I'm on the Smash Balloon team that builds TileSet, and before writing this I set it up myself using Smash Balloon's own X account, @smashballoon. I'll walk you through exactly what I did, what each setting means, and the one thing I'd change if your visitors mostly browse on their phones.

How do I embed my X feed on my website?

TileSet, from the Smash Balloon team, is a hosted widget that shows your X (Twitter) posts on any website. "Hosted" just means TileSet does the work of fetching your posts and keeping them up to date, so nothing runs on your own server.

You type your @handle, choose how you'd like the posts to look, and paste two lines of code into your site. You don't need an X developer account, an API key or your X password. It works on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Webflow, WordPress and plain HTML, and it's included on every TileSet plan, the free one too.

3 ways to embed X posts on a website

There are three ways to get your X posts onto a website. Each one is a different trade between how quick it is to set up and how much looking after it needs later.

X's own embed code is free and worth a try. You get it from X's publish tool and paste it onto your page. When I tested it for @smashballoon, though, the timeline didn't load on X's own publish page, and all that showed was a plain "Posts by smashballoon" link. If that happens on your site too, a hosted widget like TileSet is the steadier option.

The X API (the official way for software to request posts from X) makes sense if you have a developer and want the post data itself, for example to store it in your own database. For most people who simply want their posts on their site, that's more setup than the job needs.

How to embed your X feed with TileSet

Here's what to have ready, and a few things that are good to know before you start:

• Your @handle or the link to your X profile. You won't need to sign in to X.
• A public X account. TileSet can only show posts that anyone can see. If your account is set to protected (private), it will tell you when you try to connect.
• Two lines of code, which TileSet gives you to copy. I explain what they do in Step 4.
• TileSet keeps your newest 24 posts. Older ones stay on your site until newer posts take their place.
• If X is having a slow day, your widget keeps showing the posts it already has, so visitors never see an error.

Step 1: Sign in to TileSet

Go to TileSet and sign in with your Google account, or ask for a sign-in link by email if you'd rather not use Google. There's no password to create, and the free plan doesn't ask for a card, so you can build the whole widget and see it working before you decide anything.

Step 2: Add your X account as a source

A "source" is simply where your content comes from, in this case your X account. Go to Sources, press Add source and pick X. Then type your @handle, or paste the link to your profile (x.com/yourname).

I typed @smashballoon and pressed Connect. By the time the source showed up in my list, it already said "Last fetched just now," which means TileSet had pulled in the latest posts within seconds.

Because your posts are already public, TileSet only reads what anyone can see on your profile. It never signs in as you and never posts on your behalf. That also makes it easy to set up for a client, since you only need their @handle, not their password.

Step 3: Build your widget

The widget is the box of posts that will appear on your site. Open Widgets, press Create widget and pick your X source. You'll then choose between two looks:

• Posts: each post appears as a card with your profile picture, the text, any images and the date, and links back to the original post on X.
• Photos and videos: only posts that include an image or video, shown as square tiles. You can turn on Header to add your profile picture, @handle and a Follow button above them.

Next, pick a layout (grid, carousel, masonry or bento), a light or dark theme, and how many posts to show. The preview on the left shows exactly what your visitors will see.

If you'd rather not adjust each setting yourself, there's a box at the top called Describe the look you want. Type something like "dark, 4 columns, 12 items," press Apply, and TileSet sets the matching controls for you. You can still see and change everything it picked.

Two more settings are worth knowing about:

• Include reposts is on by default. Posts you reposted from other accounts appear with a small "reposted" label.
• Include replies is off by default. Turn it on if your replies are useful to visitors, like answers to common questions. Each reply then shows the post it was answering, so it makes sense on its own.

When I switched from Posts to Photos and videos, the builder changed to 4 columns and 8 posts by itself, and the preview became a neat grid of Smash Balloon's graphics and videos.

For a homepage, I'd pick the photo grid. Nearly every @smashballoon post includes a graphic or video, so the grid looked full and finished right away. The Posts view showed one large card at a time, with longer posts shortened behind a Show more link, which I think works better on a news or updates page.

If you share videos or GIFs, you may also want to turn on Lightbox. With it on, a video plays in a pop-up right on your page, with a "Watch on X" link underneath. With it off, which is how I first tested it, clicking a tile opens the post on X in a new tab. Videos play straight from X either way, so they don't cost you anything extra.

When you're happy with how it looks, press Save. TileSet takes you straight to the Install tab, where your code is ready.

Step 4: Copy your code

On the Install tab you'll see two lines of code, often called a snippet:

<script src="https://app.tileset.com/v1/tileset.js" async></script>
<div data-tileset="w_..."></div>

The first line loads TileSet, and the second marks the spot on your page where your posts will appear. The letters and numbers after "w_" are your widget's own ID, so it's best to use the Copy code button instead of retyping it. Right below the code, TileSet lists where to paste it for each website builder.

Step 5: Paste it into your site and check it

Paste both lines wherever you'd like your posts to appear. A homepage section works well, and so does a "News" or "Updates" page, since the feed keeps it current for you.

I pasted mine into a simple test page under a "Latest from us on X" heading. The grid appeared a moment after the page loaded, with a play button on each video post.

On a phone-sized screen, the grid kept all 4 columns, so each tile was quite small. If most of your visitors browse on their phones, try 2 or 3 columns instead. You can change it any time in the builder, and every page with the widget updates on its own.

Once your page is published, go back to the Install tab, paste your page's web address into Check my page and press Check. TileSet looks at your page the way a visitor would and confirms the widget is there, or tells you what to fix if something's missing. If you're on Wix, open your published page once first, then run the check.

Want your X posts on your site today? Start free with TileSet.

Posts or photo grid: which should you choose?

The right choice depends on what you usually post on X.

Choose Posts if your posts are mostly text, like announcements, opening hours, quick updates or answers to customers. Each post appears in full with the line breaks you used, so it reads like a news feed.

Choose Photos and videos if you share a lot of pictures, like a café posting today's specials or a shop showing new stock. Text-only posts are left out, and the rest become a tidy wall of images that looks great on a homepage.

In my test, the photo grid suited @smashballoon better, because most of its posts are graphics. For an account that's mostly text, Posts would be the better fit.

Where to paste the code on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and more

The two lines of code are the same on every website. The only thing that changes is where you paste them.

Wix: Add an Embed HTML element (Add Elements, then Embed Code, then Popular Embeds) and paste both lines into that one box. Wix keeps embedded code in its own separate box, so both lines need to go in together. Full Wix guide

Squarespace: Add a Code block, set it to HTML and switch "Display Source" off. Some Squarespace plans don't run code in Code blocks, so if your feed doesn't appear, check whether your plan includes custom code. Full Squarespace guide

Shopify: In the theme editor, add a Custom Liquid section and paste the code in. Most themes from the last few years include this section. Full Shopify guide

Webflow: Drag in a Code Embed element, paste the code and publish. Webflow runs custom code on paid site plans, and your feed appears on the published page rather than inside the Designer. Full Webflow guide

WordPress: Paste it into a Custom HTML block. If you'd prefer a plugin you manage from your WordPress dashboard, Smash Balloon's X Feed plugin does this too.

Framer: Drag in an Embed component, paste both lines into its HTML section, then publish. As with Wix, keep both lines together in the one box. Full Framer guide

Lovable, ChatGPT or plain HTML: Paste the code anywhere in the page body. If you use an AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and have connected TileSet to it, you can ask in a sentence, for example "Add my X feed to my homepage with TileSet," and it handles the setup for you. Connect an AI agent

Why add your X feed to your website?

A feed lets the posts you already write do double duty. Every update you share on X also appears on your site, so visitors see what's new without leaving your page, and you don't have to update two places.

It also gives your site a sense of what's happening right now. A recent post shows visitors you're active and open for business, which is something a page that rarely changes can't easily do on its own.

The widget is built to stay reliable, too. If X is slow, it keeps showing the last posts it had, so visitors don't see an error. TileSet also doesn't charge for views, so a busy week won't turn your widget off. Joel's X announcement lists everything the X widget can show, and you can see live versions on the examples page.

How often does it update, and what does it cost?

How often your feed checks X for new posts depends on your plan. As a rough guide, the free plan is a good fit if you post a few times a week, and Starter is worth it if you post daily and want your site to keep up the same day.

TileSet uses credits to pay for each check. Think of credits as a monthly allowance: every plan adds some each month, and each update of a source uses a few. Because X charges TileSet for every request, X has its own update speeds on each plan:

Each X update uses 3 credits. By my math, weekly updates use about 13 credits a month, well within the free plan's 60, and daily updates on Starter use about 90 of its 500. You can choose a slower speed to use fewer credits, and the speed setting shows the monthly cost before you change it. My account is on a paid plan, so my slider went all the way from weekly to every 15 minutes, with "3 credits per update" shown right on the source. On the free plan, it goes up to weekly.

Showing your widget to visitors never uses credits, however many people see it. On the free plan, if nobody views a widget for 14 days, it pauses updates until someone visits again. Paid plans keep updating either way.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an X developer account to embed my feed?

No. TileSet only needs your @handle, so you don't need a developer account, an API key or any billing setup with X. You don't sign in to X at all.

Can I embed someone else's X account?

Yes, as long as the account is public. This is useful if you build sites for clients, because you only need their @handle, not their password. A free TileSet account can connect up to 10 different X accounts in any 30 days, and paid plans have no limit.

Does it work with a protected account?

No. A protected account's posts are only visible to approved followers, so TileSet can't show them. If you try to connect one, TileSet tells you why it can't.

Will my older posts show up?

TileSet keeps your newest 24 posts. Older posts stay on your site until newer ones replace them, and if you delete a post on X, it disappears from your widget at the next update.

Can I hide reposts and replies?

Yes, for each widget separately. Reposts are on and replies are off by default, and you can switch either one. You could even make two widgets from the same account, for example a full feed on your news page and one without reposts on your homepage.

Is the X feed widget free?

Yes. X is included on every TileSet plan, the free one too, with every layout, unlimited views and no credit card. On the free plan, your feed updates once a week. Paid plans start at $9 a month and update daily or more often.

Start showing your X posts on your site

Connecting your X account takes your @handle and a couple of minutes, and the free plan is enough to try the whole thing on your own site. If you want your feed to update more often later, you can move to a paid plan whenever you're ready.

Start free with TileSet

That's backwards. People check your reviews right before they book, buy or call, and that's the exact moment your site sends them off to Google.

I'm on the Smash Balloon team that builds TileSet, and before writing this I set it up myself, using Tartine Bakery in San Francisco as my test business. Connecting its reviews took under 30 seconds. Here's everything I learned along the way, including the parts that surprised me.

How do I add Google reviews to my website?

TileSet, from the Smash Balloon team, is a hosted widget that shows your Google reviews on any website. You paste your Google Maps link (or type your business name), pick a layout and add two lines of code to your site. There's no API key and no Google Business login, and new reviews show up on their own.

It works on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Webflow, WordPress and plain HTML, and the free plan covers it with no credit card. Here's exactly how I set it up.

3 ways to add Google reviews to a website

There are really three options, and the right one depends on how much you want to maintain.

If you just want one glowing quote on your homepage, copying it by hand is honestly fine. If you have a developer and need the raw data, build it. For everyone else, a hosted widget means you set it up once and stop thinking about it.

How to add a Google reviews widget with TileSet

Before the steps, here's what you're getting into:

• You need your Google Maps link or your business name. No API key, no Business Profile login.
• The free plan includes 3 live sources and unlimited views, with no credit card.
• The whole widget is two lines of code: one script tag and one div.
• Google reviews refresh at most once a day, on a schedule you choose.
• If Google has a bad day, your widget keeps showing the reviews it already has.

Step 1: Sign in to TileSet

Go to TileSet and sign in with your Google account, or ask for a sign-in link by email. There's no password to make up and no card to enter, so you can try the whole thing before deciding anything.

Step 2: Add your Google reviews as a source

Go to Sources, press Add source and pick Google Reviews. Then paste your Google Maps link, or type your business name with its city.

I typed "Tartine Bakery San Francisco" instead of pasting a link, and TileSet came back with two matches: the original bakery on Guerrero St and Tartine Manufactory. Each one showed its star rating, review count and address, so picking the right one took a second. Nothing connects until you choose, which I liked. If your business has more than one location, this is where you'll see it.

About 30 seconds later it said "Tartine Bakery is connected," and the first reviews were already in.

No Google Business login? No problem. Your reviews are already public, so the Maps link or business name is all TileSet needs. That also means you can set this up for a client without asking for their password.

Step 3: Build your widget

Open Widgets and press Create widget, then pick your Google source. Choose a layout (grid, carousel, masonry or bento), how many columns and reviews to show, and light or dark to match your site. The preview is exactly what your visitors will see.

Two settings I'd turn on straight away are Rating summary and Leave a review button, under Review header. That puts your star average at the top, with a button that opens Google's write-a-review page for your business.

Then I played with layouts. Personally, I ended up on masonry, with 4 stars and up and only reviews with photos, since a bakery's reviews sell harder with a photo of the actual pastry attached. When I tried bento, its big square went to a 5-star review with no text, just stars, which looked a bit empty. Masonry with photos fixed that.

The builder is also upfront when a filter is too strict. With both filters on, it told me only 4 of the 6 reviews I asked for could show, so I knew to loosen it or show fewer. Press Save when you're happy.

Step 4: Copy the snippet

Your widget's Install tab has the code. It's two lines:

<script src="https://app.tileset.com/v1/tileset.js" async></script>
<div data-tileset="w_..."></div>

Use the Copy code button rather than typing it out. The id at the end is unique to your widget, and one wrong character means nothing shows. Right under the code, there are short paste instructions for every major site builder.

Step 5: Paste it into your site and check it

Paste the snippet where you want your reviews to appear. Put it close to the decision: next to your booking button, on your pricing page or near checkout. That's where reviews actually change minds.

I pasted mine into a simple test page for a bakery, right under an "Order for pickup" button. The reviews loaded as I scrolled down to them, and on a phone-sized screen they stacked into one tidy column.

Once your page is live, go back to the Install tab, paste the page's address into Check my page and press Check. TileSet reads your page the way a visitor would and tells you if anything's missing, with the exact fix.

Worried you'll paste it in the wrong place? You'll know right away. That check is the reason.

Want your Google reviews on your site today? Start free with TileSet.

Where to paste it on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and more

The snippet is the same everywhere. What changes is where it goes.

Wix: Add an Embed HTML element (Add Elements, then Embed Code, then Popular Embeds) and paste both lines into that one box. The box doesn't grow on its own, so drag it tall enough and check the published page on your phone. Full Wix guide

Squarespace: Add a Code block, set it to HTML and switch "Display Source" off. Squarespace only runs code blocks on some plans, so if yours stays empty, check that your plan includes custom code. Full Squarespace guide

Shopify: In the theme editor, add a Custom Liquid section and paste the snippet in. Add it to your product template, right under the Add to cart button, and every product page gets your reviews. Full Shopify guide

Webflow: Drag in a Code Embed element, paste and publish. Webflow only runs custom code on paid site plans. Full Webflow guide

WordPress: Paste it into a Custom HTML block. If you'd rather have a plugin that lives inside WordPress, Smash Balloon's Reviews Feed does this too.

Lovable, ChatGPT or plain HTML: Paste it anywhere in the page body, or just ask your AI agent. TileSet connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Lovable, and the agent can connect your reviews, build the widget and check it's showing. Connect an AI agent

Why your Google reviews belong on your website

I keep coming back to the same point. Your reviews are already doing their job on Google. They're just not doing it on your site, where you'd actually like the sale to happen.

Once they're on your page, visitors see real customers vouching for you without opening a new tab. New reviews show up on their own, so your site never looks like it stopped getting customers in 2023. And you don't have to babysit it.

It also doesn't break on you. If Google is slow or limits requests, the widget keeps showing the last reviews it fetched, so nobody sees an error. TileSet doesn't count views either, which means a busy week can't switch your widget off. Joel's launch post explains why TileSet works that way.

What can the widget show?

Each card shows the reviewer's name and photo, their stars, the date and the review. Long ones fold behind Show more. You can add your star average and a Leave a review button on top, show your replies under each review, or build a photo grid from just the pictures customers added.

On the Growth plan and up, you can filter: 4 stars and up, only reviews with photos, or only reviews that mention a word. The use I like most is one set of reviews feeding different pages: everything on your homepage, and only the "wedding" reviews on your wedding page.

One thing worth knowing: the star average is worked out from the recent reviews TileSet has fetched, not your whole history. Mine said "4.5 from 24 recent reviews" for a bakery with almost 6,000 reviews on Google. It matched Google's own 4.5, but if your recent reviews are better or worse than your overall rating, the number on your site will show that.

You can see more on the live examples page.

Will it show my bad reviews too?

Yes, unless you turn on a star filter. TileSet shows reviews exactly as Google has them. When I first connected Tartine, two of the six newest reviews were 3 stars, one of them about a $7 pain au chocolat.

I actually think that's fine. A wall of nothing but five stars looks too good to be true. A calm reply to a tough review tells visitors more about how you treat people than ten glowing ones. And if you'd rather lead with your best, the star filter is one click.

How often do the reviews update?

You pick the schedule, from once a day to once a week. Google reviews update at most once a day on every plan.

On the free plan, I'd set a Google source to update weekly rather than daily. Google reviews cost more credits to refresh than other sources, since the data comes from a paid provider. My test showed 8 credits per update, which works out to 240 a month if you updated daily, and the free plan only gives you 60 credits a month total. Weekly is the realistic setting until you're on a paid plan, and if you want daily updates, that's where paid comes in. Showing the widget to visitors never costs you anything, no matter how many people see it.

On the free plan, if nobody views a widget for 14 days, it pauses updates until the next visit. Paid plans keep updating either way.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Google API key to show my reviews?

No. TileSet works from your Google Maps link or business name, so there's no API key, no Google Cloud account and no billing setup.

Do I need to sign in to my Google Business Profile?

No. Your Google reviews are public, so the Maps link is enough. That's handy for agencies, since you can set it up for a client's business without their login.

How do I find my Google Maps link?

Search your business on Google Maps, open the listing and press Share, then copy the link. Or skip it: type your business name and city into TileSet and pick your listing from the matches.

Is the Google reviews widget free?

Yes. TileSet's free plan includes 3 live sources, every layout and unlimited views, with no credit card. Paid plans start at $9 a month and add faster updates, more credits and the option to hide the small "Shown with TileSet" link.

Can I show only my 5-star reviews?

Yes, on the Growth plan and up. You can filter by star rating, by reviews with photos or by a keyword. I'd go with a 4-star minimum over 5, since a few 4-star reviews make the wall more believable.

Will a reviews widget slow down my site?

It's built not to. TileSet's script is under 10 KB compressed, sets no cookies and only loads a widget as it scrolls near the screen.

Start showing your Google reviews now

Your customers already did the hard part by writing the reviews. Now they just need to be where people make up their minds.

Connecting your reviews takes under a minute on the free plan, and you don't need a card or an API key.

Start free with TileSet