How to Customize Your Facebook URL

A custom Facebook URL turns a long, messy link of numbers into a memorable, professional-looking address - a great move for your brand or personal profile. Getting this clean, searchable URL for your personal profile or Business Page is a straightforward process. This guide will walk you through exactly how to set or change your Facebook URL, what rules to follow, and how to choose the perfect name for your account.

What Exactly is a Custom Facebook URL (and Why Should You Care)?

A custom Facebook URL, also called a username or vanity URL, is a unique, human-readable web address for your Facebook profile or Page. Instead of the default URL filled with random numbers Facebook assigns you, you get to choose what it says.

For example, you go from this:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063460458921

To this:

https://www.facebook.com/YourNameHere

This isn't just about appearances, it's a small change with significant benefits for anyone trying to build a presence online, whether for a business, a personal brand, or even just to make your profile easier for friends to find.

Three Big Reasons to Grab a Custom URL

• Professionalism and Brand Recognition: A custom URL instantly looks more professional and trustworthy. It reinforces your brand name every time you share it, making it an essential part of a cohesive brand identity. People are more likely to click on facebook.com/DreamBeanCoffee than a generic URL with a long string of numbers.
• Memorability and Shareability: Which is easier to tell someone: "Find me at facebook dot com slash my great pizza shop" or "Find me at facebook dot com slash profile question mark id equals a bunch of numbers I can never remember"? The answer is obvious. A clean URL is easy to remember, share verbally, and print on business cards, flyers, or other marketing materials.
• Better Findability (SEO): Consistency is a friend to search engines. When you use the same username across all your social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok), you build a stronger, more connected online identity. This makes it much easier for people - and Google - to find your official accounts when they search for your name or brand.

The Rules: What You Need to Know Before Changing Your URL

Before you jump in, it's good to know Facebook's guidelines for usernames. Getting it right the first time saves you a headache later. Here's a quick rundown of the main rules:

• It must be unique. No two profiles or Pages can have the same username. If someone else already has it, you'll need to find a different one.
• It needs to be at least five characters long. Short and sweet is great, but it can't be too short.
• Characters are limited. You can only use letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and periods ("."). You can't use symbols, dashes, or spaces.
• Be careful with periods and capitalization. They don't count toward making a username different. For example, john.smith, John.Smith, johnsmith, and JohnSmith are all considered the same username.
• No generic extensions. Your username can't end with a general extension like .com or .net.
• It must follow Facebook's terms. This goes without saying, but your username can't impersonate someone else or violate anyone's rights. For businesses, this includes avoiding trademark infringement.

Step-by-Step Guide: Customizing Your Personal Facebook Profile URL

Changing your personal profile URL is simple and can be done from either a desktop browser or the mobile app. The following steps reflect Facebook's latest interface, which routes these changes through the new Meta Accounts Center.

On Desktop (Web Browser)

1. Log In and Navigate to Settings: Log into your Facebook account. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the page.
2. Access Settings & Privacy: From the dropdown menu, select Settings & Privacy, and then click on Settings.
3. Open the Meta Accounts Center: On the left side of the screen, you will see a prominent Meta Accounts Center panel. Click on it to proceed.
4. Select Your Profile: Inside the Accounts Center, click on Profiles, then choose the Facebook profile whose URL you want to change.
5. Find the Username Setting: The next screen will show several options for your profile. Click on Username.
6. Choose Your New Username: In the text field, type in your desired username. Facebook will automatically check if it's available and let you know with a green checkmark or a red error message. You may have to try a few variations before finding one that's free.
7. Save Your Changes: Once you find an available username you're happy with, click the Done button. That's it! Your new URL is now active.

On the Facebook Mobile App (iOS/Android)

The process on mobile is very similar, as it also uses the Meta Accounts Center.

1. Open the Menu: Launch the Facebook app and tap on the menu icon (three horizontal lines), which is usually in the bottom-right corner (iOS) or top-right corner (Android).
2. Go to Settings: Scroll down and expand the Settings & Privacy section, then tap on Settings.
3. Enter Accounts Center: At the very top of the Settings page, tap the See more in Accounts Center link.
4. Choose Your Profile: Tap on the Profiles section and select your Facebook profile.
5. Select "Username": On your profile settings page, tap the Username option.
6. Set Your URL: Enter your new username. The app will immediately check for availability.
7. Confirm Your Choice: After finding an available name, tap Done to save it.

Step-by-Step Guide: Customizing Your Facebook Business Page URL

For Business Pages, the process is different from personal profiles. You need to be an Admin of the Page to change its username. The easiest way to get this done is on a desktop computer.

On Desktop (The Easiest Way)

1. Switch to Your Business Page: Log into Facebook and switch to the Business Page that you manage. You can do this by clicking your profile picture and selecting the Page.
2. Go to Page Settings: Once you're viewing the Page as an Admin, click on Settings in the left-hand menu.
3. Edit General Page Settings: This should be the first screen you see. The top two fields will be your Page's Name and Username.
4. Change the Username: Click the Edit link next to Username. A pop-up window or field will appear.
5. Enter and Save Your New Username: Type your desired username for the Page into the text box. Facebook will confirm if it is available. If it is, click Save Changes. You may be prompted to enter your password to finalize the change.

Note: In the past, Facebook required Pages to have 25 likes before they could set a custom URL. This rule is largely gone, but for brand-new pages, you may need to add a profile picture, cover photo, and a few posts before the username option becomes available.

Choosing Wisely: Tips for Picking the Perfect Facebook URL

Your URL is a piece of your digital identity. Before you lock one in, consider these tips to make sure it serves you well in the long run.

Keep It Consistent

This is arguably the most important rule for building a recognizable brand. Your Facebook username should, whenever possible, match your username on all other social media platforms like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube. YourBrandName on Facebook, YourBrandSnaps on Instagram, and TheYourBrand on X is confusing. But YourBrand everywhere? That's clean, easy for followers to remember, and solidifies your brand identity.

Make It Simple and Memorable

The goal is to choose a name that people can easily spell and recall. Avoid unnecessary numbers, complex jargon, or hard-to-spell words. PaulsPlumbing is far better than Pauls_Premium_Plumbing185. Simple is almost always better.

Keep It Brand-Relevant

For a business, your best bet is your exact brand name. For an individual or personal brand, FirstNameLastName is the standard. If your brand is more creative, your URL should reflect that. For instance, a food blogger named Sarah might choose EverythingSarahEats over SarahJaneMiller. Let your URL communicate who you are or what you do at a glance.

Think Long-Term

Pick a name you can grow with. A name like MiasCollegeCrafts might feel perfect today, but what happens in five years when your craft hobby becomes a full-time design business called "Mia Designs"? Think about a username that will still fit your personal or professional brand years from now.

My URL is Taken! Now What?

This happens to the best of us. With billions of users, there's a good chance your first-choice username is already taken. Don't worry, you still have great options.

• Add a Logical Modifier: Try adding a simple, relevant word to the beginning or end. Think "real," "official," "HQ," "shop," or "get." For example, if AwesomeSauce is taken, try TheAwesomeSauce, AwesomeSauceOfficial, or GetAwesomeSauce.
• Incorporate Your Location: This is a fantastic strategy for local businesses. If BillsBikes isn't available, BillsBikesNYC or BillsBikesPDX might be. It specifies your market and helps you stand out.
• Add an Action Word or Identifier: Add a verb or noun that describes what you do. For a fitness coach named Jen, JenCoaching or TrainWithJen works well. For an author, YourNameWrites is a good alternative.
• Use Initials or a Middle Name: If JohnSmith is gone, JohnMSmith or JSmithWriter are clear and professional alternatives.

Final Thoughts

Securing a custom Facebook URL is a simple yet powerful step in creating a professional, memorable, and consistent online identity. Whether for a business or a personal profile, taking a few minutes to set a vanity URL is a quick win that strengthens your digital foundation and makes you easier to find and share.

While a custom URL is a foundational piece of your brand, the next step is keeping that brand consistent with great content across all your channels. We developed Postbase because we were tired of wrestling with clunky tools to manage all of that. By being able to see our entire content plan on one visual calendar and schedule posts for Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok from a single place, we get back countless hours that can be reinvested into engaging with our community.