Do I need a website if I already
have a Facebook page?

It's a fair question. You've got a Facebook page, you post regularly, customers leave reviews, people message you directly. It feels like a website. In some ways, it acts like one. So why bother paying for something separate?

The short answer: Facebook is borrowed space. A website is yours. That distinction matters more than most people realise.

Facebook can take it all away tomorrow

This isn't scaremongering. It happens constantly. Accounts get restricted, pages get unpublished, ad accounts get flagged. Sometimes for a clear reason, sometimes for absolutely no reason at all. When it does happen, you have no real recourse. You can appeal, but Facebook's support is notoriously slow and unhelpful.

If your entire online presence lives on Facebook and that page disappears, so does your ability to be found. No website means no backup. Years of posts, reviews, and followers. Gone.

Google can't properly find you on Facebook

When someone searches "plumber in Faversham" or "wedding photographer Kent," Google shows websites. Not Facebook pages. Facebook deliberately limits how much of its content Google can index. It wants people inside its platform, not outside it.

This means that no matter how active your Facebook page is, you're largely invisible to anyone searching on Google. And most people searching for a local business are using Google, not Facebook.

A properly built website, with SEO done right, puts you in front of people who are already looking for exactly what you offer. That's the difference between passive and active marketing.

First impressions count more than you think

When someone hears about your business and looks you up, what do they find? A Facebook page looks like every other Facebook page. There's no way to control the layout, the fonts, the colours, or the overall impression you make. You're constrained by what Facebook allows.

A website is different. It's your space, built to reflect exactly what your business is. Done well, it signals professionalism, builds trust, and makes people more confident about getting in touch. Plenty of potential customers quietly rule out businesses that don't have a website. They assume you're not established enough, or just not serious.

The algorithm controls your reach, not you

Organic reach on Facebook has been declining for years. A post you share with 800 followers might reach 60 of them. Facebook wants businesses to pay for ads to reach their own audience. That's fine if you have the budget, but your free reach is minimal and getting smaller.

On your own website, there's no algorithm. Every page you build is there for anyone who finds it, forever, without you paying to boost it.

What Facebook is actually good for

Facebook isn't useless. Far from it. It's genuinely effective for:

• Building community and staying top of mind with existing customers
• Running targeted paid ads to local audiences
• Sharing updates, behind-the-scenes content, and promotions
• Collecting and displaying social proof through reviews

The key word there is existing customers. Facebook keeps you connected with people who already know you. A website finds you people who don't yet.

The verdict

Use both. Facebook and a website aren't in competition. They do different jobs. Facebook keeps your current audience warm. Your website works quietly in the background, getting found on Google, building credibility, and turning strangers into enquiries at all hours of the day.

A Facebook page alone is building your business on rented land. A website is building something you actually own.