How to Change Your Facebook Page URL in 2021
Wondering how to change your Facebook Page URL?
It’s pretty simple, though Facebook once said you can’t.
I checked all of the Pages I admin, and the option to change the Page URL was readily available. Here’s how.
UPDATED February 2021! Yes, this article is actually correct, unlike those others.
We will cover:
- Rules for your Facebook Page username.
- Best practices and cautions when changing your URL.
- Exactly how to change your Facebook URL in 2021.
- Plus a video walkthrough of changing your Page and profile URLs.
NOTE: Here are the instructions if you need to change your Facebook Page NAME, instead of URL.
What’s my Facebook Page URL?
Your Facebook Page URL is the part of your web address after the https://www.facebook.com/. So in the case of my Fan Page, we’re talking about the LouiseMcom.
Facebook calls this your username. It’s also often referred to as your vanity URL.
Important rules for your Facebook Page URL aka username
Not surprisingly, Facebook has a host of rules about usernames.
- You can only have one username for your Page or profile.
- You can’t claim a username someone else is already using.
- Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”).
- They can’t contain generic terms or extensions (.com, .net). However I was able to append “com” with no problem.
- Periods (“.”) and capitalization don’t count as a part of a username. For example, johnsmith55, John.Smith55 and john.smith.55 are all considered the same username.
- Usernames must be at least 5 characters long.
- Your username must adhere to Facebook’s Terms. source
Keep in mind that you must be an admin to create or change the username for a Page.
You may not be able to immediately create a username for a new Page if you’ve recently created several new Pages.
Can I reserve a Facebook Page username for later?
Don’t rely on “reserving” a Facebook URL and username!
A Page’s username can also be removed because of inactivity. YES, this happened to me! I set a URL and didn’t use the Page.
Now that URL belongs to someone else!
So if you want to hold a Facebook Page URL for later, post on the Page – or Facebook may release your username for someone else to snatch up.
More Facebook Page username best practices
In addition to FB’s rules, here are my suggestions to get the best Facebook username:
Choose a username you’ll be happy with for the long term. It may or may not be changeable in the future!
Keep your username as short and memorable as possible, yet…
Make it as close as possible to your true name or the name of the business or person your Page represents (ex: John.Smith, Facebook).
Regarding periods and capitalization, decide how you want it to look in the address bar, because users can type it in with or without periods and capitals.
This also means you can’t claim a URL someone else is using by adding periods or caps.
I did see one article claiming that periods between words makes your URL more SEO friendly, as Google likes delimiters between words. I decided to forgo periods to be more user-friendly.
If the username you want isn’t available, you’ll need to pick a new one that’s not taken yet. A username may be unavailable if it’s already claimed, even if the Page or profile it’s associated with isn’t published or used yet.
However, the username may be released if the Page remains inactive (see note above).
Cautions on changing a Facebook Page URL that’s already set
Maybe you’ve decided your URL is too long, or you want to make it match your Page Name.
Changing your Page URL won’t change your Page name – the title that appears under your cover photo. However, be aware that once you’ve set a vanity URL, changing it will mean that any links to your Page will no longer work.
If you don’t search out and change the old links, when clicked, they’ll lead to this cute message:
Not so cute when it means people searching for you won’t find you!
I have some suggestions to help Google stop sending traffic to your old URL, but there is no such thing as a Facebook Page that redirects from one URL to another.
See the “Timeline for changing” section below to avoid the missing Page problem.
Also be aware: previously, Facebook allowed to change your Page URL only one time.
So don’t make a change lightly – you’re might have to live with this one, or start a new Fan Page.
When it comes to social media, there are no guarantees that what works today will work tomorrow!
What you MUST do before changing your Facebook Page username
If you’ve had your Facebook business Page for any length of time, and you’re active in promoting it, you’ve got that link posted in a lot of places.
I ran a search of my blog posts for my then-current “howtographics” username and was surprised to find over a dozen links.
You’ve probably linked your FB Page in at least one sidebar, header, or footer widget (I had three).
If you’ve guest posted, consider whether you left links there, and how you can access them to make the change. The last thing you want is to impress your reader, then send them to a dead page!
If you’ve linked to your Facebook Fan Page from other social accounts, you’ll need to update those too.
You may have saved a Pin on Pinterest with a link to your Facebook Business Page. You can change the URL on a Pin that you yourself pinned (but it won’t populate to repins). And if you have an Instagram account, you might have dropped a link there. Or on your Twitter profile. Find ’em all!
Check your email signature, as well as any printed materials – business cards, brochures, anything else? These will need to be addressed first 😉
As far as search engines like Google, you can ask them to deindex your old Facebook Page URL. They should eventually notice regardless. The length of time probably depends on how big or active your page is/was.
If people search for your Facebook page outside Facebook, a search engine such as Google will send people to a broken Facebook Page link for some amount of time – even if you request they remove the obsolete URL.
For me, I was doubtful many people were searching for my FB page on Google. If you feel that’s true for you, try not to worry about it ?
Work on the ones things you can control – read on for the timeline.
Timeline for Changing Your Facebook URL
Now that you’ve figured out where you’ve placed your old username, it’s time to prepare.
Before investing time or money in the following steps, ensure that you have the option to change your username! Then proceed.
Most steps are optional and some may not apply to you. Use your best judgement. These are suggestions only.
- Printed materials? Get ready to order new ones ASAP.
- Post a heads-up on your FB Page that you’ll be changing your username. Explain why.
- Reach out to blogs where you’ve guest posted and ask if they will make the URL change for you, if you don’t have admin privileges to do it yourself.
- Prepare an image or video to post on Facebook when you complete the name change.
- Set aside one to several hours (depending on how much you need to change) to do steps 6 to 9 in quick succession.
- Open all the blog posts, widgets, and social media accounts that you need to change in separate tabs. Enter the change, but don’t save/update yet.
- Go into your Facebook Fan Page and make the change following the steps below.
- Got a new username secured? NOW complete everything from steps 1, 3, 4 and 6.
- Change your email signature.
- If needed, change your Facebook Page NAME to match the new username.
- If needed, rebrand your FB Page graphics (more info on this towards the end of this article).
- If desired, inform followers on your other social accounts, blog, and email list of your change.
- Apply to Google for removal of the obsolete URL: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals
- If needed, request assistance from Facebook. Go to your Page> Assistance> dig up to find the item “Need more help? Contact support.” I can’t give you a link for this page because it doesn’t exist, it’s a form that appears inside https://www.facebook.com/business/help
Thanks to reader Marco for the last 2 pointers.
How to change a Facebook Page username that’s already set
Follow these 4 steps with screenshots. We will also recap on video in the next section.
1 | Log into Facebook as the personal profile that’s an Admin of the Page you wish to change. Please do so on a computer.
Click About on the left side of your Page.
Or you might have this format, where you jump directly to “Edit Page info”:
2 | Either way, your next step is to click Edit to the right of your current Page username.
3 | Enter a new username.
4 | If it’s available, meets the guidelines, and you’re SURE you want to make the change, click Create Username.
You’re done!
How to change a Facebook Page URL: video
This 2 1/2 minute video will walk you through how to change your Page username (first 2 minutes) and after that, changing your personal profile URL.
Prefer to read? The text walkthrough with screenshots is directly above.
Yes, it is still accurate in 2021 even though it says 2019.
Why can’t I change my Facebook Page URL?
My readers keep me on my toes! Just after updating this article, Jaz commented:
I had originally been able to change it but I did not click “Request Change” since I was still deciding what I wanted the new name to be.
Now when I click to Edit the Page Name, a pop-up comes up that says “You can’t change your Page name.”
I could not find anything definitive about NOT being able to change usernames except that you must be an admin. Nonetheless, here are some things to check:
1 | Are you logged into a FB account that has full admin privileges?
2 | Have you changed your URL recently? Wait at least 3 days before trying again.
3 | Have you engaged in spammy behavior? Start over with a new Page if you can commit to NO spam!
4 | Have you ever used the Page? Inactivity could prevent you from making this URL change.
5 | Do you have hardly any, or a ton of, Page Likes? Once again, a possibility.
If you still don’t have the option to change your URL/username, try this Facebook Page problem report.
However, if you’ve run ads and have an ad manager, contact them as they should be eager to help.
Next steps for your Facebook Fan Page
Does your FB Page cover photo match your new brand?
Facebook’s cover photos are a bit tricky to size correctly to look good across devices!
Use my template in the article below! Or try the fast and easy way to optimized cover photos for every major social network. Design one, and optimize for another use in a couple clicks.
If you need to update your profile picture, this article is full of great tips. It mentions Instagram, but the tips are universal to all profile images – which should match everywhere your business appears online!
This article covers just about every Facebook Page image and video size known to mankind, even down to “Our Story” and job postings. It’s all here!
Plan to run ads to promote your rebranded page? Great idea! Make sure they work for you so you don’t waste money.
I have loads more, but that should keep you busy for awhile!
Will You Change Your Facebook Page URL in 2021?
We covered:
- Rules for your Facebook Page username.
- Best practices and cautions when changing your URL.
- Exactly how to change your Facebook URL in 2021.
What do you think? Is it worth the hassle?
I deliberated for quite some time before deciding it was a necessity for me.
Let me know if you will change your Facebook Page URL!
The post How to Change Your Facebook Page URL in 2021 appeared first on Louise Myers Visual Social Media.
Source : https://louisem.com/2992/change-facebook-page-url
