Dynamically Generating Facebook Open Graph Meta Tags

Creating dynamic Open Graph meta tags can be a challenging task. In this thread, a developer encounters an issue while attempting to implement this functionality.

Dynamic URL Parameters

The key to dynamic Open Graph meta tags lies in creating URLs that include parameters. This allows the server to determine which data to use for the meta tags. In the example code provided, a PHP script is used to parse the parameters and generate the necessary meta tags.

For example, the following URL can specify the type, locale, title, image, and description parameters dynamically:

http://mysite.com/index.php?type=restaurant&locale=de_DE&title=stalone&image=arnold&description=hi

Meta Tag Structure

The meta tags themselves must conform to specific properties and namespaces. In the provided code, the following meta tags are dynamically generated:

• og:site_name
• og:url
• og:type
• og:locale
• og:title
• og:image
• og:description

The og:url meta tag is particularly crucial since it specifies the final URL that the Facebook debugger should visit.

Publishing Actions

Once the dynamic meta tags are in place, it becomes possible to publish actions to the user's stream. The code snippet provided demonstrates how to publish a "have_lunch" action with custom parameters:

FB.api('me/MY_APP_NAMESPACE:have_lunch?\
    start_time=2000-12-12T04:00:00&\
    expires_in=7200&\
    restaurant='   encodeURIComponent(getRedirectURI()   '?type=restaurant'   '&description=arnold'   '&title=stalone'), 'post', function (response) {
        // Handle response
    });

By dynamically generating meta tags and parameters, it is possible to create custom Open Graph experiences that cater to specific page content or user actions.