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What a Facebook page does well

Let’s give credit where it’s due. A Facebook business page is free, quick to set up, and genuinely useful for certain things:

• Social proof at a glance. Reviews, check-ins and follower counts give quick reassurance.
• Easy updates. Post today’s special or a holiday closure in seconds, from your phone.
• Direct messaging. Some customers genuinely prefer Messenger to phone calls.
• Local discovery. People do find businesses through Facebook search and recommendations in local groups.

If your entire online presence is a Facebook page, you’re not starting from zero — you’re starting from a decent foundation. But it has real limits.

Where a Facebook page falls short

You don’t own it

Your page exists at Facebook’s pleasure. Algorithm changes can slash your reach overnight — the audience you “built” is really Facebook’s audience, rented to you. Pages get restricted, hacked or mistakenly flagged, and appeal processes are slow and opaque. A website is an asset you control; a Facebook page is a tenancy.

It doesn’t show up where buyers search

When someone needs a plumber, they usually search Google, not Facebook. A Facebook page can rank, but it can’t compete with a proper website’s service pages, location content and structured information. You’re invisible at the exact moment of highest buying intent.

It’s a poor first impression for serious spending

Be honest: if you were choosing between two contractors for a £8,000 job and one had a professional website while the other had only a Facebook page last updated in March — who would you trust with your money? For high-value decisions, customers look for signals of established, serious businesses. A Facebook-only presence reads as “side hustle,” fairly or not.

It can’t do what a website can

Online booking with your own rules. Quote forms that capture exactly what you need. Service pages that answer questions before the phone rings. A Facebook page gives you Facebook’s layout and Facebook’s options — a website gives you whatever your customers need.

What a website does that Facebook can’t

• Captures search demand. Shows up on Google when nearby customers search for what you do.
• Builds credibility. A professional site signals an established business worth trusting with real money.
• Converts on your terms. Your calls to action, your forms, your booking flow — designed around your sales process, not a template.
• Works 24/7 without an algorithm. No reach throttling, no pay-to-be-seen. It’s there whenever a customer looks.
• Compounds over time. Content, reviews and search visibility build on each other. A Facebook post is gone in days; a good service page works for years.

Think of it this way: Facebook is the town square — great for being seen and heard. Your website is your shop — where serious customers come to buy.

The honest recommendation

Keep the Facebook page. Add a website. They reinforce each other: the website captures Google searchers and converts serious buyers; the Facebook page keeps you visible socially, gathers reviews and drives traffic to the site. Link them both ways.

The exception? If your business runs entirely on repeat local custom and word of mouth — the beloved corner café with a queue out the door — a Facebook page plus a Google Business Profile may genuinely be enough for now. But the moment you want new customers to find and choose you, a website starts earning its keep.

And it doesn’t have to be a massive project. A focused five-page site — home, services, about, reviews, contact — covers what most local businesses need at launch. See what a small business website should include for the full checklist.