How to Add a Website Link to a Facebook Post

Adding a website link to your Facebook post seems easy enough. You copy, you paste, you share. But turning that simple link into a traffic-driving powerhouse that gets actual clicks - that's a much bigger game. This guide will show you not only the right way to add your link but also how to control its appearance and use simple strategies to make your posts far more effective at sending people to your website.

The Simple Steps: Adding a Website Link to a Facebook Post

Let's start with the fundamental mechanics. Whether you're on a computer or your phone, the process takes just a few seconds.

On a Desktop Computer:

1. Navigate to the Facebook page, group, or your personal profile where you want to post.
2. Click the "What's on your mind?" box to open the post creation tool.
3. Type out the text for your post. We'll cover how to make this text compelling later on, but for now, just write a brief introduction for your link.
4. Paste the full URL (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com/your-amazing-article) directly into the text box.
5. Wait a moment. Facebook will automatically fetch the link preview, which includes an image, title, and a short description from the webpage.
6. Once the preview box appears, you can actually delete the URL text from your post. The preview will remain clickable, making your post look much cleaner.
7. Click Post.

On a Mobile Device (Using the Facebook App):

1. Open the Facebook app and navigate to where you want to publish your post.
2. Tap the "What's on your mind?" field to start creating your post.
3. Write the text that will accompany your link.
4. Paste the URL directly into the post. Just like on a desktop, the app will take a second to generate the link preview panel.
5. Once you see the preview load below your text, you can safely delete the URL itself from the draft. The clickable link preview will stick around.
6. Tap Post to share it.

Executing these steps is straightforward. However, the real magic happens when you control what shows up in that link preview. A generic, pixelated, or poorly-written preview is the fastest way to get your audience to scroll right past. Let's fix that.

How to Optimize Your Facebook Link Preview for Maximum Clicks

Have you ever shared a link and Facebook pulled a weird, tiny version of your logo as the photo? Or worse, no image at all? Or maybe the title and description are confusing or just plain wrong. This happens because Facebook is guessing what to show. The good news is, you can tell it exactly what to display using something called Open Graph (OG) tags.

What are Open Graph (OG) Tags?

Don't let the technical name scare you. OG tags are just a few simple lines of code you add to the <,head>, section of your website's HTML. They act like little notes for social media platforms, including Facebook, telling them which title, description, and image to use when someone shares a link from your site.

If you use a website builder like WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace, managing these tags is often built right in or available through a simple plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math. You don't need to be a coder, you just need to know where to find these settings.

The Four Essential OG Tags:

• og:title: The headline of your article or page as you want it to appear on Facebook. Keep it short, captivating, and under 60 characters for best results.
• og:description: A one-to-two-sentence summary. This is your chance to expand on the headline and give people a compelling reason to click. Keep this under 160 characters.
• og:image: This is the specific URL for the image you want Facebook to show. It's hugely important for grabbing attention. For best results, use a high-quality image that's 1200 x 630 pixels.
• og:url: The official, permanent URL of the page you're sharing.

Check and Fix Your Link Preview with the Facebook Sharing Debugger

Before you ever post a link, you should check it with Facebook's official tool. The Facebook Sharing Debugger is a lifesaver for social media managers and marketers. It shows you exactly how your link will appear when shared and alerts you to any missing OG tags.

Here's how to use it:

1. Go to the Sharing Debugger tool: Visit https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
2. Enter your URL: Paste the URL of the webpage you want to share into the box and click Debug.
3. Analyze the Results: The tool will show you what information it found (or didn't find). It will display the link preview right at the top. Below, you can see details of all the OG tags it captured. If it flagged any warnings, like a missing og:image tag, you know what to fix.
4. Update and Scrape Again: Go back to your website's content management system (CMS), update the missing or incorrect OG tags, and save your changes. Then, return to the Debugger tool and click the "Scrape Again" button. This forces Facebook to re-crawl your page and fetch the new information you just added. Do this until the preview looks perfect.

Getting your OG tags in order is the single most important step for getting more clicks. A powerful, relevant image paired with a compelling headline can dramatically boost your click-through rate.

Smart Strategies for Posting Links on Facebook

Your caption should prime your audience for what's coming. Don't just say, "Here's our new blog post." Give them a reason to care.

• Ask a Question: Engage their curiosity. For an article on productivity tips, you could ask, "What's the one task a day you wish you could finish faster? The answer might be in a habit, not a tool."
• Pull a Powerful Quote or Stat: Grab a "wow" moment from your content. For a marketing report, you might say, "75% of businesses overlook this simple email follow-up... and they're leaving money on the table."
• Tell a Mini-Story: Connect with your audience on a personal level. Share a brief anecdote that leads into the solution or topic your link covers.

The goal is to stop the scroll. The caption sparks interest, and the polished link preview seals the deal.

The "Link in Comments" Debate: Is It Still a Thing?

You've probably seen posts where the caption says "Link in the Comments." For a while, the popular theory was that Facebook's algorithm would penalize the reach of posts containing external links, so people hid it in the comments. Modern Facebook does not work this way. The algorithm is smart enough now to prioritize valuable, engaging content, regardless of its format. For the best user experience, placing the link right there is always better. It's direct, reduces friction, and makes it easy for your audience to take the action you want them to take. In most cases, it's best to post your link directly into the main body of your post rather than hiding it below.

URL Shorteners: To Use or Not to Use

Using a URL shortener like bit.ly can keep links clean, customized, and on-brand. These are great for campaigns where you want to track specific clicks or shares across Twitter or for print materials, where a long URL is too clumsy.

• Pros: Get specific link-click analytics, create vanity URLs (e.g., bit.ly/yourbrand).
• However, a full recognizable URL often performs better on social media for building trust. When users see your full domain name, they know exactly where they're going. This is more transparent and less spammy than a shortened link. For day-to-day Facebook posts, the full URL combined with an optimized link preview is the safer, often best option.

Discover More Ways to Share Your Website Link on Facebook

Regular posts are just the beginning. You can get your link in front of people through several other Facebook features.

Facebook Stories

Stories offer a quick way to drive traffic, particularly to limited-time offers or new content. You can add a clickable link using the "Link" sticker.

1. Create a new Story by uploading an image or video.
2. Tap the sticker icon (the smiley face) at the top.
3. Select the "Link" sticker.
4. Paste your URL and you can even customize a call-to-action text for the sticker like "Learn More."
5. Place the sticker on your Story and share.

Your Business Page's Call-to-Action (CTA) Button

Your business page's most prominent link is the main CTA button right beneath your cover photo. Make sure it's optimized! You can set it to "Shop Now," "Learn More," "Sign Up," or "Contact Us," and point it to the most relevant landing page on your website.

Facebook Groups

Sharing your link in relevant Facebook Groups can drive highly targeted traffic. However, you have to do this thoughtfully. Blasting your link without context will get you banned. Instead, be helpful. Participate in conversations, answer questions, and only share your link when it offers a direct, valuable solution to someone's problem. Always read and respect the group's rules on self-promotion.

Final Thoughts

Adding a link to a Facebook post is mechanically simple, but doing it effectively is a skill that blends technical preparation with creative strategy. By taking control of your website's link preview using OG tags and framing every link with a purposeful caption, you can get past passive sharing and start driving real, meaningful engagement.

Running a successful social strategy comes down to consistently delivering high-quality content. We designed Postbase with the belief that creating great content is the hard part, publishing it shouldn't be. Our clean visual calendar helps you plan all your link posts ahead of time, ensuring you catch any preview issues and write thoughtful captions without last-minute stress. We aim to build a tool that feels supportive, handling the tedium of scheduling reliably so you have more time to focus on what drives connection.