Instagram blocks

Feature the most recent images from your Instagram feed on your site.

Last updated January 24, 2025

Use Instagram blocks to display Instagram posts on your site. This is a great way to showcase your Instagram images or videos without manually adding them to gallery blocks or gallery pages. As you add content to a connected Instagram account, Instagram blocks sync to show your latest posts on your site. 

Note

Due to recent changes to Instagram's API, to continue pulling new content to your Instagram blocks, you'll need to reconnect your Squarespace site to Instagram. If you currently have a personal Instagram account, you must convert your account to a professional account during this process. As of December 4, 2024, Instagram blocks that haven't been reconnected won't display any new content until reconnecting.

To reconnect your Instagram account:

  1. Open the Connected Accounts panel.   
  2. Click Reauthenticate.
  3. If you don't already have a professional (Business or Creator) account, the reconnection process will guide you through making the change from a personal account to a professional account.
  4. After you’ve converted your account and reconnected, click the Instagram icon in the Connected Accounts panel.
  5. Click Reset Data.

To continue displaying a feed of Instagram posts on your site without converting your Instagram account to a professional account, replace your Instagram block with an embed block with Instagram’s embed code.

Watch a video

Add the Instagram block

To add an Instagram block:

  1. Edit a page or post, click Add Block or an insert point, and choose Instagram from the menu. For help, visit Adding content with blocks.
  2. Open the block editor by clicking the pencil icon on the block.
  3. In the Account tab, click the Connected Account drop-down menu to select a previously connected Instagram account, or select Add an account and follow the authorization steps to connect a new one.
  4. Set the number of items to display, up to 20.
  5. In the Design tab, choose a design and customize display settings
  6. Click Save to save your changes and keep editing, or click Exit and then Save to close the editor.

Tips and limitations

Keep in mind:

  • Instagram doesn't support filtering posts in Instagram blocks by a search term or hashtag.
  • If you connect a private Instagram account to an Instagram block, posts will appear in the block but lead to a dead link when clicked. To avoid this, set your Instagram account to public.
  • Instagram posts with multiple images or videos display the first item as a static image in Instagram blocks. In the design tab of the block editor, check Open links in new window to link visitors to the full post.
  • Instagram blocks don't support IGTV posts, Stories, shared posts, or Reels.
  • Pinned posts do not appear at the beginning of your Instagram block. 
  • If you have multiple Instagram accounts you'd like to feature, you can connect each account to a different Instagram block.

Choose a design

In the design tab, choose how posts will display in the block. There are four designs to choose from, and you can customize them with different options like aspect ratio, padding, and how posts appear when you click them. The four designs are:

  • Slideshow - Posts display one at a time
  • Carousel - Posts display in full with parts of the previous and next posts on either side, depending on the settings
  • Grid - Posts display as a grid of thumbnail images
  • Stacked - Posts display at full width, one on top of the other

When you're done customizing the design, click Save. To learn more, visit Options for each Instagram block design.

Tip

Some design options display differently on mobile devices. You can preview your settings with device view.

Options for each Instagram block design

Design option Block behavior
Automatically Transition Between Slides Automatically switches to the next post after a set period. When checked, a slider appears for setting the transition time between one and 10 seconds.
Show Next and Previous Controls Adds arrows for navigating to the next and previous posts. The controls appear in overlays to the left and right of the main post.
Automatically Crop Images Crops or resizes the posts for the best design.
Show Thumbnails Adds a strip with thumbnails of all images and videos in the block below the main post. When checked, sliders to set the height of the thumbnail strip and the distance between the thumbnail strip and the main post.
Show Caption

Displays post descriptions. When checked, more options appear to set the position of the descriptions and to only display them on hover. Learn how your template styles these captions.

The descriptions won't display on mobile.

Open Links in New Window Opens Instagram in new tab when visitors click posts.
Design option Block behavior
Automatically Transition Between Slides Automatically switches to the next post after a set period. When checked, a slider appears for setting the transition time between one and 10 seconds.
Show Next and Previous Controls Adds arrows for navigating to the next and previous posts. The controls appear in overlays to the left and right of the main post.
Active Alignment Focuses the block on an active post. This post appears in full.
Open Links in New Window Opens Instagram in new tab when visitors click posts.
Design option Block behavior
Aspect Ratio Controls the dimensions at which your posts display.
Crop Images Removes padding from posts' containers and displays them at the size chosen in the aspect ratio drop-down menu.
Thumbnails Per Row Customizes the number of thumbnails in a row in the grid.
Padding Adjusts the padding outside of the posts' containers.
Lightbox

Opens a post with a black background when visitors click the post.

The post's caption will display on hover in the lightbox. On mobile, tap the circle in the bottom-right corner of the lightbox to display the post's caption. Learn how your template styles these captions.

Open Links in New Window Opens Instagram in new tab when visitors click posts. This option won't work if the lightbox is enabled.
Design option Block behavior
Show Caption

Displays post descriptions below each post. Learn how your template styles these captions.

Open Links in New Window Opens Instagram in new tab when visitors click posts.

Troubleshooting

Follow the steps below to troubleshoot issues with Instagram blocks. Keep in mind, while we can offer troubleshooting advice, any issues caused by policy changes or product updates on Instagram's end fall outside our scope of support. Common issues include:

  • The block doesn’t match the Instagram feed.
  • The block shows duplicate or incorrect posts.
  • The block shows archived posts.
  • The block shows an error message: “There are no items to display from the selected collection.”
  • The block doesn't appear at all.

Tip

Instagram blocks update about every 30 minutes, so new posts may not appear immediately.

Step 1 - Check the connection

You can resolve most issues by ensuring the Instagram connection is set up correctly:

  1. Open the Connected Accounts panel.
  2. Click your Instagram account.
  3. Ensure Download Data is checked.
  4. Click Reset Data.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Refresh the webpage.

Step 2 - Reconnect the account

If you’re still having issues, or if an “Unauthorized: Remove or reauthenticate this account for continued usage” error message displays, disconnect and reconnect your Instagram account:

  1. In the Connected Accounts panel, click your Instagram account.
  2. Click Disconnect.
  3. Click Confirm.
  4. In a separate tab, log out of all Instagram accounts on your device.
  5. Return to your Squarespace site. In the connected accounts panel, click Connect.
  6. Choose Instagram from the Social Accounts menu, then log in using your Instagram username and password.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Return to the Instagram block. In the account tab of the block editor, click the Connected Account drop-down menu to re-select your Instagram account
  9. Click Save to save your changes and keep editing, or click Exit and then Save to close the editor.
  10.  

Step 3 - Replace the block

If the issue still isn't resolved, remove the block and add a new one:

  1. Open the Pages panel and click the page with the Instagram block.
  2. Hover over the page and click Edit.
  3. Hover over the Instagram block and click the trash can icon.
  4. Click an insert point and choose Instagram.
  5. Select your Instagram account and click Save.
  6. Refresh the page.

Step 4 - Disable ad blockers and browser extensions

Instagram blocks might not display if you're using ad blockers in your browser. We recommend removing any ad blockers to start. If you're still having block display issues, try disabling all browser extensions. If you continue to have trouble, contact us.

Display a feed of posts using an embed block

You must have a professional Instagram account to use an Instagram block. To display a feed of Instagram posts on your site without a professional account, add Instagram’s embed code to an embed block:

  1. Edit a page or post, click Add Block or an insert point, then click Embed. For help, visit Adding content with blocks.
  2. In Instagram, find the post or profile you’d like to embed, and click in the top right.
  3. Click Embed, then click Copy Embed Code
  4. Return to your Embed block, click Code snippet in the block editor on a computer or tap Code in the Squarespace app, then paste the embed code manually into the text field.

To learn more about embedding collections of posts to your site, visit Instagram's documentation

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