Have you been using the default embed feature on your WordPress site to embed content from Facebook and discovered that it doesn’t function the way it used to? Congo, this is just the right article for you. We will discuss everything you need to know about this modification and also the possible ways to fix this issue. Let us get started.
What’s the modification- When and Why?
It was announced that starting from October 24th, you can no longer embed Facebook content automatically in WordPress with the use of the default method. What triggered this was the change brought in the Facebook API which went against the open web API nature of oEmbed. The new Facebook oEmbed API required to meet several aspects and the only way in which you could embed Facebook content was by complying with these requirements. As a response to these guidelines, WordPress decided to remove Facebook from its trusted oEmbed source. Given below were the requirements put forth by Facebook -:
- User will have to possess a Developer account on Facebook
- Requires a registered Facebook App to generate a unique app ID.
- oEmbed Product should be enabled for the registered Facebook App.
- An App Access or Client Access token has to be generated.
- Facebook App should be set to Live mode.
What Happens to Embeds now?
Your oEmbed responses will be cached by WordPress in its database under the hidden oEmbed_cache under post types or under the post meta. The contents of the embeds would continue to preview on your website since WordPress won’t be purging these values by default. But, if you delete them from your database manually, then they will be purged. So, all the Facebook embeds you added before the deadline date i.e the 24th of October will remain even after the date of depreciation. The fallback embeds will remain, appearing as small excerpts of a maximum of 120 characters within blockquotes. This will also include links to the respective authors and the original sources and just that, no other details or content would appear beyond that. Only the clickable links that will take you to the Facebook content would stay.
Given below is how your embeds would appear after the 24th of October.
How to Fix them?
Now that we are acquainted with ‘what’ and ‘why’ related matter of this issue, let us address the core of this article – How to fix this Facebook oEmbed issue in WordPress? WordPress has enabled a few third-party plugins in solving this issue by which you can initiate the process of restoring your Facebook embeds the way it was previewed before.
oEmbed Plus
oEmbed plus plugin helps you to restore the Facebook embeds in the block editor. If you are a developer who would prefer going through the complicated procedures of registering a Facebook app for every client site and restoring its functionalities, this plugin would help you in doing that. Once you are done setting up everything, the existing embedded content in your site will continue to show up and it will work the way it was before and Facebook will start using the newly authenticated API.
Jetpack
This is also a relatively simple means to embed your Facebook posts to your WordPress site. Jetpack has also partnered with Facebook to create and provide an easier transition that will enable you to embed your Facebook posts to continue to display the way it used to be. All that you need to do is to connect your site to Jetpack and they will assist you with embedding your posts and handling things in the backdrop for you, making things even more convenient and manageable for you.
Smash Balloon
The Smash Balloon plugin enables you to have two separate free plugins that can help you solve issues related to embeds. With the help of this plugin, you can be free of the complex set of procedures of registering a Facebook developer account or creating the app. Smash Balloon has an existing API key that is needed for creating custom feeds. You need not possess additional authentication to restore your embedded content. Once you install the plugin, just go to the oEmbed navigation menu. Then finish off by clicking on the ‘Connect’ button. Smash Balloon is extremely user-friendly and if you are already using them, you just need to update it to its latest version to avail of this service.
Custom Facebook Feed Plugin
This plugin is very user friendly, you can avail it completely customized and it will also let you in displaying Facebook feeds unlimited from your page or group. It has features that will enable you to match the feel and look of your website with a lot of options through customization.
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Final Thoughts
If you wish to continue embedding your Facebook posts to your WordPress site, we suggest installing any of the plugins mentioned above to continue displaying your content on the site. There is more than one option for plugins and you can choose one that you feel will benefit you the most.
If you find this article to be informative and interesting, continue reading through our other blogs. We post articles that will guide you in troubleshooting various issues in the virtual arena.
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