Hubbub makes it easy to display share counts from Facebook. To do so requires use of Facebook’s Graph API, which Meta requires an access token for each user. There are a few ways to create an access token and Hubbub supports both options; 1) using our free-to-use Facebook Developer Platform app. Or, 2) you can create and use your own custom Facebook Developer Platform app.
Note: A “Facebook Developer Platform App” is not the Facebook app on your phone. It is a custom app that is registered with Meta to access or share data on their platforms. You can read more about Meta Developer Apps here.
Hubbub will not use the access token generated for any other purpose than to request and display share counts.
Option 1: Authorizing the Hubbub Facebook Developer App #
From Hubbub > Settings > General Settings tab > Misc section, select the “Hubbub” option in the “Facebook Share Counts Provider” field.
With the Hubbub app option selected, click the Authorize App button which will redirect you to Facebook where you will be prompted with an approval window. In order to authorize the connection between the Hubbub Facebook App and your website, please click the “Continue as…” button. You’ll need to be logged into Facebook for this step.
Important note: No sensitive information is being collected or manipulated by the Hubbub Facebook App and it will not and cannot post on your behalf. NerdPress, the company behind Hubbub, cannot and will not store any data regarding this connection. This is all privately done on your website.
Once you’ve authorized the connection with the Hubbub Facebook Developer Platform App, you will be redirected back to your Hubbub > Settings page. A notification will be displayed at the top of the page letting you know the authentication was successful. A green notification will also show up under the “Facebook Share Counts Provider” field, letting you know the app was authorized.
Alongside the “Authorized” message there will be an expiration date. Upon authorization Facebook generates an access token that has a two month expiration period. Unfortunately, this cannot be extended.
Once the access token expires, you will need to reauthorize. Hubbub will prompt you with a notification in your WordPress Admin once the access token expires.
Option 2: Using your own Facebook Developer Platform App #
If you already have a Facebook Developer App created for your website, you can connect it by navigating to Hubbub > Settings > General Settings tab > Misc section and adding the Facebook App ID and Facebook App Secret.
Important note: Facebook has certain limits when it comes to connecting to their services. Using your own Facebook App can lead to reaching these limits if your website sees high traffic.
How to create your own Facebook Developer Platform App #
If you need to create your own Facebook Developer Platform App, here are the instructions to do so…
- Visit https://developers.facebook.com/apps
- Create a developer account (if you do not already have one)
- Create a new app
- Click “Create App”
- Click “Other” when asked “What do you want your app to do?”
- Click “Business” when asked to “select an app type”
- Give the app a Display Name… Perhaps “Hubbub share count app”
- Be sure to select “Yourself or your own business” when asked the app’s purpose
- Go into Settings > Basic for your new app
- Scroll down to “Add Platform”
- Click “website” when asked to “Select Platform”
- Add your website’s URL into the “Site URL” field, be sure to include
https:// - Scroll back to the top of your app’s settings and provide both a Privacy Policy URL (required) and Terms of Service URL.
- Once all steps above are completed, copy your Facebook App ID and Facebook App Secret key.
- Back in your WordPress admin, go to Hubbub > Settings > General > Misc. and under Share Counts Provider choose “Facebook Graph API” and enter in your Facebook App ID and App Secret.
- Click “Save Settings”
You are now using your own custom app to create Facebook’s access token to use the Facebook Graph API to request and display share counts for your website.
If you have any questions about the above, please reach out to our support team. We’d be happy to help.