Facebook Updates Pages – Layout & Functionality

Facebook has launched major changes to the functionality of Pages and have updated the layout to match the changes to the design of user profiles made in December. All Pages will be automatically migrated to the new design on March 1st.

Here’s a breakdown of the changes:

Smaller profile photo – The profile picture is slightly reduced in size from 200 x 600 pixels to 180 x 540 pixels.

Photostrip – there will now be a photostrip above the wall that displays thelatest photos the Page has tagged itself in.

No more tabs – like the profile design changes, the tabbed navigation above the wall will be no more. Navigation links will now be a list situated under the profile picture in the left column. A potential benefit of this is that names of “tabs” can now be longer and more descriptive.

Pages can “Like” other Pages – you can now like other Pages. Links and profile pics of these “Likes” are made visible below the navigation panel in the left hand column.

Use Facebook as Page – as and admin of a page, you can now choose to use Facebook as the page. A special version of Facebook loads where you can now post and comment around the site as the Page! Meaning you can post on other pages as your Page!

Wall shows relevant posts – Page admins can choose to show posts from “everyone” or the Page posts only. A major change tot he “everyone” option is that it shows user posts that Facebook thinks will be most relevant instead of a reverse chronological stream of posts. Posts that have received a lot of “Likes” and comments will bubble to the top.

iFrames for developers – Pages will finally feature iFrame tab applications. This won’t roll out till March 11 however.

Something to note – once the conversion happens, page admins will have to go in and choose their default landing page. The conversion will reset it back to the wall. I’m sure there will be several other things that need to be “tweeked” to be sure your visitors are still getting the same experience.

While many of these changes are beneficial for brands/businesses administering Pages, this is just another example of how Facebook can make changes at any moment and with little notice.