Today I’m sharing a tool that I’ve been using to setup custom tabs on Facebook since “FBML” support was discontinued last month.
When Facebook retired FBML, the language used to make custom tabs, iframes were promoted to the defacto standard.
Note – FBML Tabs will work through the end of the year on pages that currently have them, but you can no longer add them to new or existing fan pages.
Ignoring for a moment the potential security concerns of implementing a standard based on embedded iframes, the problem many folks are facing is the process of setting up a custom fan tab is now a bit more complicated. First, you need to setup a “Facebook application” to deliver your custom tab, then serve your content off a web server to the Facebook application that is essentially embedded in your fan page.
Another problem, since many servers don’t have a valid SSL certificate (this usually costs extra) folks viewing Facebook over HTTPS (you are using HTTPS, right?) will get a certificate mismatch error.
Quick side note on how to surf Facebook using HTTPS : “While on FB, look at your URL address (the very top box on your screen.) If you see “http:” instead of “https:” then you DO NOT have a secure session & can be HACKED. Go to Account – Account Settings – Account Security – click Change. Check box (secure browsing), click Save. FB has automatically set it on the non-secure setting!”
After setting up a few fan pages using iframes for different projects, I realized just how unnecessarily complicated the process had become, and started looking for a simple replacement for the old FBML app I’d come to know and love.
So, How Can I Setup My New Custom Facebook Tab With iframes?
Two options. Learn the new process or automate it. I’ve setup a few pages using the new process, and it’s a bit of a pain in the you know what. Now you COULD learn the new process and setup SSL on your server, but it’s probably overkill unless you are targeting over 10,000 fans. Instead, I suggest you use the free program “Static IFRAME Tab“.
This Facebook app allows you to Add a Tab to your Facebook page. It has support for Custom Icons, like to reveal, In-Tab Setup, and more. You can upload Images, HTML, External URLs and setup forms.
It’s not as robust as some of the commercial solutions that are available since the switch, but it’s a great quick and dirty tool to get you around the difficulties the new Facebook update introduced.
If you are looking for a quick way to setup a new custom tab, this quick, free solution will get you around the need for SSL and the complexities of learning to setup custom Facebook applications.
Here’s another option, I haven’t used this one personally but it look’s pretty robust.
How do you default to the new tab when a user visits my fan page?
To default to your new tab, navigate to your fan page, choose “Edit Page” then “Manage Permissions”. Set the “Default landing tab” combo box to the page you would like to display to new visitors/non fans then hit save.
Now when people visit your fan page, your new iframe page will be automatically displayed. That’s all there is to it.
Have you found a better option? Let us know in the comments below.
