Ask an expert: can Facebook replace my business website?
Andrew Stent and Richard Burgess are the founders of digital design agency Kablooey Studios.
Facebook is free and is a great tool, but it should form part of your online strategy for business, rather than be the focus of it. With a unique website, you get to sell your company on your own terms and put across your brand identity free from the rules and restrictions of the Facebook interface, which is relatively inflexible.
Another big reason to have your own website is that you don’t own any of your social media accounts. Facebook can change its rules and whole platforms can vanish over night, leaving you with no online presence. Do you remember MySpace?
When planning your online strategy, it is extremely important to consider your search engine optimisation (or SEO). While Facebook pages do show up in Google searches (and other search engines), they don’t hold the weight of a well put together website.
Facebook and other social media channels should be used to drive visitors to your website where, with the right tools, you can turn them into customers.