What You Need to Know About the New Facebook Design

Facebook pages are, once again, going through a significant design overhaul and shifting back to a one-column Timeline.

The official change date is June 13, 2014, but many pages are already being pushed to the new layout, so it’s important for businesses to get prepared as soon as possible.

Below is a recap of the changes you’ll see soon with the new Facebook design and a checklist to help you ensure your page is optimized!

Cover Image

Fortunately, the dimensions of the cover image are not changing! However, you’ll notice below that your page name, categories, and Facebook functions are now laid over the cover image.

This could impact your cover image if you have text or a specific design near the bottom.

New Tab Arrangement

The new Facebook design presents a more compact tab layout than the previous design. With the exception of the Timeline and About tabs, all the others can be rearranged by clicking More > Manage Tabs.

New Timeline Layout

As mentioned, the new page design retains the two columns, but only the right column will show page updates. The left column holds information about the brand: reviews, location, company information, and more.

Preparing for the New Design

If your page was optimized before this transition, there’s not much you need to worry about. A few points on your checklist should be:

• Make sure your cover image is designed so that the new text overlays don’t cover up important aspects of your image. Also, in the past, your cover image only showed when you were on the default Timeline tab. However, now the cover image stays in place even if you navigate to other tabs, so it’s important the image is high quality and engaging.

• Get your custom tab images in order. Although they don’t show up at the top of your page anymore, the will show in the left column of the Timeline as you can see in the image above. You can easily change your tab images using this tutorial.

• Ensure your About and Contact information is complete and accurate. This information is no longer buried under the About tab, but instead sits openly in the left column of your Timeline.

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