December 24, 2019 (Updated as per latest Facebook Developer Portal)
This blog post was originally written in December 2017. Facebook has changed it's developer portal user interfaces since then. We updated this blog post and included the steps as per latest developer portal steps.
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To use the Facebook API, like the Login with Facebook or Facebook Graph API, you need to create a Facebook App. When you make a Facebook App, that app will have an App ID and an App Secret. You need these credentials to do almost anything with Facebook, including going through the OAuth authorization flow and working with Facebook's Graph API.
With the App ID, you can send API requests to Facebook for data. The Facebook App Secret can be used to decode the encrypted data.
Please follow below steps to create Facebook application:
if you were already registered for Facebook developer account, you can skip this step and go to step #3 of this post. If you are not registered on Facebook developer account, then you need to follow these steps:
Click onGet Startedbutton from top right corner.
Click on next button from the popup
Enter your phone number and verify your account using text message or phone call.
It may be needed to Re Verify your account by Facebook.
Then enter verification code you got and click on theVerifybutton.
On the next screen, after verifying your account, 3rd step is to tell about you. Select Developer option here.
On welcome screen, click onCreate First Appbutton. Here you'll be asked for Display Name and Contact Email of your New App ID. This app name will be shown to end users when they will try to “Login with Facebook” and they are redirected to Facebook website for login permission. So, make sure you give a meaningful name here which can identify your website.
If you are already registered with Facebook developer perform below steps:
Click on “My App” >> “Add a New App”
From the popup enter “Display Name” of your new application and“Contact Email”, then click on “Create App Id” Button.This app display name will be shown to end users when they will try to “Login with Facebook” and they are redirected to Facebook website for login permission. So, make sure you give a meaningful name here which can identify your website.
Complete the Security Check by checking I'm not a robot button and click on submit button and It will open product list page.
From the product list page click on “Set Up” button from product with name “Facebook Login”.
In the left side menu, click on the “Facebook Login” link to expand the sub menu. Click on “Settings” from the sub menu.
Enter your website URL in “Valid OAuth redirect URIs”. For example, my website domain isyourdomain.comso I enteredhttps://yourdomain.com
Now expand theSettingmenu and selectBasic.Here you can find theApp IDand App Secret.Then click on the “Show” button in the “App Secret” text box. You can copy the “App Id” and “App Secret” which you can use for your Facebook API calls.
By default when you create Facebook application, it is private and available only to you for testing purpose. End users can only use it after you make the applive.For the live app you must enter a Privacy Policy URL at setting > Basic.
For Switching the mode from Development to Live, click on the status switch. After that, it will show a popup to switch the mode. Please select theCategoryof your app and click on the “Switch Mode” button to make your app public.
Facebook Instant Articles, introduced in 2015, is a mobile publishing format that enables news publishers to distribute articles through the Facebook app.
LikeGoogle AMP, thesearticles load and display 10x fasterthan the standard mobile web, creating a better user experience. Publishers were initially hesitant to comply with this new Facebook initiative, but those that were most interested in getting their content out to new audiences embraced this new content formatting system.
It certainly didn’t hurt that Facebook promised that they wouldhelp publishers earnfrom the content they published. Facebook would keep 100% of the advertising revenue for any ads they sold, and publishers could take 70% of whatever Facebook sold for them.
In order to get involved, all that publishers needed to do was adapt their articles to take on Facebook Instant Articles’ new formatting. Buzzfeed, Mashable, and Techcrunch are popular media sites that complied almost immediately. It’s possible to identify Facebook Instant Articles from those that aren’t thanks to the lightning bolt icon attached to the article preview.
Adapting existing content to a new format inevitably comes with challenges. Here are some of the greatest pros and cons associated with using Facebook Instant Articles with your WordPress website:
Facebook Instant Articles: Pros
Faster site load speed = an enhanced user experience.
Users may share your content more.
Gives publishers access to new monetization options.
Access to new audiences and increased reach.
Facebook Instant Articles: Cons
Only displays your article: Facebook will not show anything that isn’t directly related to your article’s content, such as your importantwidgetsoremail signup forms.
Limits photos, videos, and ad blocks (though you can still use them with a little tinkering).
It presents yet another way a company is trying to serve up your own content. In other words, you have less control as people aren’t hitting your original site. People have expressed similar concerns with Google AMP.
You have to get manually approved by Facebook.
How to Format Facebook Instant Articles
There are several ways to format Facebook Instant Articles.
One way is to create Instant Article templates. That said, this method is for when youaren’tusing WordPress or aren’t publishing articles through a third-party tool.
However, if you use WordPress or are publishing articles through a third-party tool, you can import your articles in 3 ways:
Supported third-party publishing tool, such as a Facebook Instant Articles WordPress plugin
If you’re using a Custom CMS, the first two methods are the way to go, but if you’re using CMS such as Drupal or WordPress and do not have a team of developers at your disposal, the last option (using a WordPress plugin) is best. It enables independent publishers to make use of Facebook Instant Articles in the same way the big publishers do.
How to Setup Facebook Instant Articles for WordPress
WordPress is the largest CMS used in the world today andpowers 33% of the web. Knowing this, Facebook decided to work with Automattic, the parent company of WordPress, to provide WordPress users with a free plugin to easily share content on Facebook in the Instant Articles format. However, we have seen somecritical performance issueswith theofficial plugin.
Facebook Instant Articles performance
Because of this, we recommend using an unofficial third-party plugin. In order to setup Facebook Instant Articles on your WordPress website, you’ll need:
A WordPress site
A Facebook page associated with the business behind your WordPress site (suggested reading:how to create a Facebook page)
Facebook will ask you to select a Facebook page for your website. Check the box to agree with the terms and then click on the ‘Access Instant Articles Tools’ button.
Access Instant Articles Tools
This will take you to the publisher tools on your Facebook page, which will now have anInstant Articlessection.
Facebook Instant Articles publishing tools
Step 2
Prove ownership of your website by claiming your URL. Under “Instant Articles → Configuration → Tools → Connect Your Site” you will find your Page ID. Copy this to your clipboard.
Facebook Instant Articles connect site
Step 3
Download and install the WP Native Articles plugin on your WordPress site. This is not the official plugin, but the one we recommend if you’re concerned with performance.
One of the most useful and interesting features is content parsing, which corrects for some of the unstructured nature of WordPress content. By adding proper structure and formatting, WP Native Article’s content parsing feature helps content load even faster than the standard plugin offering. It also lets you integrate Google Analytics, ads, etc.
WP Native Articles WordPress plugin
Though the core WP Native Articles plugin is free, there’s a premium version available starting at $49 for a single site. The premium version comes with API syncing, advanced article analytics, and premium support if you run into any issues with deployment.
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Take the Page ID you copied in Step 2 and paste it into the Authorization ID field of the WP Native Articles WordPress plugin.
Facebook Instant Articles authorization ID
Then click “Save Changes.”
Step 5 ★
After adding your page ID to the plugin settings, go back to the publisher tools on your Facebook page. Add your website URL below the code you copied earlier and then click on the claim URL button. Note: You might need toclear the cache on your WordPress site first for it to pick up the changes.
Claimed Facebook Instant Articles URL
If you receive the following error, it appears this is aknown issuefor some.
Here are a few tips on getting approved for Facebook Instant Articles:
Ensure you have a decent amount of content already on your WordPress site.Don’t try applying with a blank website.
Content can’t be behind a paywall.
Have a link to your site’s privacy policy visible.
Step 6
You should then style your Facebook posts to match the branding of your site. We recommend at least adding your logo and changing the colors. Go got the Facebook Publishing Tools and under “Instant Articles → Configuration → Tools → Styles” you can create and edit the default style.
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Facebook Instant Articles style editor
Step 7
The WordPress plugin will automatically generate an Instant Articles feed for your WordPress site. To get the feed URL, add the extension/feed/facebook-instant-articles/after your website URL. You can also find this under the “Feed” tab in the WP Native Articles plugin.
Copy that URL and switch back to the Facebook page Publishing Tools section. Then go to “Instant Articles → Configuration → Tools → Production RSS Feed”. Paste the URL there and save your changes.
Facebook Instant Articles production RSS Feed
It can take up to an hour for Facebook to ingest posts via the RSS Feed method.
Step 8
When Facebook has ingested 10 articles you can then submit them for review from the Configuration page. Reviews normally take 3-5 days and once approved your Instant Articles will be live. Any posts you share to your Facebook page will now automatically use the Instant Article version if it is available.
Facebook Instant Articles submit for review
Alternative Facebook Instant Article Plugins
As with any WordPress site, sometimes one plugin might work better than another with your current mix of installed plugins and your theme. If you have any issues with the already-mentioned plugin, you might want to also check out these other up and coming options:
LH Instant Articles
LH Instant Articlesprides itself on creating “bloat free” Facebook Instant Articles thanks to the way it creates a Facebook-compliant RSS feed for your existing WordPress content.
LH Instant Articles WordPress plugin
Advanced functionality includes the ability to add related posts, analytics, and advertisements. Compared to some of the other options, it also claims to be easier to implement—making it ideal for someone who isn’t super handy with coding and troubleshooting.
Facebook Instant Articles for WordPress
The Facebook Instant Articles feature is helpful for both giant and independent publishers that want to reach new audiences with their content.
Being on Facebook’s Instant Articles platform (despite some backlash andpublishers pullingout) can give you an extra advantage now that Facebook has introduced a new feature calledExplore Feed(which allows you to discover content relevant to your interests). Furthermore, Instant Articles are easier to share than regular WordPress content, load faster, and integrate with Facebook for (perceived) higher prioritization in the news feed.
What are your thoughts? Have you given Facebook Instant Articles a try yet on your WordPress site?
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