Create WordPress Posts from Flickr

Linking your Flickr account to your WordPress blog means you can turn any Flickr image into a blog post without even leaving Flickr. Just create a photo category on your website and make it the default category, add your blog to Flickr, then click on the ‘Blog This‘ button above any of your images to create a new post.

You can also add your Twitter account for tweets directly from Flickr. If you take lots of photos but aren’t much into writing blog posts, this could be the perfect way to keep your blog fresh and up to date. It is also a great way to bring your readers attention to your images.

Step #1 – Create a Photo Category

1. Login to your WordPress website/blog
2. Create a new post category for photo posts
3. Go to Settings/Writing and select this category as the dafault post category
4. Further down the page, tick the XML-RPC remote publishing
5. Save Settings

Step #2 – Add Your Blog to Flickr

1. Login to your Flickr account
2. Under You, go to Your Account
3. Choose the Extending Flickr tab
4. On the right of Your Blogs, click the edit button
5. Choose WordPress blog from the drop down list, then NEXT
6. Next to API endpoint, type your website/blog address with /xmlrpc.php on the end
7. Enter your WordPress username and password
8. Click All Done and wait for success message

Step #3 – Create a Post Template

After your blog has been added you will see a link to create a Post Template. This determines the layout of your photo posts – photo size, alignment etc.

1. Click on the add a post template link
2. Choose the layout which best suits your blog (your post width will be approx 500 pixels so choosing this option means your image will take up the entire width of the post with description underneath)
3. Click on All Done.

Step #4 – Turn Your Photo into a Post

1. Login to your Flickr account
2. Navigate to the image you want to add to your blog (make sure the single image view is showing)
3. Click on the ‘Blog This‘ button above the image
4. Choose your blog from the list
5. Change the title if required (this will become your post title)
6. Add description (this will be the content of your post.You could copy and paste this from the Flickr description on the left to save time)
7. Click on the POST button

Your new post will appear on your website almost instantly. If you need to edit it, you can do so on your blog. Flickr posts include the author name and a link to the image on Flickr.

• View a Flickr post on my website
• View a Flickr post on the New Zealand Rose Society website

NOTE: If your website sends automatic emails when you write a new post, the Flickr posts will also send in an email.

There are many other ways to integrate Flickr with WordPress including the Flickr RSS plugin for displaying Flickr images in your layout and WP Flickr to make your Flickr photos available inside WordPress to insert into posts and pages. I’ll be writing articles on these 2 plugins next so make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter.

Hope you like the new newsletter format! – Jo