What a Facebook page does well
Facebook is free, quick to update and still widely used. Pew Research Center's 2026 survey found that YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used social platforms in the United States. A page lets you post finished jobs, answer messages, collect recommendations and stay in front of past customers and neighbors who follow you.
For a brand-new business with no budget, a Facebook page plus a free Google Business Profile is a sensible place to start.
Who you miss with Facebook alone
A page reaches people who use Facebook and happen to see your posts. In Pew's 2026 survey, 78% of adults aged 30 to 49 said they ever use Facebook, falling to 71% of those aged 50 to 64 and 59% of those 65 and older. If your customers are homeowners and retirees, a real share of them will never see a Facebook-only business.
People looking to hire mostly search. Statcounter's October 2026 U.S. referral data credits search engines with 85.72% of tracked visits from search, social and chatbots combined, against 14.22% for social networks. Someone typing water heater replacement near me is ready to hire, and a Facebook post from last March is rarely what they find.
You rent a Facebook page; you own a website
Your page lives under Meta's terms. Those terms say Meta can remove or restrict access to content and features, and can suspend or disable accounts it decides have broken its rules. You can ask for another review, but while you wait, your page, its reviews and its messages may be out of reach.
A website on a domain registered to you, with hosting in your name, does not depend on any one social platform's decision. That is the main reason to own one even if Facebook brings you plenty of work today.
What a website does that a page cannot
A page and a website do different jobs. The website handles the ones a social profile is not built for:
- Shows up for the services you sell, with a page for each service and area that matches what people search.
- Gives your ads somewhere useful to land: a page about the exact service in the ad, answering the questions that made someone click.
- Measures what matters. Google Analytics can mark calls and form submissions as key events, so you can see which pages bring in work.
- Gives you a professional email address on your own domain.
- Completes your Google Business Profile, whose performance reports even count how many people click through to your website.
The smallest website that works
You do not need fifty pages to start. A home page that says what you do and where, a page for each main service, an about page with real photos of you and your work, a contact page with a tap-to-call number and a short form, and a page of reviews or recent projects will cover most small service businesses. Keep it fast on phones and registered in your own name, keep posting on Facebook, and link the two.
Modern Apex hand codes small business sites that the owner keeps, domain included, and Nick quotes the exact page list in an itemized quote after a free 30-minute call.
Related questions
Is a Google Business Profile enough instead of a website?
It is the most important free listing for a local business, and it should come first. But it has no room for detailed service pages, and Google's own reports track how many people click from it through to your website. Use both, with the same name, phone and hours.
What if I am just starting out with no budget?
Start with a Google Business Profile and a Facebook page, both free, and collect your first reviews. Register your domain name now so it is yours, then add a small website as soon as the work allows.
Should I keep posting on Facebook once I have a website?
Yes, if your customers are there. Facebook is good for staying in front of past customers and neighbors. Link your posts to pages on your site, and keep your contact details identical in both places.
Can a website really bring in more work than Facebook?
It depends on how customers find you. If most jobs come from referrals and neighbors who follow you, Facebook may do a lot. If you want strangers searching for your service to find you, a website and a Business Profile are how you appear for them.