Do I Need A Website If I have A Facebook Page?

I come across this and similar questions quite often and when people say to me.

“I don’t need a website because I have a Facebook page?”

My reply is..

“You don’t have a Facebook page. Facebook has a page with your name on it.”

If you want to own your own identity and brand and not be regulated by a social media site that controls your destiny, then you need a modern business Website that gives you full control of it.

Below are 9 reasons why a Business website offers more than a Facebook page

1. 1. You Own Your Website
      When you have a Website, you have complete ownership of it and can decide what goes on it, what it looks like, what your terms and conditions are how your customers contact and interact with you, how the pages are structured. On Facebook you do not own the page, you effectively “lease” space on their platform. You are constrained by their terms & conditions, their layout and their features. They are able to delete your site, restrict your posts or remove you completely.
   2. Facebook Always Has The Control
      Facebook can and does morph their terms and conditions on what seems a yearly basis and this can happen mutilple times during just one year.  They do not need to consult you on this, they just do it. You either have to accept or leave.
   3. Not Everyone Is A Facebook User
      You have to be registered on Facebook to see Facebook pages, and not all Internet users have Facebook accounts. To make matters worse, the younger generation are leaving Facebook (source: The Verge) in big numbers which limits your audience moving forward.
   4. With A Website, You Control The Experience
      You are 100% in control of the brand experience. A well-designed website is a representation of your company’s vision, values, services and products. Not only does it provide your visitors with important information, it will also help them understand your company’s benefits, beliefs and unique selling position. Facebook has limited design capabilities.
   5. Your Website Is Considered More Credible
      Studies have constantly shown that a good Website instantly adds perceived value or credibility to a company and its products or services.
   6. Websites Offer More Control Over Tracking Your Results
      A big ongoing issue with Facebook is the stats and results they provide. The effectiveness of your Facebook pages are difficult and tricky to track, making lead generation from Facebook difficult to monitor. With Websites, you have a vast array of options to track your visitor data and results.
   7. With A Website, You Control Who Sees The Content
      When your company has a website, you have much more control over who gets to see it. You control the SEO and can give Google Search the ammunition it needs to find you. Facebook determines its own rules and tends to change them often. Your posts may not be seen as often as they were before by as many people.
   8. Functionality
      A Facebook page is not going to be able the give the functionality a website does. Whether it’s a Real Estate Listing site, E-commerce site, Restaurant Guide, Blog or Vlog, Portfolio, Media website, CRM, or any combination, a website gives the flexibility to handle any function.
   9. Your Website Is The “Hub” Of  Your Online Presence
      Your website should be the focal point of all your marketing strategies like the “hub” of a wheel. The “spokes” are all the other marketing channels such as Social Media, Print, Video, Radio, Leaflets, Email Campaigns, etc. These “spokes” direct traffic back to your website where they can then convert to clients. It’s your website that provides all of the essential information about your business.

Should I ignore Facebook?

The answer to that question is a resounding No!

Facebook is the largest social media platform out there and can be a great tool to help drive traffic to your Website. Facebook offers too many benefits for you to ignore, whilst at the same time, it limits you in ways that make it a risky move to put all your eggs into the Facebook basket.

Facebook should never take the place of a Website.

Does It Have To Be Either/Or?

Luckily, it is not an either/or choice. Build a great website, then set up social media pages with the same branding, and link them all together to get the best of all worlds.

We hope you find this article useful but if you want to find out more about this article or our Web Design services, please contact:-

Andy Barnish
Webvision
Tel: 966 470 482
Mob: 699 972 089
Email: andyb@webvision.es