Do I Need a Business Website If I Have a Facebook Page?

If your Facebook page already brings in enquiries, paying for a website can feel like an unnecessary extra cost.

You can share your work, answer messages and tell people when you are open. For a small business finding its first customers, that can be a useful starting point.

You do not need a website just to say you have one. You need one when it makes it easier for customers to find you, choose you or get in touch.

A website and a Facebook page can do different jobs. The right choice depends on your business, your customers and what you want to happen next.

What a Facebook page can do well

Facebook can be a good place to keep people up to date. A café can post today's cakes. A gardener can share photos of a completed job. A local shop can announce a new product or a change to its opening hours.

Those updates give people reasons to notice your business and come back to it. Comments and messages give you a way to answer questions and start conversations.

If most of your work comes from local recommendations and you have enough customers, a well-kept page may meet your needs for now.

The test is whether people can get the information they need. Are you answering the same basic questions every day? Do people have to scroll through old posts to find your services? Those are signs that a website could help.

What does a website add?

A clear home for your business information

A website lets you put your main information in a set order. Visitors can see what you offer, where you work and how to contact you without searching through a feed.

Take a dog groomer as an example. A Facebook photo might catch someone's attention. A website can then explain the types of dogs the groomer works with, what an appointment includes and how to make an enquiry.

That detail helps a visitor decide whether the service suits them. It can save you time answering questions that a clear page could cover.

More room to explain your services

Some businesses need more than a short description.

A decorator might offer interior painting, wallpapering and work for landlords. Separate sections or pages can explain each service, with relevant photos and answers to common questions.

You can give more space to the work you want to attract. If you want more wallpapering jobs, for example, you can show that work clearly instead of leaving people to find it in an old post.

Another way for people to find you

People may search Google for a service without knowing your business name. A useful website gives you pages that can answer those searches.

Google's SEO Starter Guide recommends clear, useful content that helps people find what they need. SEO means search engine optimisation: work that helps search engines read your pages and people find relevant information.

A website does not guarantee a place at the top of Google. Publishing it is the start; the content, setup and ongoing care matter. The opportunity is to explain your business in enough detail for the right customers to find it.

A contact route that suits your customers

Some people want to call. Others prefer email, a booking form or a quick message.

Your website can offer the options that make sense for your business. A builder could ask for the job type and postcode through an enquiry form. A salon could link to its booking system.

Keep the next step obvious. Visitors should not have to guess how to ask for a quote or make an appointment.

What about control and access?

Your Facebook page operates within Meta's platform. Its settings and access rules are part of that service. Meta's guide to managing Page access explains how people with full control can add or remove access for others.

It is worth checking who can manage your page and keeping those details current.

A website gives you a separate place to direct customers if you cannot use your social account. It still needs care: domain renewals, hosting and secure account access all need an owner.

Ask your website provider who controls the domain, what access you receive and what happens if you change providers. Having those answers in writing helps you make a clear choice.

How Facebook and your website can work together

You can keep using Facebook for the posts your customers enjoy, then use your website for fuller information.

For example, a florist might share a photo of a wedding bouquet. Someone who likes it can visit the florist's website to view more wedding work, read about the service and send an enquiry.

The post creates interest. The website helps the person take the next step.

Use the same business name, contact details and current opening hours across both. Keep the website address easy to find on your social profile. Choose relevant website destinations when you share links, rather than sending every visitor to the home page.

Do you need a large website?

Start with what customers need to know.

A simple business with one main service may only need a clear one-page site. A business with several services or a booking process may need more space.

A useful starting point is:

• What you do and who you help.

• The areas you serve or where customers can visit you.

• Genuine photos of your work.

• Prices, starting prices or an explanation of how quotes work.

• Relevant customer feedback used with permission.

• A clear way to enquire or book.

Ask for a quote that explains the build cost, ongoing charges and what is included. Extra pages are useful when they serve a purpose.

Is now the right time to get a website?

Look at the jobs you want your online presence to do.

If Facebook brings enough suitable work and customers find it easy to deal with you, a website may not be your first priority.

If you want to explain more services, reach people searching outside Facebook or spend less time repeating basic information, a website could be a sensible next step.

At Get Online Now, we help small businesses work out what they need and build a website around those needs. We can talk through a simple starting point or a larger site if your services need more room.

Tell us about your business at hello@getonlinenow.co.uk, and we can discuss what would be useful for you.