Do I Still Need a Website if I Have a Facebook Page?

This is one of the questions I hear most from small business owners around Wrexham: "I've already got a busy Facebook page, do I actually need a website as well?" It's a fair question, and the answer isn't just "yes, obviously" from someone who builds websites for a living. So here's the honest version, including when a Facebook page really is enough on its own.

What a Facebook page is genuinely good at

Let's give it credit first, because a business Facebook page does some things well:

• It's free and quick to set up.
• It's great for regular updates, photos and community, and people can message you easily.
• Reviews and comments give you social proof that others can see.
• If your customers already spend time on Facebook, you're meeting them where they are.

For a market stall, a hobby that's turning into a bit of income, or a purely social side business, a page can genuinely carry you for a while. I'm not going to tell you to spend money you don't need to.

What a Facebook page can't do

The trouble starts when the Facebook page is your only presence. Here's what it can't do for you:

• You don't own it. Facebook owns the page, the reach and the rules. They can change how it works, limit who sees your posts, or suspend an account, and you have no say. Building your whole business on rented land is a risk.
• It won't rank on Google. When someone searches "electrician Wrexham" or "dog groomer near me", Google shows websites and Google Business Profiles, not Facebook pages. If a page is all you have, you're invisible in the place most people go to find a local business.
• It only reaches Facebook users. Plenty of your potential customers aren't scrolling Facebook, or won't see your post because the algorithm decided not to show it. A website is open to everyone, any time.
• It makes you look less established. Fair or not, "we've only got a Facebook page" reads as smaller and less serious than a business with its own site. For anything where trust matters, that costs you enquiries.
• You can't shape it. Every Facebook page looks basically the same. You can't build the pages you want, add proper booking or payment, or set it up to sell the way your business actually works.

A Facebook page is a room in someone else's building. A website is premises with your name on the door. You want both, but you want to own at least one of them.

People still Google you, even when they've seen your Facebook

Here's the pattern I see all the time. Someone hears about you, from a friend, a Facebook post, a van sign, a leaflet, and their next move is to Google your name to check you're real. If nothing comes up, or only a thin Facebook page does, a little doubt creeps in and some of those people quietly move on. A simple website closes that gap: it's the thing that reassures a stranger you're an established business worth calling.

The strongest setup: use both, properly

This isn't website versus Facebook. The businesses that do best use them together, each for what it's good at:

• Your website is the home base you own. It ranks on Google, explains what you do, builds trust, and takes enquiries or bookings. It doesn't disappear if a platform changes its mind.
• Your Facebook page is the feed. Post updates, photos and offers there, chat to your community, and point people back to the website for the detail and to get in touch.

Set up this way, Facebook feeds people in and the website turns them into customers, while you own the part that matters. It doesn't need to be big or expensive, even a clean, fast small business website does the job.

When a Facebook page on its own is fine

To keep this honest: if you're testing an idea, running a hobby, or your entire business really is social and local, a page alone can be a sensible place to start. Just go in with your eyes open, that you don't own it, you can't be found on Google through it, and the day you want to grow, you'll want a site. Starting one early is easier than scrambling for it later.

The bottom line

Keep the Facebook page. It's useful. But if you want to be found by people searching on Google, look like the established business you are, and own your corner of the internet rather than rent it, you need a website too. The good news is a proper small business site is more affordable than most people expect, and it makes your Facebook page work harder, not compete with it.

If you'd like a simple, honest website that works alongside your Facebook page, tell me about your business and I'll give you a fixed quote with no pressure. You might also find my guide on how much a website should cost useful first.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use a Facebook page instead of a website?

You can, and for a very small or hobby business it may be enough. But a Facebook page only reaches people who use Facebook, you don't own it, and it won't show up properly when someone searches for your service on Google. For most businesses that want to be found and taken seriously, a website does jobs a page simply cannot.

Do people still use Google if I'm on Facebook?

Yes. Google is still where most people go to find a local service, often after seeing you somewhere else. If someone hears about you, searches your name or "your trade near me", and nothing comes up, that's a lost enquiry. A website is what lets Google show you.

What's the best setup, a website or a Facebook page?

Both, working together. Use the website as your permanent home base that you own and that ranks on Google, and use Facebook as a feed for updates and community that points people back to the site. That way you get social reach plus the ownership, credibility and search visibility a page can't give you on its own.

How much does a simple small business website cost?

A small business website starts from around £650 as a one-off, with no monthly lock-in. That gets you a fast, mobile-friendly site you own outright, set up to be found on Google and to work alongside your Facebook page rather than replace it. There's more detail in my website cost guide.