Do you use Facebook events to promote your upcoming webinars, conferences, meetups, or other events?
If so, did you know that 75% of event-focused businesses use their Facebook page as the primary platform for creating and managing events? (Source: Sprout Social)
However, a common challenge faced by 81% of marketers is getting website visitors to discover these Facebook events. Without an embedded events calendar, your website readers may completely miss out on your event listings and all the hard work put into promoting them on Facebook.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you how to expertly add your Facebook events feed into WordPress as an always up-to-date dynamic calendar.
Here‘s what we‘ll cover:
- Benefits of embedding Facebook events on your WordPress site
- Step-by-step setup and configuration instructions
- Customization tips to match the feed perfectly with your brand
- Responsive embed options for mobile and desktop
- Troubleshooting advice for common issues
Let‘s get started.
Why You Should Add Facebook Events Directly on Your WordPress Site
Before we get into the technical details, it‘s important to understand the benefits of displaying rich Facebook events natively on your WordPress site:
- Increase event awareness and discovery: Over 58% of event participants discover events from social media posts. Adding the events calendar helps expose them to more of your target website visitors.
| Source of Event Discovery | Percentage |
| Friends personal recommendations | 71% |
| Social media posts | 58% |
| Email newsletters I’m subscribed to | 54% |
Drive traffic to your Facebook page: Displaying the beautifully formatted events front and center on your site gives visitors a taste of your content and motivates them to further engage on Facebook.
Automatically keep your calendar updated: As you create or update events on Facebook, the embedded feed pulls in those new events instantly without you having to embed each one manually. This saves you effort while keeping your site looking fresh.
Increase registrations and ticket sales: Allowing website visitors seamless access to your event listings in one click can directly translate into more conversions, registrations, or purchases depending on your goals.
Now that the benefits are clear, let‘s dive into the step-by-step process of embedding your events calendar within WordPress.
How to Embed Your Facebook Events Calendar in WordPress
While there are several third-party plugins available, I personally recommend using the native Facebook Page Plugin that comes built-in with WordPress.
Here are the specifics on setting it up:
Install the Facebook for WordPress Plugin
While optional, I highly recommend installing the Facebook for WordPress plugin. It adds several additional customization options for your calendar down the road.
Navigate to the Widgets Section
Go to Appearance → Widgets in your WordPress dashboard sidebar. This is where you can add feed widgets to different website sections.
Find and Add the Facebook Page Plugin Widget
Search for “Facebook Page Plugin”. Then drag it into your desired widget area (like the sidebar or footer).
Authorize the Connection
You may see a popup asking you to authorize or reconnect your Facebook account. Click on it and follow the prompts to securely connect your Facebook page.
Configure the Widget Settings
Customize options like width, height, specific page to pull events from, color scheme, tabs to display, etc. I suggest showing the Events, Messages, and Reviews tabs.
Save Your Widget
Once configured, click on Save to make your Facebook events feed widget live. The events will now show beautifully in the area you placed it.
And that‘s really all there is to it! As you continue using Facebook to create more events, they instantly get pulled into the embedded WordPress feed thanks to the automatic sync.
Next, let me quickly show you how to customize the look, layout, and functionality further to perfectly match your brand.
Customizing the Facebook Events Embed
A default Facebook feed might look a bit dull or out of place on your site.
Here are some customization best practices:
Use an Eye-catching Header
Add a header bar atop your calendar visually separating it from other site content. Include your Facebook page name and profile picture to reinforce the branding.
To add it:
- Go back into the widget settings
- Check the "Show Cover Photo" and "Show Page Header" options under the Layout/Display tab.
Match Your Color Scheme
Pick a color scheme that aligns with your existing website aesthetics. This helps the Facebook calendar blend in seamlessly.
Under the same Layout/Display tab choose a light or dark color based on your brand. Tweak the colors further using Custom Plugin CSS if needed.
Showcase More or Less Events
Strike the right balance of events to display. Too few and visitors won‘t get valuable info. Too many and it becomes overwhelming.
I find showing 5 upcoming events adequate for most websites in the primary widget spot, and 10 events in a dedicated events page sidebar.
Maintain Readability On All Devices
Given that ~60% of website traffic comes from mobile, ensure your embedded calendar is easy to read and scroll on phones.
Go to the Responsive tab under widget settings. Here you can customize the number of events and columns for mobile vs. desktop views individually.
Use Facebook‘s New Events API for Faster Speeds
As of January 2023, Facebook launched its new Events API promising faster performance for embedded events feeds.
To leverage it, go to the Advanced tab in the widget settings and check the "Use Facebook‘s new Events API" option. This optimizes both reliability and speed.
By spending just a few minutes customizing your events embed using these tips, you can ensure it catches your reader‘s eyeballs and gets the engagement it deserves!
Displaying Facebook Events Elsewhere on Your Website
While widgets like the sidebar, header, or footer make excellent homes to showcase a live Facebook events feed, you may want to highlight specific listings in other places like:
- Relevant blog posts or category archives
- The main "Events" page
- Popups or slide-ins to announce upcoming events
The good news is the Facebook Page Plugin allows you to generate a reusable shortcode for adding your events anywhere with precision.
Simply go back to the widget settings and find the Shortcode option under Advanced. Copy and insert this shortcode by itself or inside a text block / custom HTML widget.
Voila! You can now showcase your events virtually anywhere on your WordPress site. No matter which page a visitor lands on, your engaging FB calendar is never too far.
Troubleshooting Common Facebook Events Embed Issues
Lastly, as with any third-party integration, you may occasionally run into issues when embedding your Facebook feed into WordPress.
Here is how to troubleshoot the most common problems:
Events show up on Facebook but not on your WordPress site
- Double check that the correct Facebook page is connected under the widget configuration
- Verify date filters aren‘t hiding your events in the feed
- Refresh the Facebook connection by disconnecting and reconnecting the page
Showing outdated or deleted events
Flush the Facebook cache by going to the Facebook for WordPress plugin settings, opening the Miscellaneous tab and clicking on Clear Facebook Cache.
Unable to see the Facebook plugin widget
Not all WordPress themes support widgets. Check if your active theme has widget areas enabled by going to Appearance → Widgets and seeing if you can drag/drop widgets. If not, you will need to insert the shortcode instead.
I hope these troubleshooting tips help you tackle any potential embed issues. Optimizing this integration takes a bit of diligent care and feeding but is well worth it!
Embedding an automatically-updated Facebook events feed directly into various areas of your WordPress site is a hugely effective tactic for increasing event promotion and discovery.
It keeps your site content fresh, drives further engagement on social channels, saves you time on manual updates, and most importantly fuels more conversions by putting your events in front of the right audience.
Now over to you!
- What platform do you currently use for managing events?
- Where on your website would an events feed add the most value?
- Any other questions on seamlessly integrating Facebook with WordPress?
Let me know in the comments section below!
