Get Twitter API Keys by Creating a Twitter Application in 3 Minutes

In the previous post we went through creating a great looking Maintenance Page on your WordPress blog.

One of the steps in the process was getting a hold of 4 different keys from Twitter so that we could display a twitter feed on the Maintenance page.

These are the keys we need to obtain.

Consumer Key
Consumer Secret
Access Token
Access Token Secret

In order to pull tweets from a Twitter account (or other information) and display them in a feed widget for example, we need to create something that’s called a Twitter App. Even though it may sound complicated or overly technical, it basically comes down to filling up a simple form and clicking Create.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Create the Twitter Application

Step 1: apps.t

Go to apps.twitter.com and sign in with your Twitter account.

Step 2: Start Creating

Click on the Create New App button, or use this link if you cannot find the button.

Step 3: Fill in the Form

Enter your Application Name, Description and your Website Address. You can skip the Callback URL field.

It doesn’t really matter how you name and describe the app, however, in the Website Address field, make sure to add “http://” before you enter your website name.

Take a look at the screenshot on the right for an example we used to create this tutorial.

Step 4: Et Voila!

Accept the Terms of Service and click on the Create your Twitter Application button

Generate the Keys

Once we’ve created the application, the only thing left is to use that application to generate the 4 keys we need for our twitter feed widget.

Step 1: Keys and Access Tokens

If you’ve done the previous steps correctly, you will now see your Twitter app details.

To generate the API keys, you need to navigate to the Keys and Access Tokens tab.

If you don’t see the screen from the image on the right, simply click on the link from the first step of this tutorial. You will now see your newly created app listed there, click on it and you’ve caught up.

Step 2: Create my Access Token

Find and click the Create my Access Token button at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: View & Copy

View your newly created Consumer Key (API Key), Consumer Secret (API Secret) under the Application Settings and your Access Token & Access Token Secret under Your Access Token.

Copy them and paste them where needed.

If you get stuck in any of these steps, make sure to let us know using the comment section below. In addition, should you need any advanced assistance, don’t hesitate to contact idolon.us to see how can we help.

Best of luck and looking forward to connecting with you when we publish our next article! To be notified when it gets published you can follow us on twitter or sign up to our newsletter (widget on the right or at the bottom, if you’re viewing this on a mobile device).

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