How to Embed Pinterest Pins That Won’t Disappear [2021 Update]

Want to embed Pinterest Pins or boards on your website?

And stop embedded Pins from disappearing?

This article is all about:

• Pinterest widgets to embed Pins, boards, and profiles.
• When you should (and shouldn’t!) use them.
• How to stop embedded Pins from disappearing.
• Plus secret hacks to make your site load faster.

Updated for 2021!

Let’s solve copyright infringement, embedding Pins, slow-loading images, and the disappearing act – in one fell swoop.

Why Should You Embed Pinterest Pins?

1. You want to use other Pinners’ images

I’ve discussed at length why you should never use other people’s images on your website, unless you have permission.

Using images you don’t have rights to use is copyright infringement.

Please be aware that:

• Anything found online should be presumed copyrighted.
• Images, text, etc. don’t need to be marked © to be subject to copyright law.
• Crediting and linking to the site where you found the image does not absolve you of copyright infringement.

But, embedding Pins is a way to use others’ images on your blog legally! Embedded Pins will retain the link to the owner’s website (don’t ever change their link).

NOTE: I still recommend you get permission to embed others’ Pins, as I describe below.

Do This Before You Embed Others’ Pinterest Pins

Unfortunately, you’re not off the hook if you embed a Pin that has already infringed copyright.

Even if the Pinner owns the image, it’s still best practice to reach out and ask. You might make a new friend, or at least someone who’ll want to share your web page that has their image embedded.

And, embedding is somewhat of a legal gray area. Instagram has straight out said that you need permission to embed others’ IG posts – using their built-in embed feature!

So CYA and follow these steps…

Before you embed someone’s Pin, click through to the website.

• Check that the Pin actually appears and belongs there.
• Confirm it’s a site you’re happy to link to.
• Make sure they have a Pinterest Save button.
• If not, ask if it’s OK for you to Pin and embed it (some people don’t want their work shared on Pinterest).
• If so, I still advise you ask permission to embed the Pin on your site, and save their response.
• Pin to your own board to get some exposure for your Pinterest account.
• Embed the Pin from your own board.

As of 2021, I only embed a single Pin in a blog post, as seen above.

You can, however, create a blog post with multiple embedded Pinterest pictures.

However, embedded Pins from others will link to their website and not yours! They also won’t appear if someone clicks their browser’s Save button.

So, it’s better to create and embed your own images. 

A post I created with others’ embedded Pins was getting thousands of repins – for others!

It would be awesome to have those Pins pointing at my website. Still, it was good for my Pinterest account to have so many repins.

I eventually decided to trade out those Pins from others and create my own 🙂

How to Embed Pinterest Pins on Your Website

In 2021, there are TWO ways to embed a Pin:

• iframe (new to embedding Pins, but old tech).
• javascript (how we’ve embedded Pins for years).

I’m not sure why they added iframe. Maybe it keeps the Pins from disappearing without using my clever workaround.

Maybe (as a reader suggested) iframe skirts copyright issues, as some judges have ruled iframes are not copyright infringement.

I don’t recommend you test that theory, though! Follow my recommendations above to verify it’s OK to embed others’ Pins, unless you enjoy expensive litigation.

Perhaps iframe just saves you the extra step of adding the javascript.

Regardless, Pinterest widgets can still only be made on the Pinterest website, not the app. So please use a computer to follow these steps.

Step 1: Find a Pin you want to embed!

If it’s your own image, you’ll need to save it to Pinterest. Be sure you write a great description so it can get found on Pinterest.

If it’s someone else’s image, I recommend saving it first to one of your own boards. Be sure to keep the URL link on the Pin intact.

As long as the creator is okay with having their content shared on Pinterest, embedding their Pin is legit. It’s in the Pinterest Terms of Service that users must agree to.

If the content creator isn’t a Pinterest user, then you might want to see if they have a content policy, or reach out personally to ask.

Step 2: Grab the embed code.

It’s easy to do.

1. Find your Pin on Pinterest.
2. Open the Pin to full size.
3. Click the 3 dots at top right.
4. Select “Get Pin embed code.”

New this year, the iframe code pops right up in a window.

Here you can choose:

• Small, medium, large, or extra large Pin image.

I find the Small image looks great set off to the side in a blog post.

Medium fits perfectly in my sidebar!

Large gives you a bit more splash.

Extra Large gives you the impact of a full-size image (600 pixels wide).

If you go with iframe, just copy the code for the size image you prefer, then click “G0t it!” to close the popup.

If you prefer to choose whether to show or hide the Pin description, you can still use the javascript embed from the Widget Builder.

Just copy the Pin URL, head over to the Pinterest Widget Builder, and pop the URL in the proper field.

Then choose your Pin image size.

I like to hide the description for a cleaner look. Toggle it on and off to see which you prefer.

Step 3: Paste the code.

Open the “text edit,” source, or HTML pane of the page or post you wish to add the Pin to.

On WordPress, it looks like this:

Copy and paste the first code into your text / HTML where you want your widget to appear.

If you used the widget builder with javascript, be sure to paste the script into your page’s “body scripts” section.

It’s also possible to add this script site-wide so you don’t have to place it on every page where you wish to embed a Pin or board. Use Google or ask a techie friend if you need help with that.

Step 4: Enjoy the repins and traffic!

Got a Pin you want to go viral? Embed this Pin in your blog sidebar.

I tried this with my “Social Media Sizes Cheat Sheet.” In 3 months, that specific Pin has gotten over 4,000 repins. Over 2,000 in the first month!

When your content gets a lot of repins, Pinterest sees you as a quality resource, and boosts the appearance of all your content in its Smart Feed. Double win!

So pick your most valuable Pin and give it a try.

Why Did My Embedded Pin Disappear?

WARNING: Once you embed a Pinterest widget, you can’t ever open the edit page on the “visual” side. The embed code will disappear. You need to only open it in the text, source, or HTML editor.

If you can’t trust yourself to remember, if you’re on WordPress:

• Go to Edit my profile.
• Set to disable visual editor.

Option 2: the reason the Pin disappears is that it’s a link code with no content.

Try this:

Insert a character like | between the pin embed code and the closing tag </a>.

I tried it on this post and it did save the code, plus I can’t see the character in the blog post.

It worked for a Pinterest friend, who said:

This is genius!!! I just put a dash before the closing tag and it saved it without any issue! Thank you thank you thank you! I can only image reopening that post for a number of reasons and it deleting all that code… I would have been so SAD!

So it might work for you too!

Another way embedded Pins disappear is when the original Pinner deletes their Pin. So, save it to your own board and embed that Pin.

How to Embed a Pinterest Board or Profile

Pinterest widgets work just as well for Pinterest boards and profiles!

Embed a relevant board in a blog post, or use a board embed in its related category sidebar on your blog.

The widget will include a call-to-action button for viewers to follow your board.

It looks like this (note, this is a screenshot, not a widget):

You could also blog about others in your niche that your audience might want to follow. It’s fast and easy when you embed these influencers’ Pinterest boards or profiles.

Instant visuals!

It’s also a great way to connect with your influencers! Be sure to let them know, and ask them to share your blog post on their social media.

Embedding Boards and Profiles

You can embed any Pinner’s profile or board – including yours!

These update to show their recent Pin saves. All you need is the URL of their profile or board.

Note: Pinterest removed the “Create widget” button from individual boards, but it’s still easy to make a widget.

Step 1: Go to the board or profile and copy its URL.

Step 2: Go to the Pinterest Widget Builder and choose “Board” or “Profile” at the top.

Step 3: Paste in the URL.

Step 4: Choose your size.

You have a choice of several shapes and sizes, or you can set your own specifications. I used “header” on the visual pros post.

Step 5: Embed the code.

Again, you’ll just copy the code and paste it into your HTML. Don’t forget the script too. All this is explained above under “How to embed Pins.”

Do Pinterest Embeds Slow My Website?

As you may know, you want your website to load quickly, preferably in just a few seconds.

Readers are impatient and will click away if they don’t see what they’re looking for – fast!

Search engines, including Google and Pinterest, know this, so they don’t like to send searchers to slow-loading sites.

In my experience, large embedded Pins don’t slow your site much more than the same size image uploaded to your site directly.

A reader confirmed that both the new iframe and old javascript embeds have a similar small effect on page load times.

Embedded boards and profiles are a different story. They’re SLOW!

That’s because, regardless of how many Pins you see on first glance at these embeds, they’re trying to load 30 Pin images.

That’s a lot of image-loading time!

They do this because board and profile embeds are scrollable. More images need to be ready to appear if your reader scrolls.

I’ve got an easy solution to keep your page speed fast!

Fast-loading “fake” Pinterest board embed

Create a WordPress widget for your sidebar with a single small image – instead of loading dozens of Pins in a Pinterest widget!

You can do this quickly by creating the Pinterest widget you want to emulate, and simply taking a screenshot of it.

Step 1: Crop and size your screenshot to the width of your website’s sidebar.

Step 2: In your WordPress Admin, go to your Content Areas and create an Image widget with your image.

Step 3: Add the title: Follow my account or board name – whichever you show on your image.

Step 4: Now click the Edit Image button.

Step 5: Add alt text for the image that describes it.

Step 6: Add the URL of the board or profile you wish to link to.

Step 7: Check this to open Pinterest in a new tab, so your website stays open when the image is clicked.

Step 8: Click Update – and you’re done!

Alternately, you can just link an image within a blog post or page to your Pinterest account.

Take a screenshot of the wide board embed as I showed at the top of this section, and add a custom link in your image details.

Will You Embed Pinterest Pins, Boards, or Profiles?

Have you tried it before? Share your tips in a comment!

Learn something new? Let me know how you’ll use it!

And be sure you’re following all the latest Pinterest best practices.

I hope I’ve cleared things up around Pinterest embeds. Let me know if you still have a question.