How to add a WordPress Follow Button to your Self Hosted Blog
Do you want to know how to add a WordPress follow button to your self hosted blog?
I’m here to help! I wrote a post about how to go self hosted last year, and one of the main questions I get about going self hosted when on WordPress is how to get the follow button back. When you’re on wordpress.com a nice little button pops up when people visit you on mobile and it makes it super easy to get new followers, but being self hosted makes it seem you can no longer have the follow button or that you can no longer use the reader.
On the contrary, you CAN! I’m here to tell you how.
Generating WordPress Follow Button Code
First you need to make sure you still have a WordPress account that’s connected to Jetpack. Also on a side note – if your ‘like’ button has disappeared from your posts, you can contact them and they should be able to get it back for you.
My WordPress account is a bit confusing as for some reason the people that helped me migrate did a new username for me… not sure why but anyway – it works.
Once you’ve done that you need to use the code below to add a follow button to your blog. I’ve added a few versions where you can choose if you want the follower count showing and if you want your blog name showing. You need to replace the highlighted parts with your blog info!
Follower and Blog Name Follow Button Code 
<a class=”wordpress-follow-button” href=”https://jenniely.com” data-blog=”https://jenniely.com” data-lang=”en” data-show-follower-count=”true”>Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com</a>
<script type=”text/javascript”>(function(d){var f = d.getElementsByTagName(‘SCRIPT’)[0], p = d.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);p.type = ‘text/javascript’;p.async = true;p.src = ‘//widgets.wp.com/platform.js’;f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
Blog Name no Follower Follow Button Code 
<a class=”wordpress-follow-button” href=”https://jenniely.com” data-blog=”https://jenniely.com” data-lang=”en”>Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com</a>
<script type=”text/javascript”>(function(d){var f = d.getElementsByTagName(‘SCRIPT’)[0], p = d.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);p.type = ‘text/javascript’;p.async = true;p.src = ‘//widgets.wp.com/platform.js’;f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
Following No Blog Name Follow Button Code
<a class=”wordpress-follow-button” href=”https://jenniely.com” data-blog=”https://jenniely.com” data-lang=”en” data-show-follower-count=”true” data-show-blog-name=”false”>Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com</a>
<script type=”text/javascript”>(function(d){var f = d.getElementsByTagName(‘SCRIPT’)[0], p = d.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);p.type = ‘text/javascript’;p.async = true;p.src = ‘//widgets.wp.com/platform.js’;f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
No Blog Name No Follower count Follow Button Code 
<a class=”wordpress-follow-button” href=”https://jenniely.com” data-blog=”https://jenniely.com” data-lang=”en” data-show-blog-name=”false”>Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com</a>
<script type=”text/javascript”>(function(d){var f = d.getElementsByTagName(‘SCRIPT’)[0], p = d.createElement(‘SCRIPT’);p.type = ‘text/javascript’;p.async = true;p.src = ‘//widgets.wp.com/platform.js’;f.parentNode.insertBefore(p,f);}(document));</script>
You can also use the WordPress Generator.
Where to put your WordPress Follow Button
Now that you’ve got your code, where do you put it?
➵ I have mine at the top of my blog, and I do this by using the Insert Header and Footer plugin (which you can search for) and just adding the code there. It means that my follow button is ALWAYS at the top of the page which is great on mobile especially.
➵ I also add it to the footer too!
➵ It’s best to add a HTML widget to your sidebar so it’s in a prominent place on Desktop too.
➵ For good measure I paste the code to the bottom of all my blog posts too!
If it’s not working for you, there could be some issues with your Jetpack, and I found this handy link that can help you if you need it, though mine didn’t have any issues.
You’re all set!
It’s that easy. I hope you found this helpful! If you have any other questions or tips you’d like to see, let me know down below!
Follow Jenniely on WordPress.com
14 Comments
Very informative! When I first set up my blog, I struggled trying to figure out how to get the WordPress follow button on my site. I wish I had this post when I was setting up my blog! Thanks, Jenn! <3
You’re welcome! 💜
Mine is up and working now!!! SO MUCH THANKS TO YOU!
💜💜💜
Always wanted to know how to do this. You just saved me the search!! Thank you!!
You’re very welcome!
I have the WP follow button in my sidebar but had no idea how to attach it to the top of the page! Thank you so much for sharing, love! ❤️
You’re welcome! Glad to have helped!
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They must have done something to this code because it doesn’t work on my blog 🙁
Oh no! I’ll check it out!
Thanks for checking. I think the problem lies in my blog 🙁
It’s still working for me!