Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today. Millions of users share stories every single day. Many website owners want to display Instagram Stories directly on their WordPress site — for brand promotion, portfolio showcases, news updates, or community engagement.
But here’s the challenge: Instagram’s official API does not provide direct access to stories (except for business/creator accounts with approved apps). That’s why building a custom Instagram Story Viewer is the most flexible solution.
In this guide, we’ll walk you step-by-step through creating an Instagram Story Viewer for WordPress using PHP + HTML + JavaScript.
What Is an Instagram Story Viewer?
An Instagram Story Viewer is a widget or module that fetches and displays stories from a target Instagram account directly on your website. Users can click through the stories (images or videos) just like they do inside the Instagram app.
With a custom solution, you can:
- Show your brand’s Instagram stories on your WordPress site.
- Embed stories from influencers or partners.
- Keep visitors engaged with dynamic, regularly updated content.
How the System Works
Since Instagram doesn’t provide direct public API access for stories, we’ll use a two-part system:
- Story Downloader: Stories are first downloaded from Instagram into your WordPress
/uploads/folder. Tools like Instaloader (a free Python library) make this very simple. - PHP Script (API): A lightweight PHP file scans the saved stories and returns them as a JSON response.
- Frontend Viewer (HTML/JS): A responsive HTML + JavaScript widget embedded in WordPress fetches the JSON and plays the stories in a slideshow format.
Advantages of This Setup
- Self-hosted: You control where stories are stored.
- Flexible: Works with any WordPress site.
- Lightweight: Only PHP + JS, no heavy plugins required.
- Secure: Stories are served from your own server.
Limitations
- You need to download stories using Instaloader (or another tool) to your server.
- This does not bypass Instagram privacy — you can only show stories your account is allowed to see.
- Frequent automation might be against Instagram’s Terms of Service, so use responsibly.
Conclusion
Creating a custom Instagram Story Viewer in WordPress is a great way to showcase content and engage your audience. While Instagram’s official API is limited, combining Instaloader, a simple PHP API, and a frontend viewer gives you a reliable, flexible solution.
If you want a more “WordPress-native” approach, you could also package this into a small plugin with a shortcode like