An Overview of Facebook Markup Language (FBML)

Facebook is one of the widely used social networking sites. Since its launch in 2004, it has won the hearts of people across the world. It is the Brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. As of January, 2011 Facebook has an active user base of approximately 600 million people. Now, that’s an impressive number!

Facebook launched their own platform for complementing their API in 2007, which uses FBML. It stands for

Facebook Markup Language

which is similar to HTML. If one has experience in using HTML then FBML is quite easy to use. However, if one has not used HTML before, still FBML can be used very easily. It allows one to write browser interrupted code to render elements on a Facebook page or application.

FBML

allows one to build Facebook applications that deeply integrate into a user’s Facebook experience. Prior to this there was FQL (Facebook Query Language) which evolved into the Facebook API.

FBML

has the ability to add newsletter subscription forms, download e-books, and other HTML-based elements. One should have the working knowledge of HTML in order to use this. It allows one to use regular HTML tags and is extremely flexible for the programmer to build an application or function. FBML is used to customize the look and feel of applications that the developers create.

This language is a modified version of HTML with some discarded and other features. Some CSS attributes are removed for safety reasons, and it has a unique set of tags. It is a remarkable application that allows customizing the Facebook fan page. By adding

Facebook FBML application

into a fan page, one can make a website page right in Facebook and have the opportunity to make a unique branded Facebook fan page for the business.

Below are some basics for using Facebook static FBML –

»  avaScript can’t be used in FBML page without user interaction. One can also use Facebook JavaScript (FBJS) in page.
»  Static FBML can only be added to Facebook fan page such as public profiles, business pages etc.
»  Maximum width of Facebook FBML page is 520px.
»  One should not use <style type=”text/css”> tag in FBML. Though it works in most browsers but create some problem in Internet Explorer. Rather try to use external style sheet via <link href=”http://yourdomain.com/layout/style.css” rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css” />
»  To add an application in the fan page one must have to be administrator of that page
»  Include HTML/CSS only between and tags. No,, meta tag etc.

Biztech Consultancy has carved out a niche for itself in the area of Facebook Application Development. We have with us the best Facebook Apps Developers who provide customized services to our clients across the globe. Our team is proficient in providing services like – Facebook Fan Page Development, Facebook Integration with Php, and Facebook Connect API Integration.

To get free consultation and project proposal regarding any Web Development Requirements, contact us at sales@biztechconsultancy.com. You can also keep in touch with us through your mobile at our Biztech Mobile Site