LinkedInEmbed widgetsBy the LinkedInEmbed team · Updated
Do I need a LinkedIn API key to embed my posts?
Short answer
No. With LinkedInEmbed you paste the public URL of a LinkedIn profile or company page, and the widget is built from publicly available information. There's no API key, developer app, access token or LinkedIn login to set up, and nothing to renew. You'd only need LinkedIn's API if you were building your own integration.
What you don't have to set up
It also means nobody on your team needs special LinkedIn permissions. A web designer, marketer or agency can set up a company widget from the page URL without being added as a page admin.
| With LinkedIn's API | With LinkedInEmbed |
|---|---|
| Create a developer app and apply for API products | Not needed |
| Pass LinkedIn's review as a registered organization | Not needed |
| Have a page admin role to read company posts | Not needed |
| Sign members in with OAuth and refresh access tokens | Not needed |
| Build, host and maintain the display | Done for you, with a live preview |
| Read personal profile posts (r_member_social) | Closed by LinkedIn to new requests; widgets use the public profile URL instead |
What you do instead
- 1
Copy a public URL
Your profile (linkedin.com/in/…) or company page (linkedin.com/company/…).
- 2
Create a widget
Sign up free, paste the URL and choose a widget type.
- 3
Embed it
Copy one snippet into your site. See the builder guides.
Because there's no login, widgets only show what's public on LinkedIn. See can a widget show private posts?
When the API is the right tool
LinkedIn's APIs are for products that act on LinkedIn for users, such as scheduling posts to company pages, managing comments or reporting page analytics. Access is reviewed by LinkedIn and, for the Community Management API, limited to registered legal organizations with commercial use cases. Details in can I use the LinkedIn API to show my posts? and LinkedIn feed API vs widget.
What the no-API approach means for you
Working from public URLs keeps setup simple, and it also sets the limits of what a widget shows. Only publicly available information appears, so connections-only posts and hidden profile sections are left out. Data refreshes on your plan's schedule, every 96 hours on Free, 24 hours on Pro or 30 minutes on Essentials, rather than the moment you post.
And because nothing is connected to your LinkedIn account, there's nothing to disconnect or re-authorize when you change your password, and no token that expires and quietly breaks your website. If your company already has a LinkedIn developer app for other projects, you don't need to connect it; widgets work independently.
Sources
Show your LinkedIn on your website
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Related questions
Related guides and widgets
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