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Social networking sites are widely used for business and personal pages and Facebook is a great place for businesses. Unfortunately, the default Facebook landing page is somewhat dull and looks exactly like every other page on Facebook. Static FBML however, allows the business to customize their fan page and to express themselves as never before.

Static FBML is short for Facebook markup language and is a feature which allows Facebook pages to display photos hosted on another server, Youtube videos or special backgrounds and customize their pages to suit their personality and message. The application is not enabled by default on Facebook pages but must instead be enabled just like any of the other available applications. Using FBML, a business can customize a tab and then make it the default landing page where visitors see their company message first.

Without this markup language it might be impossible to put an image on the landing page which was clickable and lead to another site. However simply by using this code you can insert a jpeg hosted on your own site, and link it to an outside destination. This is ideal for Facebook users whose main site and information is hosted elsewhere.

Static Facebook markup language is an option for some users on Facebook who understand or want to learn basic HTML or who have custom CSS they want added to their page. With this application the raw code without any extra characters must be put into the FBML box. Facebook markup language however is easier to use than HTML because no page headers or meta tags are needed.

As great as this application is for businesses there are a few items that should be remembered when adding images and videos. The standard Facebook template requires jpegs and videos 560 pixels in width or smaller in order to fit on the page properly. Images should be optimized for web viewing and can be resized when they are optimized. An additonal point to be aware of is that javascript will not run from this application.

Image names should be a single name with no spaces. If a jpeg name is two words, a hyphen should be used to avoid problems in display. While an image has no height limitations the larger a photo is, the longer it takes to load and scrolling is not user friendly.

Basic HTML will normally work easily in the markup box for Facebook FBML. However any code placed in the markup box should be complete and the tags should be closed. While Facebook markup language is no harder than normal HTML, the code inserted in the boxes must be clean without any so called trash characters that some WYSIWYG editors insert.

While Facebook was created originally for the personal user, Facebook markup language has made configuring a business page much easier. Any business that wants to stand out from the crowd, deliver their message with interactive media such a videos and make their site unique will probably utilize this application on their Fan page. Static FBML is an application that is only used on business pages for the personal or group pages.

Now that you know what Static FBML is and what it’s all about, visit how to Make a Fanpage on Facebook.