Opening Settings
Go to Settings → Simple Post Like in your WordPress admin. The settings page has two tabs — Settings and Statistics.
This article covers the Settings tab. For the Statistics tab see Statistics & Analytics.
Settings Tab
The Settings tab is divided into two sections — Button and Auto Injection.
Button Section
Controls how the like button looks and which post types it appears on.
Display Style
Controls the visual style of the like button across your entire site.
| Option | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Button | button_default | Full button with icon, label, and like count |
| Icon + Counter | icon_counter | Compact icon with count beside it |
| Icon Only | icon_only | Minimal circle icon button, no count visible |
Default: Button
The style can be overridden per-instance using the style attribute on the shortcode. See Shortcode Reference for details.
For a visual comparison of all three styles see Display Styles.
Post Types
Controls which post types the like button is enabled on. All public post types registered on your site are listed here as checkboxes.
Default: Posts only
Check any post type to enable the like button on it. The button will appear on enabled post types via auto-injection and shortcode, and the sortable Likes column will appear in their respective Posts list tables in the admin.
Auto Injection Section
Controls whether and where Simple Post Like injects the like button automatically via the the_content filter.
Auto Injection
Master toggle for automatic button injection. When disabled, the like button will only appear where you place the [simple_post_like] shortcode manually.
Default: Enabled
Disable this toggle to switch to shortcode-only mode. This is useful when your theme’s templates already have a dedicated spot for post actions, or when you need precise control over placement in block editor layouts.
Position on Single Posts
Controls where the button is injected on single post pages — any URL where is_singular() returns true.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| After Content | Button appears below the post content |
| Before Content | Button appears above the post content |
| Before & After | Button appears both above and below |
| None | Button is not injected on single posts |
Default: After Content
This setting has no effect when Auto Injection is disabled.
Show on Archive Pages
Toggle for injecting the button on archive pages — blog index, category, tag, author, and search results pages — wherever post content is rendered via the_content.
Default: Enabled
Disable this to show the like button only on single post pages, not on listing pages.
This setting has no effect when Auto Injection is disabled.
Allow Guest Likes
Controls whether non-logged-in visitors can like posts.
Default: Enabled
When enabled, guest likes are tracked by a SHA-256 hash of the visitor’s IP address combined with WordPress’s NONCE_SALT. Raw IP addresses are never stored in the database. The hash is site-specific and non-reversible.
When disabled, only logged-in users can like posts. Guests will see the like count but the button will not respond to clicks.
For more detail see Guest Likes.
Saving Settings
Click Save Settings at the bottom of the Settings tab to apply your changes. Settings are saved to the WordPress options table under the simple_post_like_settings option key.
Default Values
| Setting | Default |
|---|---|
| Display Style | button_default |
| Post Types | ['post'] |
| Auto Injection | Enabled |
| Position on Single Posts | After Content |
| Show on Archive Pages | Enabled |
| Allow Guest Likes | Enabled |
Next Steps
- Display Styles — visual comparison of all three button styles
- Auto Injection — how injection works under the hood
- Guest Likes — how guest tracking works