Facebook Tests New Page Admin Interface with Sidebar Navigation Links
Facebook is testing a cleaner new administrative interface for Pages which organizes options into left hand sidebar navigation links. It allows administrators to edit Basic Information such as Company Overview from the admin interface, use a typeahead instead of a multi-friend selector for managing admin permissions, and lets Pages with few Likes change their names.
Facebook launched a new Page Insights interface at f8 this year, but this test is the first major admin interface redesign in a long time.
Those to whom the new admin interface has been rolled out can access it by clicking “Edit Page” on a Page they admin, or via the Ads and Pages home page navigation link. Instead of a long list of settings and applications options, user see navigation links in the Page editor’s left sidebar allowing them to Manage Permissions, edit Basic Information, select Applications, conduct Marketing and more.
Previously, admins had to go their Page and click “Change Picture” or select the Info tab and click “Edit Information” to change the Page’s profile picture, website and other category specific details. Now these fields can be edited through the Basic Information and Profile Picture links. The “About This Page” field cannot be edited from the admin interface, though.
Admins of some Pages will also see the option to alter the Page’s name, which Facebook previously did not allow. It’s unclear what determines which Pages can have their names changed, but the name field does appear for Pages with few Likes. The option would allow businesses or brands which have changed their name in real life, want to refocus their Page, or who made a spelling or grammar mistake when first creating their Page can change the Page’s name without having to delete it and start a new one. However, the option could create the potential for abuse, as those who Like a Page aren’t notified of name changes, potentially causing them to unknowingly display a Page in their profile with a different name than the one they Liked.
The Marketing navigation link collects options to advertise a Page, create an embeddable badge, or send an update which were scattered around the right sidebar of the old Page admin interface. While there is no longer a big green “Promote Your Page” button, the text link to advertise is more prominently placed in the center of the screen when viewing Marketing options.
With the Manage Admins link, Facebook has replaced the pop-up multi-friend selector for appointing new admins with a typeahead that accepts names and email addresses. The Applications link includes an “Applications You Might Like” section from which users can instantly add or edit new Page tab applications without first visiting the app. The increased prominence and efficiency of this section more effectively encourages installation of new tab apps than the “More Applications” section at the very bottom of the old admin interface.
Links for Mobile, Insights, and Page Help simply creates separate pages for the same options available in the old interface. Facebook has removed the “News for Page Admins” feed which displayed recent notes published by the Facebook Pages official Page.
This new admin interface looks similar to the Group editor, and signals a shift in Facebook design which favors categorized sidebar navigation links pointing to a limited set of options over a single long list of diverse options. Meanwhile, even if only available for small Page, the ability to change a names is a significant functionality addition that could aid many frustrated admins. However, it could be used to dupe users into Liking objectionable content.
Update: We’ve learned that the threshold at which a Page can’t have its name changed is 100 Likes. Pages with less than 100 Likes who have an admin with access to the new Page admin interface will see the option to change the Page’s name in the Basic Information panel.
[Thanks to Dan Birdwhistell for the tip]
October 25th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
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October 25th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
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October 25th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Yes, I have this layout.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
The new admin interface is extremely user friendly and easy to navigate!
October 25th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
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October 26th, 2010 at 12:42 am
I manage a +1,300,000 fans page and cannot change its name, for the record. ;) Same thing for my smaller pages.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:19 am
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October 26th, 2010 at 2:35 am
This interface is the same than the “Facebook Places” administration page… Maybe the options won’t be the same between “Places pages” and “fans page”…
October 26th, 2010 at 4:04 am
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October 26th, 2010 at 5:30 am
only one thing is great here to change the page name its a big requirement for pages thanks to facebook :)
October 26th, 2010 at 5:57 am
I can access to new interface and it’s really cool. Welldone Facebook ! But one question remain: It’s really nice to be able to change the name of a “Facebook Page”, but what about the “Vanity URL” ?
It’s looks that when we change the name of the Page, the name of the URL is changing as well. I have made the test of the URL name change only on a basic Facebook Page (less that 100 followers), not on a one which have already its “vanity URL” set (but what will happen is the coming name of the “Vanity URL” is already taken).
Is someone can confirm for the “vanity URL” change as the same as the Page’s name ?
October 26th, 2010 at 6:15 am
Following my previous comment… I confirm that it’s seem not possible to change the names of the pages which have already have their URLs personalized (“Vanity ULR”)…
October 26th, 2010 at 7:11 am
Could anyone possible tell me how you edit a FBML page now with the new interface.
Thanks
October 26th, 2010 at 11:28 am
The new admin layout gives you the right to change the name of your page if you have less than 100 followers. Hope that answers everyones question :)
October 26th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
How do we change the page name to read http://www.facebook.com/CompanyName instead of http://www.facebook.com/108742308423087423-Company-Name ? Does this option Exist on the new admin interface?
October 26th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
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October 27th, 2010 at 2:14 am
Really happy to see these changes – the page admin area was horrible to use before and really let the Facebook business experience down.
October 27th, 2010 at 5:36 am
Sehr schön, wird auch zeit das Facebook sich mehr um die Kundenbelange kümmert.
Hoffe das da noch mehr in Zukunft passiert.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:58 am
@Susan you are talking about the web address or URL of the page not the page name.
If you are an administrator of a Facebook Page, you will be able to choose your username at http://www.facebook.com/username just like a user selecting a username for their profile. There will be an interface for you to choose usernames for each of the eligible Pages you administer.
@Gordon I am also trying to figure out how to change the FBML on the static boxes now that the interface has changed.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:05 am
@Gordon okay the “go to application” link under the application just began working for me. I can now edit my FBML static boxes.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:27 am
[...] Facebook Tests New Page Admin Interface Which Allows Page Name Changes (insidefacebook.com) [...]
October 27th, 2010 at 8:35 am
“Could anyone possible tell me how you edit a FBML page now with the new interface.”
Same problem here, no way to edit the box even if I add a new one there’s no way to enter any code…
October 27th, 2010 at 9:54 am
@Monty and anyone else looking to edit FMBL through the new admin interface: Go to the Applications sidebar link in the new Page admin interface, then find the FMBL application and add it. If you don’t see it in your current applications or the Applications You May Like section, click the “Browse More Applications” link at the bottom of the Applications panel of the Page admin interface and search for the FMBL app. Once FMBL is installed, go to the Applications panel of the Page admin interface, go to the FBML app, make sure it is installed on your Page through the “Edit Settings” link, and click “Go to Application” to edit your FBML code.
October 29th, 2010 at 7:47 am
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October 30th, 2010 at 4:09 am
This is a disaster for me, the only way to add admins is through the ‘add admin’ type-box, and that is the notorious ‘friend list’ that contains very few of your actual friends (I have never understood why this is), a friend I need is not (of course) in that small list so I cannot add him as an admin. The ‘Add multiple’ button needs to be returned, for me it was the only way previously to access all my friends, not just the strange subset of friends that shows up in this text box, and also on the ‘friends’ main page. This new change means I CANNOT now add the people I need to add as admin now … it is very frustrating (and embarrassing)
November 1st, 2010 at 9:42 am
@Jason: If you are having trouble with the multi-friend selector, you can add the email address of someone you want to make and admin.
November 11th, 2010 at 9:25 am
@Jason @Josh: I am having the same problem adding admins in this new interface. Adding by email did not work, so I went as far as adding the person as a friend. Now, even with them as a confirmed friend, I cannot select them as a new admin. Any ideas?
November 11th, 2010 at 9:29 am
@Jason: Just switched from Chrome to Firefox and cleared my cache before logging back in to FB. Success!
November 11th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
@Dana and Jason: We’ve heard there are some bugs being worked out in the admin privileges feature of the new admin interface. Please be patient, or report the bug to Facebook through the Help Center.
November 17th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
[...] Facebook Tests New Page Admin Interface Which Allows Page Name Changes (insidefacebook.com) [...]
December 6th, 2010 at 10:03 am
[...] Facebook Tests New Page Admin Interface Which Allows Page Name Changes (insidefacebook.com) [...]
December 13th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Would be awesome for admins to be allowed to change pages “category”.
December 19th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Heres a question I haven’t seen anywhere. When you claim your vanity url, does the original url still exist as well? I know most people wouldn’t care, but I have my site listed with one of the ugly urls in hundreds of places and am not sure if I could find all of the listings to change them. Quite a few are in blogs that cannot be changed and I don’t want to leave broken links throughout the web for people that are trying to get to my fan page.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:53 am
@James: If you are talking about a personal profile, your User ID number will still work as a URL in addition to a claimed vanity URL.
December 23rd, 2010 at 7:32 am
Does any one know if you have over 100 followers and then the followers decrease to under 100 would a person then be able to change ones page name? Or is it the case of once you pass the 100 threshold there is no going back even if your followers decrease to below that threshold?
January 18th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
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January 20th, 2011 at 5:12 am
I think it’s user friendly people will like it .
April 10th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
[...] been asking for, and now Facebook may finally allow it. The feature which was first pointed out by Inside Facebook, is accessible to a small subset of Page administrators who can edit the name under the [...]