{"id":4468,"date":"2018-04-09T16:08:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T16:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/2018\/04\/09\/how-to-set-the-description-of-your-wordpress-page-content-when-sharing-to-facebook\/"},"modified":"2021-11-19T01:39:03","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T06:39:03","slug":"set-description-of-wordpress-with-open-graph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/edu\/wordpress\/set-description-of-wordpress-with-open-graph\/","title":{"rendered":"Set the Description of WordPress with Open Graph"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a visitor shares a Page from your website to Facebook, there are particular details that Facebook looks for to generate a post containing a preview of your content. These details, also known as Open Graph Markup<\/strong>, can be modified using the Open Graph for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter Card Tags<\/strong> plugin for WordPress. With this plugin you can customize the Open Graph Metadata<\/em> using the Page\/Post Editor interface. In this guide, you can learn how to use this plugin, allowing you to easily customize the description of a Page when shared on Facebook<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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WARNING:<\/b> The instructions in this guide require that you have installed the Open Graph for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter Card Tags<\/strong> By Webdados<\/em> plugin. If you have not installed the plugin yet, you can follow the instructions in our guide, “How to Install Open Graph for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter Card Tags<\/a>“. Once you have installed the plugin, you will be able to follow the instructions below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Add a Description<\/h2>\n

When Facebook generates a preview of your Page content, it is searching for the Metadata Markup<\/em>, including “og:description<\/strong>“. Facebook will load the description found in that variable for the post that will be made once shared. If the og:description<\/em> tag does not exist, Facebook will load an excerpt from the content. This variable is provided, based on priority, according to your Open Graph for Facebook Settings<\/em>. In the following section, you can learn the various methods for how to customize the description that is loaded when your Page is shared on Facebook<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Default Description for Your Website<\/h3>\n

If you want the same description to load for all your Pages<\/i>, you can set a default description<\/em> in the Open Graph for Facebook Settings<\/strong>. Simply follow the instructions below.<\/p>\n

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  1. Log into your WordPress Administrative Dashboard<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Hover over Settings<\/i> and click on Open Graph for Facebook, Google+ and Twitter Card Tags<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. From the General<\/i> tab, scroll to the Description settings<\/b> section. Click on the drop-down next to Default description<\/i> and select Custom Text<\/b>.<\/li>\n
  4. A text field will appear where you may enter a custom text to be displayed by default. For example:\n

    “Check out this interesting website. This particular link is great!”<\/li>\n

  5. Click the Save Changes<\/b> button at the bottom of the page.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Page Editor Open Graph for Facebook Field<\/h3>\n

    In the Open Graph for Facebook Settings<\/em>, the default description will be used on a Page if no description is provided. Since a unique description may not be desired for every Page you make, setting a default –to fall back on– ensures that there is always a description associated with your website content, when it is shared to Facebook. In this section, you can learn how to set the description of a specific Page<\/em> using the Page Editor.<\/p>\n

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    IMPORTANT:<\/b> It may be necessary to adjust the Screen Options<\/i> for the necessary Page Editor fields to appear. Click on the button labeled Adjust Screen Options<\/i> (below) to expand and follow the steps in that section to learn how to adjust the Page Editor view to include Open Graph for Facebook<\/em> fields.<\/p>\n