Website or Fan Page? Below we will analyze 7 key factors so that you can choose the best option for your business or project.

Maybe you know the advantages of having a website as well as the advantages of a Fan Page, but you might be tempted to choose just to have a Fan Page, because it is free. The purpose of this post is to show you that there are advantages to having a website versus a Fan Page, despite the cost, so you should not miss these benefits.

In this post we will compare a Fan Page and a website according to 7 key factors so you can choose the best option for your business.

1. Control over content

Something that should be clear from the beginning when deciding between a Fan Page or a website is that you are the owner of the second one, while your profile still belongs to Facebook.

If you have a website and you are paying to have your own domain and your own hosting service you are the master of what you publish and use on your website, you can make the sections you need, update the information whenever you want and use the number of images you see fit.

While no Fan Page has an owner, if you have one you are just a kind of administrator, in the end Facebook is just lending you a space, in which you must follow the terms of use and conditions.

If you violate the established rules and policies, Facebook can block you, even if it believes that you have violated its rules to ban you.

2. Control over design

In other posts we have talked about the importance of design to attract the attention and trust of customers, so it is an important point to consider when deciding on a website or a Fan Page.

Once again, we must acknowledge that the Fan Page is a Facebook space, so it is this social network that dictates the design of its interface, leaving very little room for you to customize this space or change it according to your needs.

On the contrary, having your own website allows you total control over all aspects of the design of your page, from something as simple as dressing it in the colors of your company to deciding the sections of the same; this allows you to adapt your space to the needs of your business.

3. Reach

Many people prefer to have a Facebook Fan Page rather than a website, attracted not only by its free nature, but also by the belief that everyone is on Facebook, which made them believe that it was easier to reach their target audience exclusively from the social network.

However, this belief is somewhat false, although Facebook is the social network with more users, it does not mean that everyone has a profile there or logs in daily. If you only have a Fan Page there is always the risk of not reaching all possible target audience.

With a website these possibilities are drastically reduced because you are not only visible to users of a social network, you are visible to everyone, and with the help of SEO tools you can climb in the order of appearance in Google search results, directly reaching people who make searches related to your business.

4. Access to information

Another aspect that you should consider when choosing between a website and a Fan Page is the ease with which your customers can find you on the Internet and in this aspect the website leads by far.

If someone searches for you on the Internet, they only need to type your name in Google for your page to appear in the search results, although they can also appear in Facebook profiles, if the person who is looking for you is not part of the social network they can only have very limited access to your information, while on a website they have access to all of it.

You may think that it is easier for your customers to receive the updates you make on your Facebook profile than if you make them on your website, however this is not entirely true, because the algorithm of the social network is very common to be buried in hundreds of publications without giving notice to your followers. If you want your customers to receive your updates immediately, it is best to send this information via email.

5. Profits

The main objective of your website or Fan Page is to give visibility to your business on the Internet. However, if your business allows it, you can make some extra money with a website by allowing ads on it.

If you are interested in obtaining this extra profit it is important that you know that you can only do it through a website, because you are the owner and you can control what appears on there. It goes without saying that this does not happen with a Fan Page, because the one who manages the advertising that appears in all the space of the social network is Facebook.

6. Statistics

Having clear statistics about who visits you on the Internet is always important, because it helps you to direct your marketing and advertising strategies, of course it also helps you to answer who your consumers are.

In this aspect both website and Fan Page are very similar, both can give you very complete statistics, but in the case of websites you will need the help of specialized tools like Google Analytics, or Jetpack, for pages built with WordPress. While in Fan Pages you don’t need any tool because it is Facebook itself who informs you about who your followers are, their age, interests and so on.

The big difference to consider is who can see these statistics, maybe you are not very aware of this but it is best that this information is not public, because it can subtract position to your image on the Internet. In this sense, the website offers an advantage because this data is private, unless you allow certain bots to see the data you have in your favor, such as number of visitors.

On the other hand, with a Fan Page an important part of your statistics are visible to the public, mainly we refer to the number of followers, this feature can play against you, especially if your business is just taking off, or you have a small business, this data can leave you at a clear disadvantage against your competitors, as it can detract confidence. For example, it is easier for someone to subscribe to a page with 10,000 followers than one with 1,000; in this sense small businesses are at a disadvantage against their competitors.

7. Interaction

The interaction with your customers is a fundamental part of your business and in this the Fan Page seems to have a clear advantage, because it is part of the original sense as a social network to keep in touch with your followers. However, this does not mean that through a website you cannot do it effectively, because there are at least two options to achieve this, the first is through opening a comments or suggestions section or implementing a live chat,

These options can be an advantage because for many it is a more formal and serious option than the comments on a social network.

Deciding between a Fan Page or a website for a business or company is one of the most frequent dilemmas in digital marketing, for many companies, especially those that are just starting, the Fan Page is the best option because it is free and they think that all their potential customers are on Facebook.

However, this post has shown that, despite meaning an important expense, a website is an excellent option because in the end you are the owner of this space and you can reach more people.

We hope that this series of advantages will encourage you to create a website. Having only a Fan Page is a good option for companies and businesses that are starting, because it is a free, however, you should consider that in the future it is best to have your own website.

Tell us, do you think a website is a better option than a Fan Page? What has been your experience?