Why Facebook can't be your whole business online

So many of the best businesses around here run everything off a Facebook page. I get it! It's free, your customers are on there, and you can post from your phone between jobs.

Keep your page. It's great for staying in touch with people who already know you. It just shouldn't be the only place your business lives online.

You don't own it

Facebook makes the rules, and they change. If your account gets locked or hacked, your business can disappear overnight, with no one local to call.

A website is yours. Nobody can turn it off or bury it under someone else's ads.

Not everyone is on Facebook

Some of your future customers don't have an account. Tap a link to your page and they hit a login pop-up and give up. A website opens for everyone, on any phone.

Your important stuff gets buried

Your hours, your prices, and the answer to the question you get ten times a week are buried in a post from last spring. On a website, they sit on their own page and stay put. People find them in seconds, and you stop typing the same reply.

Google has a hard time with it

When someone in Grangeville or Baker City searches for what you do, Google wants a site that clearly says what you are and where. A Facebook page gives you little say in what Google reads. A website lets you set it up on purpose.

It's your first impression

People look you up before they ever call. A clean, organized website tells them you've got it together before you say a word.

Use both

Your website is home base. Your Facebook page is for what's new, and points people back to your site.

Running on Facebook alone right now? That's ok! Most of my clients started there. I'd love to build you a free mockup so you can see what a real home online could look like.