Like buttons, as opposed to a like box might be what you want: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/
It's definitely a like box I want as it is to join a fb fan page rather than share a page on my profile.
You can "join a page" as you put it, with both like button and like box. developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box
It says on the like button page: "The Like button is a simple plugin that lets people quickly share content on Facebook." Sharing the page is what happened when I tried it. How can I get it to join a fan page?
You are right that is what it says. However on my website I have it implemented and by clicking it the only thing that happens is that you "join" a page which is what you are asking for. Nothing else happens. Here is my code, give it a go (you obviously have to replace Free-hosting/589868291032310 with your page ID). <iframe frameBorder="0" src="https://facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https://facebook.com/pages/Free-hosting/589868291032310&layout=button_count&show_faces=false&width=90&action=like&colorscheme=light" class="like"></iframe> Code (markup): class "like" is just .like {width:120px;height:20px} Hope this helps!