Contents
Plugixa Easy Social Share Buttons - User Documentation
Welcome to the official documentation for Plugixa Easy Social Share Buttons, shown in the WordPress admin as Plugixa Social Share. It adds share buttons to your posts, pages and products, follow buttons for your own profiles, and the Open Graph and X card tags that decide how a shared link looks.
Every button is a real link drawn by PHP, so it works before JavaScript loads and with JavaScript switched off. A page that shows no buttons loads none of the plugin’s CSS or JavaScript.
The plugin ships in two editions:
- Free - share sets built in a five-step wizard, 41 destinations, 27 button styles, automatic placements per post type, the blog home, archives and WooCommerce products, the Share buttons block, shortcode, Elementor widget and template tags, per-post controls, follow buttons for 25 services, share counts with count recovery, a click analytics screen, GA4 share events, link preview tags, and import from Sassy Social Share and AddToAny.
- Pro PRO - everything in Free, plus UTM tags and short links, a by-placement report with 90-day and 12-month ranges and CSV export, six more button styles, the Pinterest Save button and per-post pin details, quote boxes, popup and fly-in placements, the “Save this post” email form, and a share set chosen per post.
Nothing in the free edition is switched off or limited. See the complete Free vs Pro comparison.
What makes it different
A few decisions shape every screen. They are worth knowing before you build your first share set.
| Decision | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| A page loads only what it uses | Every placement and every button declares what it costs. A row of plain links below the content needs one small stylesheet and no script. The Overview screen shows the measured cost of your own configuration. |
| Buttons are links first | Each button is an ordinary link to the network’s share address. The script only upgrades what already works: a sized popup, Copy link, print, the device share sheet, the counts and the click record. |
| Share sets, built once and placed anywhere | A share set is a row of buttons with a look. It can appear automatically, and it can be placed by hand with a shortcode, a block, the Elementor widget or a PHP template tag. Change the set and every place changes with it. |
| One set per spot | Each automatic spot on each post type belongs to one share set. The wizard tells you, before you save, when a spot moves from another set. |
| Counts that exist | Only the services that still report share counts are asked. For every other network the plugin shows your own visitors’ clicks. The two are never added together, and a network with neither shows nothing. |
| Safe behind a page cache | Nothing is decided from the visitor’s device on the server. Phone sizes and phone-only placements are handled in CSS, so one cached page is right for everybody. |
| It steps aside for your SEO plugin | Link preview tags are printed only where no SEO plugin prints its own. |
Key concepts
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Share set | A saved row of share buttons: its networks, style, layout, and where it appears by itself. Each has a number, used in [plugixa_share id="2"]. |
| Default set | The share set with the lowest number. A bare [plugixa_share], and a block or widget left on Default, draw it. |
| Network | One destination a visitor can share to, such as Facebook, WhatsApp or Copy link. |
| Style | How the buttons are drawn: one of the styles in the wizard’s gallery. |
| Spot | A place on a page where a set appears automatically, such as Below the content or Float left. |
| Placed by hand | A set put on a page with the shortcode, the block, the Elementor widget or PHP rather than an automatic spot. |
| Follow buttons | A row of links to your own profiles. Separate from share buttons, and always plain links. |
| Share count | The number a network reports for a page’s address. Available from five services. |
| Click count | The number of times your own visitors clicked a share button, recorded on your server. |
| Link preview | The title, text and picture a link shows when it is shared, set by Open Graph and X card tags. |
Getting started
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Install, activate, and build and place your first share set |
| Overview | The opening screen: clicks, sets, networks in use and what a page costs a visitor |
| Free vs Pro | What each edition contains |
Share buttons
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Share sets | The list of sets and the five-step wizard |
| Networks | The 41 destinations, their groups and the “+” menu |
| Styles | The free styles, your own colour, and the Pro styles |
| Placements | Automatic spots, the blog home and archives, WooCommerce |
| Per-post controls | Hide a post’s buttons, drop one spot, or choose another set |
| Blocks | The Share buttons and Follow buttons blocks, and the Pro blocks |
| Shortcodes | Every shortcode, every attribute, and the PHP template tags |
| Follow buttons | Links to your own profiles on 25 services |
Counts and measurement
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Share counts | Where counts come from, your own clicks, and count recovery |
| Analytics | The click dashboard and the Pro reports |
| Google Analytics and UTM | GA4 share events and UTM tags |
| Link previews | Open Graph and X card tags |
Pro features
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Pinterest PRO | A Save button on images, and a pin image and description per post |
| Quote boxes PRO | A quote set off from the text, with its own share row |
| Popup and fly-in PRO | Two more spots for a share set, opened by a trigger |
| Short links PRO | Share a short link made by Bitly, Rebrandly or YOURLS |
| Email capture PRO | The “Save this post” form and your email list |
Moving and configuring
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Import | Bring your buttons over from Sassy Social Share or AddToAny |
| Settings | Every tab and option on the Settings screen |
| Translations | Translating the plugin, and the file Pro reads for its own options |
| Performance | What loads on a page, when, and how large it is |
| Privacy and uninstall | What is stored, what is sent, and what uninstalling removes |
For developers
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Hooks Reference | Actions and filters |
| REST API | The plugin’s REST routes |
Support
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | Common problems and their causes |
System requirements
- WordPress: 6.5 or higher
- PHP: 8.2 or higher
- Browsers: for the admin, a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge with JavaScript switched on. The buttons on your site are plain links and work in any browser.
WooCommerce and Elementor are optional. The WooCommerce placement and the Elementor widget appear only where those plugins are active.
Getting help
- Check Troubleshooting first.
- Read the page for the screen you are using.
- Contact support through your Plugixa account.
License
Plugixa Easy Social Share Buttons is licensed under the GPL v2 or later. Pro is a separate download; licences and updates are handled by Freemius.