It's a conversation I have regularly. A business owner tells me they don't need a website because they have Facebook, and it's doing fine. I understand the logic. Facebook is free to set up, most customers are already on it, and it feels like a shortcut that works.
Then something changes. The algorithm shifts. Organic reach drops. Or the account gets flagged and suspended without warning. And suddenly the only online presence the business had is gone.
You don't own your Facebook page
This is the most important point, and it tends to get overlooked. Your Facebook page belongs to Meta, not to you. They set the rules, they control who sees your content, and they can suspend or restrict your account at any time, for any reason, without warning or appeal.
A website you own is completely different. Your content, your design, your data, your customer contact forms. Nobody can change the rules on you overnight, and nothing disappears unless you take it down yourself.
Facebook content largely doesn't rank on Google
When someone searches "hairdresser St Albans" or "accountant Watford", they're searching Google, not Facebook. A Facebook page won't get you meaningfully into those results. The content is largely walled off from Google's index, which means all the time you spend posting there does almost nothing for your search visibility.
A properly built website with the right local SEO foundations will appear in those results. That's the core difference between the two: one puts you on Google, the other largely doesn't.
First impressions are made before the first message
When someone is referred to your business or sees your name mentioned somewhere, the first thing most people do is search for you. If they find only a Facebook page, it raises questions. Is this business established? Are they still operating? Does this look like a serious company?
A website gives you full control over that first impression. You decide what they see, how the business is presented, and what action they're guided towards next.
Research consistently shows that a significant majority of consumers check a business's website before making contact or a purchase. No website often means no sale, regardless of how good your reviews are.
Organic reach on Facebook has been declining for years
In the early days of Facebook pages, a post from a business would reach a large proportion of its followers. That figure has been declining steadily for over a decade. By 2025, most business pages were reaching somewhere between two and five percent of their followers organically. Unless you're paying to boost posts, you're barely visible to the people who already chose to follow you.
You're investing time into a platform that charges you to reach the audience you already built on it.
You can't control the customer journey on Facebook
A website lets you guide visitors through a clear path. From landing on the page, to understanding your services, to seeing evidence of your work, to making contact. That journey can be designed, tested, and improved.
On Facebook, the journey is whatever Meta decides to show. There's no structured services page, no easy-to-find pricing, no contact form that keeps enquiries in one place, and no meaningful analytics telling you what's working.
What a proper website gives you that Facebook never will
A website is a 24/7 marketing asset that works while you sleep. It can rank on Google and bring in people who've never heard of you. It builds credibility instantly with anyone who searches your name. It gives customers a clear, professional way to contact you or find out what you do. And it can be updated, expanded, and improved over time as your business grows.
Social media and your website should work together. Facebook is one of many places people might discover or check your business. The website is where they should land when they're ready to make a decision.
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