- Scheduled cache refresh with a last-known-good fallback.
- One-click Facebook authorization through ShootCal, plus manual-token fallback.
- Manual refresh and connection status in ShootCal Apps > Social Feed.
- Preview saved Smash Balloon feed imports, map existing shortcode IDs, and explicitly switch with an undo option.
Requirements: a WordPress site using HTTPS and an Instagram Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page that you can manage. The Connect with Facebook flow uses ShootCal’s Meta app, so you do not need to create your own developer app. Advanced users can enter their own numeric Instagram account ID and Page access token instead. The plugin uses the official Instagram API with Facebook Login. It does not scrape Instagram or support Personal accounts.
External services
The plugin contacts ShootCal only when an administrator starts or completes Connect with Facebook. During one-click connection, the plugin sends this site’s WordPress admin callback URL, WordPress Address, plugin version, and a one-time cryptographic challenge to the ShootCal OAuth broker at api.shootcal.com. ShootCal redirects the administrator to Meta, temporarily handles the resulting Page-token candidate, and releases it only to this WordPress server after the server proves possession of the one-time verifier. Tokens are never placed in browser URLs. The broker attempt expires after ten minutes.
After connection, this plugin connects to Meta’s Graph API at graph.facebook.com during a scheduled or administrator-requested refresh. It sends the configured Instagram business account ID and Page access token to request the account username, captions, media type, media URLs, post links, timestamps, and carousel cover data. The token is decrypted only for these server-to-server requests and is never included in front-end HTML.
Feed images are served from the remote Meta/Facebook CDN URLs returned by the API. A visitor’s browser therefore connects directly to Meta to load each visible image, which can disclose ordinary request information such as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent to Meta. The plugin applies a no-referrer policy to image requests.
Service terms and privacy policies:
- ShootCal Terms of Service: https://shootcal.com/terms/
- ShootCal Privacy Policy: https://shootcal.com/privacy/
- ShootCal data-deletion instructions: https://shootcal.com/data-deletion/
- Meta Platform Terms: https://developers.facebook.com/terms/
- Meta Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/
Support
For help with connection or feed display, contact support@shootcal.com. Include your WordPress and plugin versions and a description of the issue. Never send your access token or Facebook password.
Installation
- Upload the
shootcal-social-feeddirectory to/wp-content/plugins/. - Activate ShootCal Social Feed.
- Open ShootCal Apps > Social Feed.
- Choose Connect with Facebook and select the linked professional Instagram account.
- Add
[shootcal_instagram_feed]to a Shortcode block.
To show only posts whose captions include a particular hashtag:
[shootcal_instagram_feed hashtag="weddings"]
Comma-separated lists match any of the tags, and exclude removes posts even when they match:
[shootcal_instagram_feed hashtag="familyportraits, family" exclude="wedding"]
Prefer managing filters without editing pages? Create a saved feed under ShootCal Apps > Social Feed and embed it by id:
[shootcal_instagram_feed feed="1"]
The leading # is optional. Additional examples:
[shootcal_instagram_feed hashtag="#weddings" limit="9" columns="3"]
[shootcal_instagram_feed limit="12" columns="4"]
To mirror a compact social feed with five desktop tiles, four mobile tiles, and an account button:
[shootcal_instagram_feed hashtag="wedding" limit="5" columns="5" mobile_limit="4" follow="true"]
If the surrounding page is held in a full-page cache, add dynamic="true". The cached page keeps a server-rendered fallback, while a small deferred script refreshes the markup after load from a public, non-stored WordPress REST response. That route reads only the last successful plugin cache and never triggers an Instagram API request:
[shootcal_instagram_feed hashtag="wedding" limit="5" columns="5" mobile_limit="4" follow="true" dynamic="true"]
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate from Smash Balloon?
Yes. In ShootCal Apps > Social Feed, select the Import from Smash Balloon button after connecting the same Instagram account. The separate walkthrough guides you through preparation, feed selection, previews, and switching. Saved definitions can be read while Smash Balloon is active, inactive, or removed, provided its data remains in the database. Supported single-account grid feeds can become new ShootCal presets. You can also explicitly map an old feed ID to an existing ShootCal preset, including when the old settings cannot be converted automatically. Leave Smash Balloon active duringā¦
I use a performance plugin (Perfmatters, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Autoptimize) and the feed looks unstyled or images misbehave.
ShootCal Social Feed registers its own exclusions with Perfmatters and WP Rocket automatically: its stylesheet is excluded from Remove Unused CSS, and its images carry the standard skip-lazy marker that most lazy-load plugins honor. After updating this plugin, clear your optimizerās CSS cache once so it regenerates. For other optimizers, exclude these manually: Unused/critical CSS removal: exclude the stylesheet path /shootcal-social-feed/ (or safelist selectors beginning with .shootcal-instagram-feed). Lazy loading: exclude images with the skip-lazy class if your tool does not already honorā¦
Does filtering call Instagramās public hashtag search API?
No. Filtering is performed locally against captions from the connected accountās own recent posts. This keeps permissions and API usage small and predictable.
What happens if Instagram is temporarily unavailable?
The last successful cached metadata stays visible. The actual images remain hosted by Meta, and Metaās signed media URLs may eventually expire during a long outage or after access is revoked. An administrator can see the error and retry from ShootCal Apps > Social Feed.
Does a page visitor ever trigger a live Instagram request?
No. Front-end rendering reads only the WordPress cache. Visitorsā browsers still load feed images from Metaās CDN, as described under External services.
How do I delete the Instagram connection data?
Open ShootCal Apps > Social Feed and choose Disconnect and clear cache. This removes the encrypted token, selected Instagram account ID, OAuth state, refresh status, and cached feed from this WordPress installation. Deleting the plugin from WordPress also removes all plugin options and its scheduled refresh job. See https://shootcal.com/data-deletion/ for the complete instructions.
Changelog
0.5.0
- Preserve entire photos inside square tiles, and protect media badges from theme hover stacking.
- Add optional View more, responsive row expansion, and matching ShootCal feed controls.
- Share the small hashtag filtering library and preserve existing feed settings.
0.4.2
- Keep carousel and video indicators above feed photos when a theme raises linked images on hover.
- Isolate each feed tileās stacking context without changing theme styles outside the feed.
0.4.1
- Move Smash Balloon import behind a single settings-page button and a four-step guided walkthrough.
- Explain preserved shortcodes, importing retained data after removal, and deactivation at the final switch.
- Keep source feeds, previews, and switch controls off the regular settings page.
0.4.0
- Add reviewed Smash Balloon feed import and explicit existing-feed mapping without rewriting content or copying credentials.
- Add opt-in shortcode and standard-block compatibility, guarded plugin switching, cached previews, and undo.
- Detect unsupported sources, filters, inline settings, native widgets, and Elementor widgets before switching.
0.3.9
- Keep the multiphoto icon unchanged when hovering or focusing a feed image.
- Add a subtle cell border so white-padded Instagram photos have a clear edge.
0.3.8
- Prepare the public plugin-directory submission with current setup instructions, account requirements, and external-service disclosures.
- Use the ShootCal Social Feed directory slug while preserving existing connections, saved feeds, shortcodes, and cache keys.
For developers
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FAQ
ShootCal Social Feed: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org Ā· checked Sep 30, 2026
Is ShootCal Social Feed free?
Yes. ShootCal Social Feed is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is ShootCal Social Feed safe to use in 2026?
ShootCal Social Feed is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 8 hours ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
How many websites use ShootCal Social Feed?
ShootCal Social Feed is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 155 times since it launched in September 2026. It was downloaded 127 times in the last 30 days.
Does ShootCal Social Feed work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested ShootCal Social Feed up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.4 or newer.
What PHP version does ShootCal Social Feed need?
ShootCal Social Feed requires PHP 8.0 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was ShootCal Social Feed last updated?
The latest version, 0.5.0, was released on September 30, 2026 (8 hours ago).
Who makes ShootCal Social Feed?
ShootCal Social Feed is developed and maintained by rsmith4321.
What are the best alternatives to ShootCal Social Feed?
The most popular alternatives to ShootCal Social Feed are WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) (100K+ installs), RSS for Yandex Turbo (20K+ installs) and GN Publisher: Google News Cā¦ (20K+ installs).
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