I’ve made some changes to the site’s sharing features, now integrating ShareThis. Initially, while creating this template, I skipped adding share buttons, relying on third-party sharing widgets instead.

Evolution of this site Sharing Widgets:

1. Shareaholic:

I started with Shareaholic, which, despite being lightweight and feature-rich, had many unwanted features like related posts. It felt too proprietary, leading me to switch.

2. AddThis:

I moved to AddThis, but after a while, they shut down their services.

3. AddToAny:

AddToAny was great because it was free, didn’t require an account, and didn’t demand credits. However, it used legacy codes and less lightweight scripts, which ultimately led to performance issues. (It’s not serious and can be overlooked but knowing this turned me off)

I removed AddToAny with the intention of creating a custom share button for the site to eliminate dependency on external widgets. I tried implementing an online solution, but it didn’t meet my flexibility and aesthetic standards. I wonder if you noticed the changes—it just didn’t look right to me.

Why ShareThis?

I decided to try ShareThis, the next popular social sharing tool, to see if it better meets the site’s needs.

itching:

I might eventually develop a custom-built share button that integrates with popular social media platforms and potentially the fediverse too.

Do you use the share buttons? Personally, I think they’re just fancy extras.

2026:

And I did created my custom share buttons widget on my AllOne theme for WordPress. And it includes platforms I want my posts to be shared to easily. I haven’t seen it use yet but it looks so prettiful.