How to Add a “Tweet This” Button to WordPress

TwitThis is a free service and WordPress plugin that allows you to add a “Tweet This” button at the end of your WordPress posts/pages. Another plugin would be Tweet This, a WordPress plugin with a bit more features than the TwitThis. I prefer the latter because it helps me to shorten the URLs automatically with 3rd party URL services.

If you don’t wish to use a WordPress plugin, you could follow the “Tweet This” hack from WordPress Hacks.

I wanted more control on how and where I should display my Tweet This button and I decided that I had to use the Tweet This WordPress plugin to achieve the look and function I want.

Step 1: Download, Upload and Active Tweet This

Dowload Tweet This from Richard X. Thripp’s web site. Upload the files into the /wp-content/plugins folder of your WordPress installation and activate the plugin in WordPress.

Step 2: Configure the Tweet This Settings

If you would like to manually display the Tweet This link with your own button, you should uncheck the first 2 automatic options. For this example, I will be using one of the free Twitter buttons I downloaded from MilkAddict.com so I will not need the automatic options. Feel free to select any URL service you wish to use.

Step 3: Download An Alternative Tweet This Icon (Optional)

If you would prefer to use graphics to display the Tweet This link, here’s a list of Twitter buttons you may use for your web site.

• Twitter buttons from MilkAddict.com
• Twitter buttons from Siah Design
• More Twitter buttons from Siah Design
• 31 Twitter Logos from VincentAbry.com
• Twitter buttons from Randa Clay
• Twitter buttons from WebDesign by mts
• Twitter buttons from limeshotmarketing
• Twitter buttons from iconspedia

Step 4: Add a Tweet This Link to Your Blog Page and/or Post Template

Open the files single.php and page.php in your favourite HTML editor. Add the following code to your template.

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<!-- TWITTER - START -->
<a href="<?php tweet_this_url(); ?>" rel="nofollow"><img src="<?php echo bloginfo('template_directory'); ?>/images/icon-twitter.png" width="70" height="70" alt="Tweet This" /></a>
<!-- TWITTER - END -->

My assumption was you upload your Twitter button to a folder called “images” within your theme folder.

Preview of My Tweet This Button

I displayed my Tweet This button below each post. Here’s what happens when you click on it….

Hopefully people will use your Tweet This button to submit your interesting blog posts to their Twitter profile. I hope you enjoyed this Twitter/WordPress tutorial. Feel free to send me any questions via the comments or email.