Friday, February 11, 2011

Static FBML To Create Your Customized Fan Page

By Michael Williams


Facebook is a popular social networking medium as well as an excellent platform for businesses to brand themselves. However, the traditional Facebook page is somewhat bland and can look just like every other business fan page. This is where the application static FBML enters and helps the business page stand out from competitors by introducing customization features formerly impossible for Facebook users.



Static FBML is short for Facebook markup language and is a feature which allows Facebook pages to display photos hosted on another server, Youtube videos or special backgrounds and customize their pages to suit their personality and message. The application is not enabled by default on Facebook pages but must instead be enabled just like any of the other available applications. Using FBML, a business can customize a tab and then make it the default landing page where visitors see their company message first.

Without this markup language it might be impossible to put an image on the landing page which was clickable and lead to another site. However simply by using this code you can insert a jpeg hosted on your own site, and link it to an outside destination. This is ideal for Facebook users whose main site and information is hosted elsewhere.

Static Facebook markup language is an option for some users on Facebook who understand or want to learn basic HTML or who have custom CSS they want added to their page. With this application the raw code without any extra characters must be put into the FBML box. Facebook markup language however is easier to use than HTML because no page headers or meta tags are needed.

While this markup language is an excellent addition to any user who wants to individualize their fan page, there are a few things to remember when using it. Facebook columns display at a fixed width so it is important to make sure the videos and images are not over 560 px wide so they fit into the page. Videos and jpegs should be resized to fit the space. Facebook markup language will not allow javascript and although the code can be inserted it will not work.

How images are named is also important and while windows will permit an image to have two words separated by a space, it can cause problems in display when attempting to insert it into Facebook. If an image has more than a single word name then the words should be separated by a hyphen and not a space. There is no restriction in how high an image might be but it is wise to remember that the larger an image is the slower it is to load and scrolling down the page is usually annoying to the visitor.

The FBML application will normally accept simple HTML easily. When pasting code into the application box all tags should be closed and there should be no extra spaces or characters. Using the FBML application is as easy as using ordinary HTML but it requires clean code with no so called trash characters such as might be pasted from a WYIWYG editor.

Static Facebook markup language has made fan pages on Facebook a lot more configurable for the average business owner. Anyone who wants a unique look to their Facebook pages can use this simple application and add custom backgrounds, images, videos from outside sources and even more. This very popular social networking media is much easier to with the addition of the FBML application.




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