Insights
A Facebook page is a good start, but it is not a website. What each does well in 2026, where Facebook falls short, and how the two work together.
By Gareth Day, founder
We get asked this a lot, usually by a business that is doing well on Facebook and wonders whether a website is worth the money. The honest answer is yes, for almost every business that wants new customers. Here is why, and where Facebook still earns its place.
What a Facebook page does well
Facebook is free, quick to set up and good at keeping in touch with people who already know you. It suits:
- News and updates: offers, new stock, opening changes, events.
- Community: comments, shares and conversations with regular customers.
- Proof of life: an active page shows you are open and trading.
If you are testing an idea or running a hobby business, a Facebook page on its own may be enough for now.
Where Facebook falls short
You do not own it
Your page lives on someone else's platform, under their rules. Facebook decides who sees your posts, and the share of your followers who see any one post is usually small unless you pay to boost it. If your account is restricted or hacked, your shop window disappears overnight.
People search Google, not Facebook
When someone needs a plumber, a dentist or a café for Saturday, they search Google or ask an AI assistant. Those answers come from websites and Google Business Profiles. A Facebook page rarely appears for "web design Telford" or "vet near me", and it never ranks for the specific services you offer.
It looks less established
Most buyers check a business before they pick up the phone. A proper website, on your own domain, with your own email address, tells them you are an established business. A Facebook page alone can leave them wondering.
You cannot shape the journey
On Facebook, every page looks the same and your posts compete with everything else in the feed. On your own website you decide what a visitor sees first, which questions you answer and how easy it is to call, book or buy.
Why it matters more in 2026
Search has changed. Google's AI Overviews and AI assistants such as ChatGPT answer questions by drawing on websites they can read and trust. A clear website with real information about your services, prices and location gives them something to cite. A Facebook page gives them very little.
The answer: use both, and let each do its job
The businesses that do best use Facebook to stay in touch and their website to win new customers:
- Your website is the home base: what you do, where, for whom, with proof, and a clear way to get in touch.
- Your Google Business Profile gets you onto the map for local searches.
- Facebook and Instagram keep regular customers engaged, and every post can point back to the website.
What a website costs
A good small-business website is a one-off investment, plus modest monthly hosting and care. Compared with what one new customer a month is worth to most businesses, it usually pays for itself quickly.
If you would like a site that does the selling while Facebook does the chatting, see how we approach web design, or let us take the posting off your hands with social media marketing. Or have a look at our work first.
Related
If this is the problem you are trying to solve, this is where we can help.
Tell us what you are working on. Gareth will reply personally with honest advice and a clear next step, whether or not that involves us.
