Maintainable Social Script Integration

Published on Dec 19, 2014 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under tools, development, javascript, maintainability. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

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(Or go straight to GitHub.)

In my book, a website embeds all those third-party “share” and “like” and “+1” scripts, whether from Facebook or from Twitter or from Google (or from AddThis) like this:

<div id=social></div>

That’s it ^*. The reason for this brevity is maintainability. Instead of contaminating tens or hundreds or thousands of files, template or not, WETting them with different scripts and their configuration code and such, we want to just add what is structurally needed. One container. To be populated and managed through one script.

Lacking alternatives, I’ve built such a script and now added it to GitHub. “Social Widget Wrapper” I’ve called it. (This can be renamed later.) It’s actually three scripts at the moment, for I’ve worked on three different approaches. (This should be consolidated.) And as it’s getting a bit more complicated from here, I suggest you check out the project page and, if you like, help me make all of it easier and better. I’m a terrible scripter ^†.

Oh. In other words, I’ve open-sourced a functioning but scrappy script, or three of those, that shield markup from social widgets or their scripts or so, and now throw it all at everyone around.

^* …assuming an already existing site default script that takes care of the magic; otherwise we need to add another line for a script. Container and ID may be changed, sure (if appropriate).

^† …which may affect the Google Photo Fetcher script, too.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Interpret charitably but be critical—and share feedback and advice that makes my work better.)