With the increase in the quantity and quality of user functions of social networks, their popularity among users has also grown.
The birth of a social network button for a site is directly related to the popularity and mass character of social networks.
Today, almost everyone who has access to the Internet has their own (personal) page in at least one social network. Often - in several.
The buttons of social networks for a site have ceased to be a means used exclusively by site optimizers to attract new visitors to a site.
The growth of the culture of using social networks has led to the fact that users themselves want to use the amenities that provide buttons for quick access to social networks. Buttons give users the opportunity to instantly exchange interesting information.
In fact, the button script of social networks is a macro that frees the user from several routine actions, and provides the ability to quickly transfer user-selected information from one Internet resource to another.
Each of the social networks offers its own buttons for the site. They can be obtained directly from a particular social network, along with instructions for installing on the site. The instructions may vary, depending on which platform the site is running on. Installing the buttons on the site following the instructions is quite simple.
Typically, these buttons use javascript, which has its pros and cons.
The disadvantages include the impact on the site loading speed. The pluses include the ability to track statistics, which is important for experienced bloggers.
The buttons of social networks are important for the site, but a balance of interests must be observed. A large number of scripts will inevitably affect the speed of loading the site. In this connection, experts recommend limiting their number to only the most necessary, and effective in terms of website promotion.
Many bloggers and specialists use simple and equally workable "homemade" buttons. Those who want to create buttons on their own can apply to the search engine with a corresponding request. The search result will be a large list of offers with ready-made templates for simple scripts and ready-made button designs.
Following the attached instructions for the scripts (from the authors themselves), without much difficulty, you can solve the problem. The biggest difficulty when installing and configuring button scripts yourself is to align or fit the buttons to the content or design of the site page.
Many people want and install a block of buttons on social networks. In many cases, blocks look more aesthetically pleasing than single or grouped buttons.
A great advantage when installing the social networking buttons for a site is those users whose sites or blogs run on popular engines. A large number of plugins are available for them, automatically solving the problem of installing buttons or their blocks. In addition, almost all plugins provide the user with a wide range of options for changing the design of buttons. Also, they allow you to change the set of buttons of your choice.
Different plugins offer different sets of settings and the possible number of buttons for installation. The number of plugins is large and everyone can choose for themselves the one that more closely matches the specific needs of the site.
An additional advantage in the use of plugins is that with their help you can change the design, arrangement (vertically, horizontally) of the buttons in a matter of seconds. Such needs arise regularly on sites that are often updated by design.
There is one general rule: it is safer and more convenient to use those tools that are more understandable and do not require outside intervention to configure, if there is an equivalent choice.