Nonprofit Facebook page templates: What you need to know
If your organization’s Facebook page is categorized as a “non profit organization”, you may have received a message about the new nonprofit page template. On June 19 Facebook will automatically switch all nonprofit pages to the new template.
This has left folks with many, many questions:
- “What does the new template look like?”
- “How is it different from what I have now?”
- “How can I opt out??”
- “Where can I get more information?!”
The purpose of this guide is to answer all those questions and then some. By the end you will have all the information you need to be ready for the switch at the end of the month.
Previewing the new templates
Any Facebook page admin can preview what the new nonprofit template will look like right now.
To do so first navigate to your Facebook page and click the settings button in the top right corner.Then select edit page from the left hand menu.
On the following page, click the edit button to open the templates menu.
Inside the templates menu you’ll find a view details button on each type of template. Locate the Nonprofit template and select this button.
You’ll now be able to scroll through a summary of what this new template holds.
Switching now
Page managers also have the option of switching to the new template now! If you’re interested, just select nonprofits from the list of templates and confirm the switch. Once done, Facebook will ask you if you’d like to start a tour of the new layout.
This takes you back to your Facebook page and a guided tour.
Further page editing controls
Underneath the option to edit your page template, you’ll find the option to edit the tabs on your Facebook page. Clicking the settings button opens this option and also gives you a direct link to that tab. How cool is that?!
Under the list of current tabs on your Facebook page you’ll also see the option to add tabs. Just click Add a Tab button.
Once you’re happy with your page’s tabs, you have the power to drag and drop them into any order you’d like.
Opting out of the nonprofit page template
To opt out of the change, log into Facebook on or after June 19. Navigate to the edit page menu as laid out above. The nonprofit template will be your page’s new template. To switch back, click the edit button.
Scroll until you find Standard and click the View details button.
Scroll to the bottom and click the Apply Template button.
It will then ask you to confirm. Click okay.
Now the new template is applied:
Wrap up While this may feel like a big switch for nonprofits on Facebook, we don’t believe it will be in the long run. It’s important to keep in mind that Facebook is still testing their page templates idea. This could be a new feature that sticks around, or it could quietly leave like other failed tested features on the platform.
It’s also important to remember that very few of your supporters ever visit your Facebook page, let alone spend time there. People engage with your posts in their news feed and use your Facebook page to find your website, addresses, phone number, etc. In short, page templates are a nice improvement but probably won’t make a huge difference to organizations.