How to Set Up Facebook Instant Articles on Your WordPress Site (2023 Guide)
Looking to expand your content‘s reach on Facebook and provide a lightning-fast reading experience for mobile users? Facebook Instant Articles might be the solution for you.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk you through what Facebook Instant Articles are, discuss their pros and cons for publishers, and show you step-by-step how to set them up on your WordPress site. Let‘s dive in!
What Are Facebook Instant Articles?
Facebook Instant Articles is a mobile publishing format that enables near-instant loading of articles within the Facebook app. When a user taps on an Instant Article, the full content loads immediately, up to 10x faster than standard mobile web articles.
This initiative was launched by Facebook in 2015 with the goal of providing a better mobile reading experience, keeping users engaged on Facebook, and helping publishers reach a wider audience.
Pros and Cons of Facebook Instant Articles for Publishers
As with any platform feature, there are advantages and disadvantages to consider before implementing Facebook Instant Articles on your WordPress site. Let‘s take a look at some key pros and cons:
Pros:
- Lightning-fast load times provide a seamless user experience and can reduce bounce rates
- Potential for increased visibility and reach within the Facebook ecosystem
- Styling options allow for showcasing your visual brand
- Monetization through Facebook audience network and your own direct-sold ads
- Detailed analytics on article performance
Cons:
- Less control over user experience – readers stay within the Facebook app rather than visiting your site
- Limited monetization options compared to your own website
- Some interactive features and embeds may not be supported
- Reduced page views and time on site metrics in Google Analytics
Ultimately, whether Facebook Instant Articles makes sense for you will depend on your unique audience, monetization strategies, and content goals. Many large publishers have adopted Instant Articles, while others prefer to maintain more control by keeping users on their own websites.
Now, let‘s walk through how to actually set up Facebook Instant Articles on your WordPress site.
Step 1: Prepare Your Site and Apply for Instant Articles
Before applying for Instant Articles, make sure your site meets the following requirements:
- Have a Facebook page associated with your website
- Publish content with regular frequency, at least weekly
- Adhere to Facebook‘s community standards and content policies
Once you‘ve checked these boxes, head over to the Instant Articles signup page:
https://www.facebook.com/instant_articles/signup
Click the "Apply" button to submit your Facebook page for review. The approval process typically takes 24-48 hours. You‘ll receive a notification once you‘re approved.
Step 2: Install the WordPress Instant Articles Plugin
With approval squared away, it‘s time to integrate Instant Articles into your WordPress site. We recommend using the official Instant Articles for WP plugin.
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New and search for "Instant Articles". Install and activate the plugin by Automattic, Facebook, and others.
Step 3: Connect Your WordPress Site to Instant Articles
Navigate to the new Facebook Instant Articles menu item in your WordPress dashboard. You‘ll be prompted to connect your WordPress site to your Facebook page.
Click the "Connect with Facebook" button and follow the authentication prompts. You‘ll need to grant the plugin permission to access your Facebook page info.
Once connected, you‘ll see a success message and additional options will appear.
Step 4: Configure Your Instant Articles Settings
In the Instant Articles plugin settings, you have a number of options for customizing your articles. Some key settings to review include:
Style: Customize the look and branding of your articles with logos, colors, and fonts. You can either style articles using Facebook publishing tools or upload a custom style configuration.
Analytics: Choose whether to track article traffic using Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, or another custom pixel.
Ads: If you‘re planning to monetize with Facebook audience network ads or your own direct-sold ads, configure your Audience Network settings or embed ad code here.
The plugin also allows you to set default featured images, choose which post types generate Instant Articles, and map custom fields.
When you‘re happy with your configuration, click "Save Settings".
Step 5: Submit Your Instant Articles Feed for Review
Your WordPress site is now set up to generate an RSS feed containing your Instant Articles. But before Facebook starts pulling Instant Articles from your feed, you‘ll need to submit it for review.
Navigate back to your Instant Articles settings in Facebook Publishing Tools. Under the "Production Articles" section, click "Add RSS Feed" and input the URL provided by the Instant Articles for WP plugin, e.g. https://yourdomain.com/feed/instant-articles
Facebook will verify the feed is properly formatted. They‘ll also review a minimum of 5 articles to ensure they adhere to content guidelines.
The review process can take up to a week, but often happens within a few days. You‘ll receive a notification once your feed is approved and Instant Articles start generating.
Step 6: Customize Individual Articles
With the WordPress plugin configured, any new or updated posts will automatically generate Instant Articles. But you may want to customize individual articles.
When editing a post, you‘ll see a new Instant Articles panel in the right sidebar. Here you can upload a custom featured image, edit the subtitle/kicker, and preview how the article will appear in the Facebook feed.
Some WordPress embeds and shortcodes may not translate to Instant Articles. You can check the Instant Articles markup on individual posts using the official Facebook Sharing Debugger:
https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
Step 7: Track Instant Articles Traffic and Performance
Once your Instant Articles are live, you‘ll want to track how they perform. You can view key metrics like reach, engagement, time spent, and scroll depth within Facebook Publishing Tools.
For more advanced tracking, you can set up Google Analytics tracking of Instant Articles. In your Google Analytics property, create a new view for Instant Articles traffic.
Then, in your Instant Articles WordPress plugin settings, input your Google Analytics tracking ID in the Analytics settings. The plugin will append ?source=ia to your tracking code for Instant Article views.
With this setup, you can track Instant Articles traffic and drill down into individual post and page performance within Google Analytics.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Even with the streamlined WordPress plugin, you may run into issues getting Instant Articles up and running. Some common problems and solutions:
RSS feed not validating: Check that your SSL certificate is properly configured and your feed is accessible. Also check for special characters in post titles and subtitles that may break formatting.
Plugin conflicts: Some WordPress plugins insert elements that aren‘t allowed in Instant Articles. Check the Instant Articles markup on individual posts to identify the offending plugins and reach out to their support for guidance.
Custom CSS not displaying: Facebook has specific guidelines for CSS in Instant Articles. Refer to their style guide and validate your CSS using their tools: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instant-articles/guides/design
Ads not showing: Verify you‘ve configured an audience network placement ID in your WordPress plugin settings, and check that your audience network account is properly set up in Facebook Publishing Tools.
If you continue to have trouble after troubleshooting, try posting in the official Facebook Instant Articles support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629655867187397/
Are Facebook Instant Articles Right for You?
There‘s no one-size-fits-all answer to whether Facebook Instant Articles will be a net positive for your WordPress site. It depends on your content niche, audience demographics, and monetization approach.
If you‘re a news publisher with a large audience that discovers content primarily through Facebook, Instant Articles can improve the experience for those readers and help your content stand out.
If you‘re a niche site monetized primarily through on-site ads and affiliate links, you may find Instant Articles cuts into your revenue by keeping users off your site and limits how you can promote products and services.
Look at your site analytics to understand what percentage of traffic comes from Facebook mobile and weigh the potential benefits of faster loading against the tradeoffs in monetization and control.
Keep in mind that participating in Instant Articles doesn‘t preclude publishing the full versions on your own site. Many publishers opt for a hybrid approach – syndicating some content to Instant Articles to expand reach while keeping other content exclusive to their site for maximum control and monetization.
As with any new platform or tool, we recommend starting small. Syndicate a portion of your content to Instant Articles, track the results over several months, and adjust your strategy based on performance.
By following the steps outlined in this guide and keeping a close eye on your key metrics, you can make an informed decision on whether Facebook Instant Articles are a worthwhile investment for growing your WordPress site.
