Guys, really need your advice here. I've been going back and forth with searching for a good application in order to build a tab with custom content on Facebook. I've ended up with these 4 apps on my list. I've also summed up all their pros and cons, as well as prices and would like to hear your opinion. 1. iWipa application. I've built my test page and found almost a half of the page being occupied by a menu, rotating line and share-this-page stuff. Obviously, these elements all together make the page loading time much slower. To tell the truth, I lost myself few times before I built a simple page. I wish this interface was more friendly and could differentiate primary and secondary options to a user. Pros WYSIWYG text editor and custom HTML area Fan and Non-fan gating Google Analytics Appearance management Cons Too busy and overloaded admin interface Broken links happen sometimes Most of the options require payments Uniform layout for all the pages Pricing Free Level PRO Level: $9.97/mo & $99,97/yr Summary: Too overloaded and busy for a regular user. Paying a free will give you quite good tool to build a tab for Facebook page. I wish the developers could fix the interface and make it more intuitive and friendly. 2. Lujure application is rather new but quite popular tool. This application provides Like Gate, layout templates, and other useful features. In editor each box is edited in a separate popup block. Boxes can be dragged and dropped. There is a measuring rulers that help you to organize the design. Cool! But I've found some weak sides. Pros Very fast interface Free plan offers decent number of features Drag-and-drop management Community support forum Cons Building process is not 100% intuitive (some actions require to hit Done/OK twice) Too expensive in case you want to use its advanced features Requires basic graphic application knowledge to customize the images Pricing Free - for 1 pages with Lujure branding Consultant - $30/mo Business - $300/mo Summary: Lujure is really great for beginners, and users with medium HTML knowledge. Consultant and Business plans seem to be a bit expensive in comparison to other apps. Despite its price, Lujure is a great alternative to build custom iframe tab for your Facebook page. 3. iFrame Tab Plus application developed by HostFB team. It is relatively new yet promising application that offers tool for building welcome/landing pages as well as mini-site pages for Facebook. By the way, they have some other free facebook apps in their collection. You can easily create a Welcome page by uploading a banner or build a mini-site with sub-tabs. Load text or custom HTML code easily into Fan and Non-fan area. iFrame Tab plus allows you to customize the overall appearance of your custom page via color picker tool or via a set of 8 color schemes. I personally find these pre-made color sets well-balanced and organic. Now, let me return to the point. Pros Easy & fast in usage Edit-on-click management Image library tool Unlimited image hosting Color schemes choice and color picker tool 24/7 email support Community support forum Cons Would be great to have pre-made layouts Pricing FREE Trial - 14 days Pro - $1.99/mo or $19.99/yr Summary: Very handy and easy-to-use tool. It worth paying $1.99 a month! A nice and decent alternative to Lujure and PageModo builders. 4. Static FBML application. Though the title of the application doesn't really fit current situation on Facebook (because of FMBL stuff being deprecated), this app allows you to build iframe tab using custom HTML code. Obviously, you need to be a programmer or webmaster to create the code first. It took me few minutes to play around with the app and understand how it works. Pros Recognizes HTML/CSS/Java Script and highlights the tags Is good for pre-made coded templates Cons Doesn't host images, styles, media files (you'll need to host supplementary files at your place) Requires HTML/CSS knowledge Pricing: FREE So, here I am, having 4 apps on one hand. Would like to hear your thoughts on this matter. Appreciate response.
Forget all of that and as my bud above says, Static iFrame is the best. FBML will be obsolete in January 2012
Guys, Static HTML will not work for regular users cause it requires html knowledge. If you want a professional looking tab, then you need use an app with text editor and pre-made templates. I really liked iFrame Tab Plus for the ability to play around with color templates and my own pictures, although for affordable price. It's just $2 a mo.
I finally picked two apps to move with. Here is the first one I tried - iFrame Tab Plus from hostFB.com - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martins-Photography-Agency/115975515158077?sk=app_237843952930789 and now I'm trying to work out Lujure. Wish me good luck ;P