How to create a Facebook app ID

What an app ID is for

An app ID identifies your site to Facebook's platform. Share plugins use it to build an app access token for share counts, to load official like and comment widgets, and to fill the optional fb:app_id tag that the Sharing Debugger checks for. The old knowledge base article on creating a Facebook app ID was among the most linked pages this domain had, alongside its companion on like buttons that disappeared when the app ID was wrong.

Create the app

1. 01

   Register as a developer

   Sign in at Meta for Developers with your Facebook account and accept the developer terms if asked. You may need to verify a phone number.

2. 02

   Create an app

   Choose My Apps, then Create App. Pick the use case closest to what you need; for share counts and login-free widgets, the simplest option offered for other or general use is usually right. The wording of these screens changes often.

3. 03

   Name it

   Use your site name. Add a contact email you check.

4. 04

   Open Settings, Basic

   Copy the App ID. Add your site domain under App Domains, a privacy policy URL, and a site URL.

5. 05

   Switch to live if required

   Some features only work for people other than you once the app is in live mode, which requires the privacy policy URL.

The settings that matter

Facebook app ID worked example

The values are invented. A site at https://example.com creates an app named Example Site, receives App ID 1234567890123456, lists example.com under App Domains, sets the privacy policy to https://example.com/privacy/, adds the website platform with https://example.com/ as the site URL, and switches the app to live. The SEO plugin's social settings then get the App ID, which produces the tag below in the head of every page alongside the Open Graph set.

<meta property="fb:app_id" content="1234567890123456">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/post/">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:title" content="Example post title">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/wp-content/uploads/post-1200x630.jpg">

The share count plugin gets the App ID and the App Secret separately and builds the app token itself, as described in how to create a Facebook access token. Running the post through the network's sharing debugger afterwards should show no warning about a missing fb:app_id, and the preview should match the tags; if it does not, the causes are in Facebook showing the wrong image or share text.

Adding the fb:app_id tag

The tag is <meta property="fb:app_id" content="{your app ID}"> in the page head. It is optional. The Sharing Debugger shows a warning when it is missing, but link previews work without it. SEO plugins usually have a field for it in their social settings.

Like button not visible

• The app is in development mode, so only you see the widget.
• The site domain is not listed under App Domains.
• A consent tool is blocking the widget until visitors accept, as it should in the EU.
• An ad or tracker blocker in your own browser is hiding it; test in a clean profile.

What goes wrong

• Copying the App Secret into the fb:app_id field. The tag is public. If the secret ever appears in page source, reset it at once; the public tag wants the ID only.
• Two apps for one site. The SEO plugin carries one App ID, the share plugin another. Widgets then report a domain mismatch for one of them. Use one app and enter its ID in every plugin.
• Missing the www variant. App Domains should carry the bare domain; subdomains are covered by it. Listing a full URL there fails validation.
• Leaving the privacy policy URL blank. The app cannot go live, so like and comment widgets stay invisible to readers while working for you.
• Confusing the app ID with a page ID. A page ID identifies your Facebook page and belongs in different tags. An app ID identifies your integration; the counts in Facebook share count: getting it from the Graph API need the app.

Check it worked

• Settings, Basic shows the App ID, your domain under App Domains, a privacy policy URL and a website platform.
• The app mode reads Live.
• View source on any post shows exactly one fb:app_id tag, containing the ID and nothing else.
• The network's sharing debugger shows no missing-app-ID warning for the post.
• A like or comment widget, if you use one, appears in a private window with no blockers, after consent where that applies.

This guide belongs to the share counts section. If you are working through the same setup, tracking shares and pageviews in analytics and how share counts work, and why most networks stopped are the usual next questions.

Sources

• Meta for Developers, Create an App (Internet Archive copy, May 2025)
• Meta for Developers, A Guide to Sharing for Webmasters (Internet Archive copy, May 2025)

Questions

Related reading

1. 01How to create a Facebook access tokenCreate the right Facebook access token for share counts and plugins: user, page and app tokens compared, how long each lasts, and how to keep the token safe.6 min read
2. 02Adding Open Graph tags in WordPressAdd Open Graph tags to WordPress with an SEO plugin or theme code: the four required tags, image tags, per-post overrides, and how to avoid duplicate tags.7 min read
3. 03Facebook share count: getting it from the Graph APIHow to get the Facebook share count for a URL from the Graph API, why the old REST API stopped working, rate limits, and how plugins should cache the result.6 min read