Short answer: The Meta Pixel is code on your website that reports what visitors do after your ads. The Conversions API sends the same events from your server, website platform or CRM. Meta recommends both together. You create the pixel in Meta Events Manager and add it with a partner integration or by hand. Then you choose the events that matter, such as Lead or Purchase, and give each one an ID so a sale sent both ways counts once.
What the Meta Pixel does
Meta defines the pixel as code you put on your website to measure how well your ads work, by seeing the actions people take on the site. Setting it up has two steps: the base code, which goes on every page, and the events, the actions you want to count, such as a form or a purchase.
The base code records a page view on its own. Everything else, a lead, a booking or a sale, has to be set up as an event.
What the Conversions API adds
The pixel runs in the visitor’s browser. The Conversions API is, in Meta’s words, a direct connection between your marketing data and its ad systems, from your server, website platform, app or CRM. It can send website events, and also events from physical stores, email, business chat, phone and offline sales.
Meta recommends using the Conversions API alongside the pixel, a setup it calls «redundant». Many of its integrations do not need a developer.
How to set up the pixel in Events Manager
- Open Meta Events Manager, click Connect data, select Web and click Connect.
- Name your pixel and click Create pixel. Meta creates its ID.
- Enter your website URL and click Check. If Meta finds a partner integration for your site, follow its steps on your platform.
- Choose Get guidance, which Meta recommends, or Do it yourself if you already know your setup.
- Choose Conversions API and Meta Pixel or Meta Pixel only. For the API, Meta offers a partner integration, a «Meta-enabled, web-only» Conversions API or a manual setup.
If you add the code by hand, Meta suggests the <head> of your site, and says the pixel also works in most tag managers. A developer may need to add it if you cannot edit your site’s code yourself.
Which events to set up
Meta lists standard events with fixed names. Set up the ones that match what a customer does on your site, and nothing more:
| Business | Meta standard events to set up |
|---|---|
| Services: a clinic, a law firm, a contractor | Lead for each form sent, Contact for a call or chat, Schedule for a booking |
| Online store | ViewContent, AddToCart, InitiateCheckout and Purchase |
| Memberships or programs | CompleteRegistration, SubmitApplication, StartTrial or Subscribe |
Event names from Meta’s Meta Pixel reference.
For a local business that gets its customers through forms, Lead is often the main event. A click on «Call» or on a chat button can be Contact.
Count each sale once
If the same event goes through both the pixel and the Conversions API, Meta needs a way to tell they are one action. Its recommended method is an event ID: the pixel’s eventID must match the API’s event_id, and the event names must match too. In the pixel code, the ID goes as the fourth argument of the track call.
The other method uses the browser ID (fbp) or your own customer ID (external_id), sent the same way from both sides. Events you send through only one of the two do not need deduplication.
Event Match Quality
For website events sent through the Conversions API, Meta shows a score from 0 to 10. It depends on the customer information you send with each event and on how many events Meta matches to accounts, over the last 48 hours.
Meta rates email and click ID as high-priority parameters, and phone number, country, external ID and browser ID as medium. Contact information has to be hashed as Meta’s developer documentation describes, and Meta’s terms require that you have the lawful right to share the data. Send only what your privacy policy covers.
Check that it works
Open Events Manager and look for your events. Meta says that if you do not see them, wait a few minutes and refresh the page. Its Test events tool checks web browser events, and Meta Ads Data Advisor helps track down a pixel that is not working.
Test the real path a customer takes: send a form, make a test booking, click «Call». Then see each event arrive once, with the right name. Our guide on how to run Facebook ads covers the campaign side.
Before you launch ads
- One pixel for your website, created in Events Manager.
- The base code on every page, through your platform’s integration or in the
<head>. - Standard events for what customers do: Lead, Contact, Schedule or Purchase.
- The Conversions API for the same events, if your platform or CRM offers it.
- The same event ID on both sides for events sent twice.
- Customer information hashed, and covered by your privacy policy.
- Each event tested once in Events Manager before the ads start.
RememberThe pixel reports from the browser and the Conversions API from your server, platform or CRM; Meta recommends both. Set up only the standard events that match what customers do, give events sent twice the same ID, and check them in Events Manager before you spend on ads.
If you want the pixel, the Conversions API and the events set up and tested for you, see our automation service.
Quick answers about the Meta Pixel
What is the Meta Pixel?
It is a piece of code you add to your website. It tells Meta what people do on your site after they see or click your ads, such as sending a form or buying. Meta uses that to measure your ads and show them to people more likely to act.
Do I need the Conversions API if I already have the pixel?
Meta recommends using both. The pixel runs in the visitor’s browser; the Conversions API sends events from your server, website platform or CRM. If you send the same event both ways, set up deduplication so Meta counts it once.
How do I check that my Meta Pixel is working?
Open Meta Events Manager and look for your events; if you do not see them, wait a few minutes and refresh. Meta’s Test events tool checks web browser events, and Meta Ads Data Advisor helps track down a pixel that is not working.
What is Event Match Quality?
A score from 0 to 10 that Meta gives website events sent through the Conversions API. It reflects the customer information you send, such as email or phone number, and how many events Meta matches to accounts, using the last 48 hours of data.
Do I need a developer to install the Meta Pixel?
Not always. Meta checks your website for a partner integration, and many Conversions API integrations do not need a developer. If you add the code by hand, or your site has no integration, you may need someone who can edit your site or tag manager.
Sources
All read on November 2, 2026. Meta Business Help Center: Set up and install the Meta Pixel, About Conversions API and About event match quality. Meta for Developers: Get started with the Meta Pixel, updated June 30, 2026. Also Get started with the Conversions API and Handling duplicate pixel and Conversions API events, both updated June 28, 2026.