Website vs Facebook page: which brings more enquiries?
Facebook page vs website for small business - which really brings in enquiries? The honest answer, and why you need both.
If you run a small business in the UK, you've probably asked yourself this at some point: do I still need a website if I have Facebook? It's a fair question. A Facebook page is free, it took you an afternoon to set up, and it shows your work to people who already know you.
But the question underneath it matters more: which one actually gets you enquiries?
The short answer: a website wins, and it isn't close. But the honest answer is more useful than that - because a Facebook page and a website do different jobs, and knowing the difference is where the enquiries come from.
Do I still need a website if I have Facebook?
Yes. Here's the uncomfortable truth: your Facebook page doesn't get found by new customers - it gets found by people who were already looking for you.
Think about how you choose a business. When you need a roofer, a cleaner, a wedding photographer or a kitchen fitter, what do you do? You search Google. And when you do, the businesses that show up are the ones with a proper website - not the ones with the best Facebook pages.
That's the reality of the "Facebook page vs website for small business" debate. Your Facebook page is your shop window for people who already know you exist. Your website is what makes you exist to everyone else.
Which converts better: a Facebook page or a website?
Let's compare them side by side, on the things that actually turn a looker into a lead:
- Being found. Facebook only shows your posts to a fraction of your followers unless you pay to boost them. A website is on Google 24/7, for free, whenever someone searches for what you do.
- Looking credible. A Facebook page says "there's a business here." A clean website says "this is a business you can trust with your money." When was the last time you decided to spend hundreds of pounds with a company because of their social page?
- Showing up in the right places. Google Maps, local search, links from directories - they all point to websites. A Facebook page doesn't give you that presence.
- Giving customers what they want. When someone's ready to enquire, they want your phone number, your prices, your opening hours and your reviews. That's the job of a website - and it's also what search engines reward.
- Making the phone ring. People don't enquire through a Facebook page. They might send a message, but serious enquiries come after someone has checked you out properly. That check happens on a website.
In short: Facebook is brilliant for building awareness with people who already know you. It's not where strangers decide to trust you - and trust is what converts into enquiries.
The honest truth: it's not a competition
Here's the part most people don't hear. You don't have to choose between a Facebook page and a website. The businesses that get the most enquiries use both - each for what it's good at.
Your Facebook page keeps your existing customers and followers warm. It reminds them you exist, shows your latest work, and keeps you in their mind for when they need you.
Your website does the heavy lifting. It's the thing that makes strangers into enquiries, the thing that gets you found on Google, and the thing that makes you look established enough to win the bigger jobs.
Ask yourself what's happening when you lose work today. Are you losing it because people can't find you on Google? Because you don't look professional enough to be worth a call? Those are website problems, not Facebook problems.
If you're a tradesperson weighing this up, we've written the same comparison from the trade's point of view: why your trades business needs a proper website. You can also see exactly what a tradesman website includes, page by page.
What does a website actually cost?
The main reason small businesses put this off is the assumption that a proper website costs thousands upfront, plus a fortune every time it needs a change.
It doesn't have to. Our website lease is a flat £85 a month plus VAT. Design, build, hosting, security and up to 2 hours of content updates every month, all included - with a UK team doing the work for you, so you never touch a dashboard or a piece of jargon. Most sites go live within 2 to 6 weeks.
For less than the cost of boosting a handful of Facebook posts, you get a website that works for you around the clock - one that actually gets found, looks credible, and turns lookers into enquiries.
The bottom line
Keep your Facebook page. It's doing a job. But if your business is living on Facebook alone, the people who need you are looking in the wrong place - and the businesses with websites are getting the calls instead.
If you'd like to see what a website would do for your business, read how it works - it's a jargon-free process from start to finish - or book a free 30-minute chat and we'll talk it through, no obligation.
And if you're wondering about the difference between our approach and a one-off website build, we've written about that too in what a website lease actually is.