How to Add a Tweet Button With Your Twitter Username into WordPress.com

UPDATE (April29, 2012): Though WordPress.com now lets you add your own twitter username when using the Tweet Button. For this you need to set up Publicize feature for Twitter. (Official message from WordPress.com here.)

NOTE: When I enabled this feature, it didn’t work at first. So I disabled and enabled again, and it worked fine for a day or two. IT HAS STOPPED WORKING AGAIN NOW.

But don’t worry.

To create your own tweet button, please go through these steps.

As you know now any tweet looks like this:

Yes! Take a Deep Breath http://t.co/zOtQNJZ via @wordpressdotcom

You see it automatically adds @wordpressdotcom at the end. I wanted my own username here.

I searched many forums but couldn’t find a solution to add my username, so I thought to create my own one. Which is now active here, you can see it.

It’s functions include:

• adds my twitter handle / username after the Post Title and URL
• suggests non-followers to follow me on Twitter
• shows the main website link after RT

But this will not show the tweets count.

You can test it by using the tweet button below. 😉

How I created it.

If you go to Dashboard -> Settings -> Sharing

As above screenshot shows, you will see a number of options to enable your sharing buttons.

Here on this blog, I am using Facebook Like Button, my custom tweet button, along with StumbleUpon and Google +1.

Since we want to replace tweet button with ours, so we need to add a new services by clicking on the Add a new service link within the box.

By clicking on the link, you shall see a pop up box to add a new service.

1-  Service name:  Tweet / Twitter  (Tip: use block T)

2- Sharing URL:

https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fmywebsite.com%2F&source=tweetbutton&text=%post_title%&url=%post_url%&via=mytwittername

Of course you will have to change mywebsite.com with your website URL (without http://) and mytwittername with your own twitter username.

3- Icon URL: http://waqasaday.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/twitter-bird.png

Now drag the newly created Tweet button into Enabled Services area.

Make sure rest of the sharing setting are as followed in the picture below.

Now save the settings and you should see the new set of buttons working.

This feature is important for people who are regular bloggers, and want to build and connect with their readers.

This is my first of such post, and I hope it shall help you connect with your community.

If you have any question, or can’t make it work for you, just write in comments. I shall respond at my earliest.

One more thing, I would appreciate if you please Follow me on Twitter and give a +1 on Google Plus. It would be worth it, I promise.

Follow @WaqasADay