WordPress.com announced yesterday that they’ve added support for three new sharing buttons:
For self-hosted WordPress sites, WordPress sharing buttons are handled through the Jetpack plugin. Support for sharing with Skype was added in Jetpack 3.9, which was released in January (2016). WhatsApp & Telegram are not currently supported in Jetpack’s sharing module. However, it looks like sharing buttons are in the works for both services.
More Info on Telegram Sharing in WordPress
I did some digging on Jetpack’s Github repo. Jeremy Herve, one of the developers of Jetpack, opened an issue in December 2015. It has been worked on, but a few things are still on the to-do list:
- An icon font (I’m assuming to be added to Genericons)
- Ensure compatibility with existing Telegram sharing plugins
- Determine if there is an official button, or just go with WordPress text/icon
Follow along with development on Github.
Telegram Sharing Plugin
There is a separate Telegram sharing plugin already listed in the WordPress plugin repo: Telegram Sharing Button for Jetpack. It extends Jetpack’s sharing module to include a Telegram button. Essentially, it does exactly what Jetpack is considering adding to it’s own module. The plugin has a limited number of active installs, but it does seem to be actively developed & supported.
More Info on WhatsApp Sharing in WordPress
Much of the same story is true with a WhatsApp sharing button. It’s on Jetpack’s roadmap for the 4.1 release, but they still need to iron out a few more things, and conduct a little more testing. They appear to be testing out the functionality on WordPress.com first, before implementing in Jetpack.
Follow along with development on Github.
WhatsApp Sharing Plugin
A WhatsApp Sharing Button for Jetpack plugin is also available in the repo, developed by the same guys as the Telegram plugin. This one is more popular, and is being actively developed, as can be seen by it’s latest update today. It’s officially compatible with WordPress. 4.5.
Would you use Telegram or WhatsApp sharing buttons on your WordPress site? What other services would you like to see added to the Jetpack sharing module?
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