The Difference Between Selling on Facebook and Selling on an E-commerce Website
The Main Difference
The main difference is that a Facebook page is owned by Facebook. Facebook has total control over the page and you have to adhere to their rules and policies. Another big difference is that the only way a customer can pay for a product or service on a Facebook page is to pay on delivery; you won’t be able to set up any payment gateway such as Visa and MasterCard via their platform.
If you own a website or an online store, the story is entirely different. With a website or an online store, you have total control over every aspect of the platform. This includes the design of the website, the layout of the pages and of course, the payment options. Integrating multiple payment options such as pay on delivery, Visa, and MasterCard into your website is very important for your customer’s convenience and can help increase your sales.
Also, a website is very versatile, and you are not limited to just your store. Depending on how your website is made, you can easily link it to other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
The Role of Search Engines with Websites and Google Ads
One of the most significant advantages of having a website is letting search engines such as Google and Bing crawl it. If your website is done right, once search engines crawl your website, you can get ranked on the first page, increasing the number of visitors on your website, which will increase the chance of getting customers online. Not to mention that after linking your website with Google Ads, you can pay for ads that let you target the correct audience who are interested in your business.
Website Cost
Having a website isn’t all merry; it comes with costs and problems. The first thing you will have to pay for is the development of the website itself, which depending on your situation, can get costly while creating a Facebook page is completely free. Even after paying for the development of a website, you will need to pay for a hosting company in order to get your website to be live but don’t worry about this much since the cost is very low.
Maintenance and Updates
Another thing that most people don’t consider is that a website needs to be maintained and updated regularly; otherwise, the website’s performance might suffer badly, which will turn customers away and will decrease your rank on Google’s search results.
Facebook Ad Manager Platform
If you don’t link your website to your Facebook page or rely solely on your website for sales, you will be really missing out on a lot that Facebook has to offer. Much like Google’s Ads, Facebook’s ad platform gives you access to millions of people and has a lot to offer. It lets you target the audience and, depending on your situation, might benefit you more than Google since Facebook is a social media platform. And having people recommend your business on Facebook will increase your credibility.
Conclusion
We don’t think that one can substitute the other. Both your Facebook page and your website are equally important and support each other. So your best bet would be to take care of both in order not to miss an opportunity.