Honest comparison · October 2026

Facebook page vs website — which one do you actually need?

"I've got a Facebook page, why would I pay for a website?" Fair question. Facebook is free and your customers are on it. Here's the honest comparison — including the things Facebook genuinely does better.

What a Facebook page does well

• It's free and quick. Ten minutes and you exist. For a brand-new side hustle, that's the right starting point.
• Community reach. Local groups, recommendations ("anyone know a good plumber?"), and shares — Facebook is genuinely good at this in SA.
• Regulars. People who already know you can follow updates, special offers, changed hours.

Where it quietly loses you work

• Google. When someone searches "electrician George" or "hairdresser near me", Google mostly shows websites and Google Business Profiles — Facebook pages rank poorly and often appear without your prices, services or even your phone number in the preview. No website means the businesses that do have one collect those enquiries by default.
• Trust at the decision moment. A customer choosing between two bakkie-fulls of quotes picks the one that looks established. A clean page with your services, photos of your work and a tap-to-call button reads "real business". A Facebook page last updated in 2023 reads "maybe still trading?".
• You rent, you don't own. Facebook decides who sees your posts (often under 5% of followers), changes the rules whenever it likes, and can restrict or remove your page with no appeal that a human reads. Your website is yours.
• The login wall. A growing share of customers — especially over 40 — won't log into Facebook just to see your price list. To them, your page is a locked door.

So which one?

Both, doing different jobs — but if you can only do one properly, it depends on where your customers come from:

• Mostly word-of-mouth and community groups? Facebook page, kept fresh weekly. Website can wait a bit.
• Customers search for what you do? ("plumber", "haircut", "guesthouse", "accountant" — anything people Google when they need it) — you need a website. One page is enough.
• Want both jobs done? Website as your home base (services, prices, photos, WhatsApp button), Facebook pointing at it. Post the photos on Facebook, keep the phone number and prices on the site.