The 5 W’s of Facebook Instant Articles

What

Instant Articles is a tool for news publishers to distribute fast, interactive articles to their readers in the Facebook app.

Why

There are several benefits for publishers. Faster article loading allows readers to get to content as quickly as possible. Facebook’s experience with other media formats, such as auto-play video, has been that more rapid content loading generates increased content consumption and sharing. We believe Instant Articles will help publishers grow their businesses on Facebook.

Who

Facebook is currently testing Instant Articles with a small set of publishers.  The Instant Articles program will expand to more publishers in the future.

Where

For the moment, Instant Articles are only available to people who use Facebook’s iPhone app.

When

May 12, 2015 Facebook announced the Instant Articles Initiative.
September 22, 2015 Facebook released documentation for publishers and tool providers.
October 20, 2015 Facebook launched Instant Articles for everyone on iPhone.

How

It’s a straightforward process for publishers to publish their articles in the Instant Article format because it uses HTML and RSS, standard ways for authoring articles on the web. Facebook translates articles authored for the web in HTML into the Instant Articles format. We also provide tools for publishers to preview articles prior to publication and make sure they display as they intended. Publishers who wish to embrace new elements like interactive maps and auto-play videos can use simple, well-documented HTML tags to enhance their content with rich-media features.