Benefits of website over facebook page?

Golfnut77

I work as a personal trainer, and for the last 3 or so years my Facebook page has been the hub of my business. People would sign up for my programs and I'd make a private group so they can be in constant contact with me and all questions and answers can be shared with the group etc.

I was just wondering if there's any benefits that I could get from a website over the facebook page or do you think it's not worth the investment?

smash

First off, you won't get found as easily with a facebook page. If someone searches your name then sure, but if they searched for say "personal trainer South Dublin" your facebook page won't come up.

tricky D

Facebook by its nature is a 3rd party walled garden, so the audience is smaller than a website and you are limited by what the garden owner permits.

A website allows much more ownership, control and scope. FB is relatively constraining for SEO, design, content, visitor statistics, marketing activities, policy input, etc...

FB is complementary to a website much moreso than the other way around. Similarly for other Social Media platforms. A Rule of Thumb is that it makes more sense to have a website as the primary destination for your web presence and activities than the other way around.

Bear in mind, most of the comparisons and points above are largely relative eg. FB in some ways offers better control for some things, but not overall.

maccored

many bands used to wonder why they needed a website as they had myspace - which then virtually disappeared. any bands who solely used myspace were left behind. facebook is only a website and it wont be around forever, so anyone who bases their online presence on facebook could be very disappointed when it either changes its policies or gets replaced by another social site.

coolaboola

Many organisations block access to social media sites on their IT systems so if Facebook is your only web presence you won't be accessible to anyone trying to find you online on such a system.

mneylon

Facebook - you are the product.
Your own website - you control your own destiny

red_bairn

As others have said, Facebook pages can be very restrictive and hard to find via search. If you have a website you can also have friends or family to add the link on their own websites. This can also help with SEO.

Banta

All the above in relevant. It's also important to take into account that to get the most out of the website, it should be designed and built correctly, and to your needs. Your website won't meet your needs if you simply throw something up with Wix or Weebly or something and expect it to just 'work' for you. If you understand my meaning.

So yes, a website is worth the investment, if it's done right and you put the time into it, both before and after launch!

As has been said above, you'll have greater control over what's put up on the site and how it's displayed, and you'll have greater control over the SEO aspects of it as well.

Final note: make sure it's responsive/mobile friendly. You can check Insights (I believe) to see how your page/posts have been viewed. You might see that a large number of those views have been on mobile. So as to not alienate/furstrate your current audience, I would certainly advise a responsive/mobile friendly website. (Which is what every site should be aiming at really, but that's beside the point)

Mrs OBumble

I know this is Design not Entrepreneurship and Business Management, but can't help myself:

A fundamental part of business management is about risks.

If you're replying only on Facebook, then what will you do if blocks you because some competitor reports you for something (which you maybe didn't do), or changes the rules so that businesses HAVE to pay. Or changes things so your posts are only shown to a fraction of your fant (and that fraction decreases as the total number of fans increases). Or does one of a zillion things which could destroy your business overnight.

With a website - even if it's just made with Blogger-and-regular-backups - then you have some control. You decide what's shown on the page. You decide if you offer an RSS subscription, email subscription to the website, a sign-up newsletter, etc. You may have to adapt these things if the rules change - but because you are in control, you can. With Facebook, you can't do anything outside of what their rules let you do.

moon1

Lets not forget the amount of money you have to pay to Facebook so that your businees to be visible to a large number of customers.