The Facebook Debugger is a useful tool provided by Facebook to help developers diagnose issues with how their websites interact with Facebook’s APIs and plugins. It can be used to debug Facebook login, share buttons, comments, and other Facebook integrations on a website.
What can you do with the Facebook Debugger?
There are a few key things you can do with the Facebook Debugger:
Test Facebook login integration
If you have added Facebook Login to your website, you can use the Debugger to simulate logging in with a test user account. This allows you to see if the login is working properly, if you are requesting the right permissions from users, and if you are properly handling the authentication response.
Debug social plugins
For any Facebook social plugins like Share and Like buttons that you have added to your site, the Debugger can show you exactly what metadata Facebook is picking up from the page. This can help you troubleshoot any issues with images, descriptions, or titles not being properly picked up by Facebook when pages are shared.
Analyze Facebook Comments
If you have the Facebook Comments box enabled on your pages, the Debugger will show you details on the comments plugin configuration including the number of comments on the page and the options that are enabled.
See errors for any Facebook integrations
One of the most useful aspects of the Debugger is that it will notify you of any errors or issues that Facebook’s crawler finds when looking at your pages. For example, it will flag any obsolete deprecated APIs, login errors, or meta tag issues.
How to use the Facebook Debugger
Using the Facebook Debugger is straightforward. Just follow these steps:
- Go to the Facebook Debugger site and click “Get Started”.
- Enter the URL of the page you want to analyze.
- The Debugger will crawl the page and provide an overview of any Facebook integrations it finds.
- Click on each section (Sharing, Login, Comments etc) to expand it and view more details.
- Review the info and errors shown for each section.
- Optionally, you can click “Debug Again” to recrawl the page after making changes.
Tips for using the Debugger
- Test pages that use different Facebook integrations – Pages with login, share buttons, comments etc.
- Check pages visible to public and logged in users.
- Clear your browser cookies before testing to simulate a first-time user.
- Use the “Debug Again” option to quickly re-check pages after fixing issues.
Information shown for different Facebook integrations
Here is more detail on what the Debugger displays for some common Facebook integrations:
Login
For Facebook Login, the Debugger shows:
- If login is enabled on the page
- What login options are present e.g. continue as user, login with Facebook
- Any errors logged while attempting a test login
- Permissions requested from user on login
Sharing
For Facebook social sharing, the Debugger displays:
- All share button code snippets detected
- The type of share button e.g. Share, Send, Embed
- The sharing image, title, description extracted from the page
- Any errors or warnings when sharing the page
Comments
For the Facebook Comments box, you can see:
- Whether comments are enabled
- Number of existing comments
- Comments box moderation settings
- Comments box color scheme
Useful Facebook Debugger alerts
Here are some common alerts you may see in Facebook Debugger and how to resolve them:
| Debugger Alert | Meaning | How to Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Tags Warning: Obsolete tags detected | Old deprecated Facebook meta tags are present | Replace deprecated tags with latest og: and fb: meta tags |
| Permissions Warning: Permissions are overly broad | Too many login permissions requested | Edit Facebook Login settings to request fewer permissions |
| Locale Issue: Object at URL does not have a locale | Page locale metadata missing | Add page locale using og:locale meta tag |
| Share Image Issue: Could not retrieve image | Share image invalid or not publicly accessible | Confirm share image URL returns a valid image |
Advanced Features
The Facebook Debugger also has some advanced capabilities:
Link Crawler
The Link Crawler tool will recursively crawl all links on a webpage and analyze all pages it finds for Facebook integrations and issues. This helps find and debug all Facebook meta tags, share buttons etc across an entire website.
Share Text Variations
For share buttons, you can enter different text customizations to see how the share content changes. This is useful for testing how Facebook’s scraper handles different wording and phrasings.
Facebook App ID
You can enter your Facebook App ID to debug pages and integrations associated with a specific Facebook app you have created.
Integration with Facebook Business Tools
The Facebook Debugger provides even more value when used together with other Facebook business tools:
Facebook Pixel Helper
The Facebook Pixel Helper browser extension complements the Debugger by letting you view the Facebook pixel and Custom Audiences pixels installed on any webpage. Use it to audit your Facebook tags.
Sharing Debugger
Facebook’s Sharing Debugger is specifically focused on diagnosing issues with link shares on Facebook. It provides more detailed crawl and debugging options tailored to shares.
Ad Preview Tool
Preview how your webpage will look as a Facebook ad using the Ad Preview tool. The Debugger can help optimize the meta tags and images that determine the ad preview appearance.
Pro tips
Some pro tips for mastering the Facebook Debugger:
- Bookmark the Debugger to easily analyze pages regularly.
- Check new pages or content frequently as you add Facebook integrations.
- Debug both desktop and mobile versions – issues may differ.
- Always re-debug after making any meta tag or integration changes.
- Pay close attention to any warning alerts flagged.
Conclusion
The Facebook Debugger is an indispensable tool for any website owner using Facebook integrations. It provides invaluable insights to diagnose issues and validate proper configurations. The detailed feedback on meta tags and social integrations can help troubleshoot problems and optimize Facebook-related code. combined with other Facebook tools, the Debugger gives you the ability to thoroughly audit and enhance your Facebook presence.