‘Page could not be reached’ error- facebook ‘like’ – Solution

Some WordPress and Joomla sites have a problem where the template or URL of the page/site causes an error in facebook. The issue usually manifests in two ways.

1. The Facebook ‘Like’ refuses to work. The usual error seen on hitting the ‘like’ button is:
   

   The page at XXXX could not be reached

2. Facebook fails to show the thumbnails and meta information, of any link posted to facebook, from the affected site

The problem has been recognized, by Facebook, as a bug. This bug affected a site I was working on when Facebook released the universal ‘like’ button (in April 2010). I was able to resolve the problem by getting rid of some extra spaces in my template.

Since then users have reported other ways to fix the issue on installations of WordPress and Joomla. The bug has continued to plague certain installations to this day and I thought a solution could be of value to BrandByte visitors too.

If you are faced with this bug, please visit my personal blog for the  original post:

‘Page could not be reached’ error with facebook ‘like’ button

The comment section contains additions and resolutions by other users who have been kind enough to comment on how they fixed the issue, on various platforms and modules combinations.

Hope you find the information helpful to resolve the problem.

Written by Jacob Varghese (13 Posts)

I help my clients with digital strategies that grow their business. My digital marketing campaigns leverage appropriate technology choices, targeted communication methodologies and metrics driven marketing tactics (SEO, SEM, Social media outreach etc) to amplify brand/product messages, build brand/product-centric communities, establish partner relations and accelerate customer acquisition. For more visit: Digital Marketing Consultant, Ottawa, Canada.