Why Your Facebook Page Isn't a Website

Let's get something out of the way first: Facebook is brilliant for what it does. If you run a pub, cafe, or shop in a small town, your Facebook page is probably where your regulars check for updates, where you share photos of last night's session, and where people tag you when they've had a good time.

Keep doing all of that. Seriously. But understand that your Facebook page and a website do two completely different jobs - and one of them isn't getting done.

Facebook Is for People Who Already Know You

Think about who follows your Facebook page. It's your regulars, locals, friends, family - people who already know your business exists. When you post about a trad session on Saturday or a new lunch special, those people see it (well, some of them do - Facebook only shows your posts to about 5-10% of your followers unless you pay to boost them).

That's community. And it's genuinely valuable. But it doesn't help you reach the people who don't know you yet.

Google Doesn't Show Facebook Pages the Way You'd Think

Here's the real problem. When a tourist searches "restaurants near Carrick-on-Shannon" or someone new to the area looks up "plumber in Sligo", Google shows websites, Google Business Profiles, and review sites. Facebook pages sometimes appear, but they're usually buried on page two or three.

Even when a Facebook page does show up, what does the person see? Whatever Facebook decides to display. Maybe your cover photo. Maybe a post from six weeks ago. Maybe a review someone left in 2023. You have no control over what that first impression looks like.

With your own website, you decide exactly what someone sees when they find you. Your opening hours, your menu, your phone number, your best photos - all right there, exactly where you want them.

You Can't Put a Proper Menu on Facebook

Facebook lets you add a "menu" section, but it's limited and clunky. Most businesses end up posting a photo of their menu instead - which works until the prices change, or someone tries to zoom in on their phone and the text is blurry, or you have three different menu photos from three different times and nobody knows which is current.

A website gives you a clean, readable menu with current prices. It loads fast on a phone, the text is sharp, and when you need to update it, the old version is replaced - not buried under a pile of newer posts.

You're Building on Rented Land

This is the bit that makes people uncomfortable, but it's true. Your Facebook page exists on Facebook's platform, under Facebook's rules. They can change how pages work, how much reach your posts get, or what information is visible - and you have no say in it.

Remember when Facebook suddenly decided business pages needed to be "Pages" not "Profiles" and everyone had to migrate? Or when they changed the layout and your carefully arranged photos looked completely different? That's what happens when you build entirely on someone else's platform.

Your website is yours. Nobody changes it without your say-so.

So What's the Right Approach?

Use both. Facebook for community - sharing updates, events, engaging with regulars. Your website for discovery - being found by new customers, giving them a great first impression, making it easy to call you or get directions.

Think of it this way: Facebook is your notice board in the window. Your website is your front door. You need both, but they do different things. If someone drives through your town and searches for somewhere to eat, your Facebook page probably won't be what they find. Your website is what shows up in Google.