Adding a Facebook widget to your WordPress site can help drive more traffic and increase engagement with your content. Facebook widgets allow you to showcase your Facebook content directly on your website. There are a few different Facebook widgets to choose from, depending on what exactly you want to display.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to add a Facebook Page widget to your WordPress site, step-by-step.
Benefits of Adding a Facebook Widget
Here are some of the benefits of adding a Facebook widget to your WordPress site:
- Drives traffic from Facebook to your site
- Increases engagement and connection with your Facebook audience
- Allows you to showcase your Facebook content without readers having to leave your site
- Easy to set up and maintain
- Customizable to match your brand and site style
Adding a Facebook widget is a simple way to tap into the power of your Facebook presence right from your WordPress site. Let’s look at how to do it.
Choose the Right Facebook Widget
The first step is to decide which Facebook widget is the best fit for your site and goals.
Here are some of the most popular Facebook widget options:
- Facebook Page widget – Displays your Facebook Page’s stream of posts
- Facebook Like box – Allows users to like your Page and see its content directly on your site
- Facebook Comments – Lets users comment on your content using their Facebook profiles
- Facebook Embedded Posts – Embeds specific Facebook posts into your WordPress content
- Facebook Videos – Embed Facebook videos into your posts and pages
The Facebook Page widget is a great choice if you want to showcase your recent Facebook content. The Like box makes it easy for visitors to become fans right on your site.
For this guide, we’ll use the Facebook Page widget to embed our Facebook feed.
Get your Facebook Widget Code
Once you’ve chosen the widget you want to use, it’s time to generate the code to embed it.
Follow these steps to get the code for a Facebook Page Widget:
- Go to your Facebook Page
- Click on the Settings menu (the gear icon in the top right)
- Select “Templates and Tabs” from the left sidebar
- Click the button that says “+ Add a Tab”
- Select the “Facebook Page” widget option
- Customize the height, placement of posts, and other settings
- Click the blue “Save” button
- Copy the generated iframe code. This is the widget code you’ll paste into WordPress
The iframe code will look something like this:
This embeds your recent Facebook posts into your site. Now let’s add it to WordPress!
Embed Facebook Widget in WordPress
Adding the Facebook widget code to your WordPress site takes just a couple steps:
- Copy the iframe code from the Facebook widget settings
- Go to your WordPress site backend
- Either create a new page or open an existing page
- Paste the code into the HTML editor box
- Publish or update the page
The Facebook widget will now be live on your published page!
Make sure to paste the code in the HTML editor mode, not the Visual editor. You can switch between tabs to change modes.
And that’s it! Your Facebook posts and activity will now display live on your WordPress site.
Customizing Your Facebook Widget
When generating your Facebook widget code, you have quite a few customization options:
- Height of the widget
- Number of posts displayed
- Show/hide certain post elements like images, text, date stamps
- Color scheme
- Add borders, background colors, etc
Play around with the settings when creating your code until you get it looking exactly as you want.
You can also customize the widget appearance more after adding it to your WordPress site, using CSS styles. Just target the iframe element in your CSS file or WordPress customizer.
For example, to remove the border around the Facebook widget and change background color:
“`css
.fb-page iframe {
border: none;
background: #f8f8f8;
}
“`
This will override the default widget appearance and match it to your theme style.
Positioning Your Facebook Widget
Where and how you place your Facebook widget on your WordPress site depends on your goals and layout.
Here are some common options for positioning your Facebook feed:
- In a sidebar widget area. Great for exposure on blog posts and pages.
- Within your post and page content. You can embed it between paragraphs to encourage shares.
- In your footer or a footer widget. Keeps it visible across all pages.
- In a popup or flyout window. Can use a plugin to make it open on click or scroll.
- On your home page or contact page. Useful for engagement on key site pages.
Make sure to test different placements to see what works best for your site traffic and goals.
Encouraging Interaction with your Facebook Widget
Adding your Facebook feed directly on your site makes it easy for visitors to interact and engage right from your pages.
Here are some tips to encourage more interaction:
- Place the widget in eye-catching locations above the page fold
- Use strong calls to action in your Facebook posts encouraging likes, shares, and comments
- Highlight your most exciting and popular Facebook posts in your feed
- Add captions or text around the widget to let people know what it is and prompt them to interact
The more engagement your Facebook feed gets directly on your site, the more it will boost your Facebook presence and traffic as well.
Troubleshooting Facebook Widget Issues
In most cases, your Facebook widget will work smoothly once added to WordPress. But here are some common issues and fixes just in case:
Widget not loading
Double check that you pasted the full iframe code from Facebook into the HTML editor. Make sure it wasn’t cut off or is missing the opening/closing tags.
Posts not showing
Go back to the Facebook widget settings and make sure you selected to display page posts. Increase the number shown as well.
Widget not styling properly
Use CSS overrides and custom styles to change the default widget appearance. Target the iframe element.
White space under widget
Try reducing the height of the iframe in the widget code. Overflow padding can cause extra white space.
Minor tweaks to the Facebook widget code or your site CSS usually fixes display issues. Test different settings until it appears as you want.
Optimizing Your Facebook Widget
Placement and settings are important, but don’t forget to optimize the widget content as well. Here are some best practices for creating compelling, engaging posts:
- Post at optimal times when your audience is most active on Facebook
- Use eye-catching images and video in your posts to catch attention
- Ask interesting questions to spark discussion
- Share links to your latest and most useful blog content
- Respond and engage with people who comment on your posts
- Use current trends and newsjacking opportunities for timely topics
Creating awesome content is just as important as where you showcase it. Make your Facebook feed something readers really want to follow and interact with.
Facebook Widget Plugins and Tools
While paste the Facebook widget code manually works just fine, there are some WordPress plugins and tools that can make it even easier:
Social Plugins by WordPress.com
This official plugin has a one-click setup for adding Facebook widgets – no code needed. Provides other social media widgets too.
Custom Facebook Feed
Customize every aspect of your Facebook feed design without coding. Lots of display and styling options.
Feed Them Social
Connect and display feeds from Facebook and other networks. Comes with widget builders and custom layouts.
Facebook Widget by WPZOOM
Lets you add a Like box, Page stream, embedded posts, and more. Extra customization features.
These plugins give you more options and control over the widget setup and display.
Conclusion
Adding a Facebook widget directly into your WordPress site is an easy win for driving more traffic and engagement.
The key steps are:
- Picking the right Facebook widget for your goals
- Generating and copying the widget code
- Pasting into a WordPress page HTML editor
- Placing it in strategic locations on your site
- Customizing the design and layout
- Creating compelling content for your Facebook feed
With the Facebook widget in place, visitors will have no excuse not to follow you on Facebook right from your website.
Focus on providing an engaging, updated Facebook feed, and watch the likes and comments roll in. Integrating your WordPress site with your Facebook presence helps build your brand and connect with readers.
So get out there and start showcasing your amazing Facebook content directly on your website!