Do you still need a website if you have a Facebook page?

If you run a small business, there's a good chance you've already got a Facebook page.

Maybe that's where most of your customers find you. Maybe people message you there, you post your latest work, share offers and answer questions in the comments.

And if it's working, you might reasonably ask:

Why would I need a website as well?

It's a fair question.

The answer isn't that Facebook doesn't work. It clearly does for many local businesses.

The problem is that a Facebook page and a website do different jobs.

Facebook might already be working for you

Facebook is actually very good at some things.

You can post a photo of a job you've just finished and have people see it the same day. A customer can send you a message without filling in a form. You can share an offer, respond to comments and stay visible to people who already know you.

There's also something valuable about seeing a business that is active.

If someone visits your page and sees that you've posted recently, replied to customers and shared photos of your actual work, it feels like there's a real person behind the business.

For some businesses, especially businesses that rely heavily on recommendations and repeat customers, that can be enough to keep things moving.

So we're not going to tell you to delete your Facebook page.

Keep it.

Just don't make it your entire online presence.

Where a Facebook page falls short

The biggest difference is how people find you.

Facebook is largely built around people browsing, following, sharing and discovering things through their social network.

Google is different.

Someone searching Google for "emergency plumber Luton" already has a problem and is looking for someone to solve it.

That's where a website can help.

It is why a lot of sole traders, from plumbers to landscapers, end up with a simple trade website alongside their Facebook page: one tap to call, one place to request a quote.

There's also the problem of information getting buried.

Your opening hours might be in one post from six months ago. Your prices might be in a comment. Your list of services could be somewhere in the About section. Someone asking whether you cover Stopsley might have to scroll through your posts to find the answer.

A website gives all of that information somewhere obvious.

• Services.
• Areas you cover.
• Opening hours.
• Contact details.
• Prices or pricing guidance.
• Reviews and examples of your work.

A customer shouldn't have to go digging through your Facebook feed to find out whether you can help them.

Your website and social media do different jobs

Think of it this way.

Your website is your shop.

Social media is the street outside it.

Your website is where people can walk in, look around and find everything they need to make a decision.

Your social channels are where you show people what's happening.

A barber might post a fresh skin fade on Instagram.

A decorator might share photos of a completed kitchen.

A mechanic might post a before-and-after repair.

A caterer might share pictures from a weekend event.

Those posts are great.

But where does someone go when they want to know what services you offer, whether you cover their area, how to book you or how to get in touch?

That's where your website comes in.

You don't need to make the website compete with your social media. Let each one do what it is good at.

What your website actually needs

This is where we think small businesses often get the wrong idea about websites.

You don't necessarily need a huge website.

You don't need twenty pages, a complicated animation, a customer portal and a blog that you have to update every week.

You need a useful website.

For many local businesses, that might mean just a few clear pages:

Home

Who you are, what you do and where you work.

Services

A straightforward explanation of what you offer.

About

A little bit about you and the business. This is especially useful for local businesses where people are choosing who to trust.

Reviews or examples of your work

Give people some reassurance before they contact you.

Contact

Make it obvious how someone can call, message, email or request a quote.

You might need more depending on your business, but that's a perfectly good starting point.

And unlike a social feed, those pages can keep doing their job even when you haven't posted anything for three weeks.

How to avoid doing everything twice

Having a website doesn't mean you need to create a whole second set of content.

In fact, you can make your life easier by treating your website as the place where the full information lives.

Let's say you're a mobile mechanic and you've just completed a tricky engine repair.

Take a few photos.

Put the full story and some useful information about the service on your website.

Then share the best photo and a short version of the story on Facebook or Instagram.

Something like:

Another engine repair completed this week. Here's what we found and how we fixed it.

Then link people to your website if they want to see more.

The same photos can be used in both places.

The same opening hours can appear everywhere.

Your phone number should be the same everywhere.

Your business description can be adapted rather than rewritten from scratch.

Create the useful information once, then share it wherever your customers are.

There is one more reason to have your own website

Your Facebook page is useful, but ultimately it lives on someone else's platform.

Facebook can change how pages look, how posts are distributed or how people discover businesses.

Your website gives you something you control.

Your own pages.

Your own content.

Your own address on the web.

Your own place to send customers.

That doesn't mean social media is going away or that you should stop using it.

It just means you aren't putting your entire business online presence in the hands of one platform.

So, do you really need a website?

If Facebook is already bringing you customers, keep using it.

But we'd still recommend having a website.

Not because every business needs a complicated digital operation. Not because you need to become an SEO expert. And certainly not because someone told you that a "proper" business must have one.

A website simply gives your business a permanent, organised place online.

Your social pages can help people discover you.

Your website can help them understand you.

And when someone is ready to call, book, visit or buy, you want that information to be easy to find.

You don't need a massive website.

You just need one that answers the questions your customers are already asking.

That's often enough to make a real difference.