Facebook Pages Manager was a tool that allowed business owners to manage their Facebook Pages and ad campaigns in one place. It provided useful analytics and insights to help optimize Page performance. However, in 2018 Facebook announced that Pages Manager would be shut down. So does Pages Manager still exist today in 2023? The short answer is no, Facebook Pages Manager no longer exists as a standalone tool.
The History of Facebook Pages Manager
Facebook first launched Pages Manager in 2012 as a dashboard that gave Page admins a centralized way to manage their Facebook presence. Some key features of Pages Manager included:
- Posting content and responding to comments
- Viewing Page analytics like reach, engagement, followers
- Managing ad campaigns and measuring performance
- Assigning roles to give team members access
- Using Insights to understand audience demographics and interests
For many Page owners, Pages Manager became an invaluable tool for optimizing their Facebook marketing. It allowed them to accomplish multiple tasks from one easy-to-use dashboard.
However, over time Facebook began rolling out changes to Pages Manager. They introduced a new navigation structure in 2016 to simplify the interface. In 2017, they announced plans to consolidate Pages Manager functionality into other existing Facebook tools like Ads Manager, Business Manager, and Creator Studio.
The Sunset of Pages Manager
In 2018, Facebook officially announced the sunset of the Pages Manager app. On September 10, 2018, Pages Manager was removed for all users. Any Pages that still had the app enabled saw it automatically disabled.
Facebook provided a transition guide detailing where Page admins could find the same functionality going forward:
- Posting and managing content – Facebook Pages and Creator Studio
- Insights – Facebook Pages
- Ad campaigns – Ads Manager
- Page roles – Business Manager
They noted that the capabilities of Pages Manager would be integrated across their other management platforms. The goal was to create more streamlined tools for admins versus having everything siloed in one place.
Does Any Version Still Exist?
Today in 2023, it is no longer possible to access Pages Manager at all. The app has been fully deprecated without any path to still use it.
When Pages Manager was first shut down, Facebook kept the platform running in read-only mode for a few months. This gave Page owners time to transition to the new tools. But as of April 2019, all access was fully removed.
Some key reasons why Facebook retired Pages Manager:
- It had become outdated compared to newer tools.
- Maintaining a separate dashboard was inefficient.
- They wanted to provide a more streamlined experience.
- Transitioning features to Business Manager and Ads Manager improved workflow.
With Pages Manager gone, Page admins now need to leverage other tools like:
- Facebook Business Suite – Manage messages, content posting, insights
- Meta Business Center – Unified dashboard for Meta apps
- Creator Studio – Content publishing and monitoring
- Ads Manager – Create and analyze ad campaigns
Key Differences vs. Pages Manager
While the same functionality technically still exists across Facebook’s current platforms, there are some key differences compared to the original Pages Manager:
| Pages Manager | Current Tools |
|---|---|
| Unified dashboard | Tools are more siloed |
| Less robust analytics | More advanced Insights |
| Ad campaigns integrated | Ads managed separately |
| Single access point | Multiple platforms to leverage |
Some key pros of the current approach are:
- More powerful analytics in Insights
- Improved ad campaign capabilities
- Added platforms like Business Suite for streamlined management
Some downsides compared to Pages Manager:
- No single centralized dashboard
- Learning curve to navigate multiple tools
- Ads now managed completely separately
Conclusion
In summary, while Facebook Pages Manager was retired in 2018, Page owners still have access to the same features across Facebook’s current platforms. The key capabilities of Pages Manager can be found in tools like Business Suite, Ads Manager, and Creator Studio.
However, there is no longer a single centralized hub. Page admins now need to leverage multiple platforms to manage their Facebook presence. The upside is that the individual tools like Insights and Ads Manager are now much more powerful and robust.
So in 2023, Pages Manager remains retired without any way to still access it. Page owners have adapted to Facebook’s new management model spread across their current app ecosystem.