Facebook Page vs. Website

[RJsumthn]

I recently started a woodworking business (it's pretty cool to say I'm 22 years old and a business owner). Anyways, I know that having an internet presence is pretty much mandatory in this day and age for any business but I was thinking how important is it for a small woodworking business to have their own website when a Facebook Page pretty much does the same thing. 

 

All that I would put on the website would be contact info and pictures of previous work and that is what I have on my Facebook page. I know that having an actual website will generate more traffic from search engines but my work is word of mouth and that is all I can handle right now so that is a non issue for me. 

 

 

[bobcrosley]

I think FB is ok to start, but you are going to need a web site at some point. While among your generation, everyone is on FB, after about age 55, that number starts to fall off rapidly. And often, people in the 55+ demographic are often those with the disposable income to purchase custom furniture.

[Tpt life]

Are you questioning? I do not want to offend if your mind is made up but I am not certain your desired feedback.

In my experience, the more the better. Multiplicity with regard to presentation and communication is the most effective tool. I say this with WWMM and Marc himself in mind. While it may be a pain to administer, I never miss a Ramsey post because of FB, Podcasting, and his YouTube channel. With Marc it is Twitter that often reminds me that it is WoodTalk night. While you may see a website as redundant, there is a benefit to the increase in exposure.

That said, I subbed from fantastically successful general contractors who had only barely scratched the email surface and posted nothing online.

[bobcrosley]

BTW, congrats on the business. Posting from my phone often results in sticking to the facts and being too terse.

Even among the older who are on FB and the somewhat younger who are active FB users, most don't think of it as a place to find businesses, but rather friends. So they tend to use FB for friends and Google to find businesses.

And I have to echo C's comments. More avenues of exposure, the better.

[mikem]

Have a website as your central online hub.  The reason I say this is that you don't have to worry about a social network's terms of service in how it handles your content.  Social networks are a key, so don't ignore them.  In fact be as active on them as possible.  I have noticed on twitter the more I tweet out, the more follower's I get.  I don't use facebook as much, but do have a page dedicated to my blog.  If I posted more to that, I am sure I would see the same trend.  Use them as a method to reach out to potential customers, but maintain your own website.

 

Your website will showcase your business the way you want it to look.  A social network page will showcase your business the way they want it to look.  As other's have said, get as much exposure as possible, so an all of the above method is the way to go. 

[RJsumthn]

I just imagine building a website to be a rather expensive and time consuming venture. Every dime I earn goes straight back into buying equipment and tools for the shop so money is tight and will be the rest of this year, at least.

 

A website is something that I do want to have in the future but is it really necessary at this stage? 

 

Out of curiosity, for those of you with websites, what did it cost to get it set up to the point you were happy with it? Is it something you taught yourself or did you hire outside help? Thanks

[krtwood]

You should get your own domain and if you don't have a website of your own just forward it to your other page whatever that might be.  That way when you give out your business contact you are giving out an address that is yours.  You can always forward it later somewhere else or to your own site, but you can't make a person that only knows to find you on Facebook find you somewhere else if you have moved on.

 

Facebook business pages are pretty ridiculous.  You get people to like your page and then Facebook only shows what you post to some of them. 

[pghmyn]

I just imagine building a website to be a rather expensive and time consuming venture. Every dime I earn goes straight back into buying equipment and tools for the shop so money is tight and will be the rest of this year, at least.

 

A website is something that I do want to have in the future but is it really necessary at this stage? 

 

Out of curiosity, for those of you with websites, what did it cost to get it set up to the point you were happy with it? Is it something you taught yourself or did you hire outside help? Thanks

I am a former web developer, and I think I can offer you some pretty good advice.

 

For a website, here are the basics...

Domain name: The actual registered name of your site. (www.yoursite.com)

Host: When all your uploaded information is stored, and where the domain is redirected to.

 

The cost to each is separate, unless purchased from the same distributer. So, you will be paying two bills for these. Domains can cost you like $15/year and hosts can cost like $4-7/month (cheaper if paid bi-annually/annually).

 

Those two can be cheap, and a good place to look for deals is here:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

 

Hosts have several limitations like number of storage space, bandwidth, domains, subdomains, email accounts, MySQL databases, PHP installed, etc.

 

Storage space is physical memory allotted to you for your uploaded files. For you, you should be looking for something with at least 1-3GB of storage space. You will be displaying your projects, you need the space for the high quality pictures. 

 

Bandwidth is how much data is downloaded by viewers. For example, say your page consists of 3 images that are 4MB each on that page. EACH time someone views that page, that will be 12MB of bandwidth used up! If you plan on high traffic, plan your bandwidth accordingly. For you, you should be looking for something with at least 15GB or more.

 

Email addresses are not that important, and all you need is one. I assume you would have RJ@yoursite.com - worry about more accounts later.

 

Subdomains are not important to you at this moment, if you want to learn about them, google them further.

 

MySQL databases are not immediately important, but EXTREMELY useful when incorporated later on. I recommend getting a host with it available. You will eventually use it.

 

PHP (hypertext preprocessor) is the same as MySQL.

 

Here is a good example: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1272145

5 GB space

20 GB bandwidth

20 email accounts

unlimited databases

 

$4.20 / month

 

------

 

RJ, this is a lot of information to decipher and take in, but it WILL be worth it. Just think, this is what it takes to be able to own a website of your own (professionally) - not a sub hosted website. Now, you have to come up with a design! Or buy one.

 

Good luck to you. If you need further clarification on anything, post here and I will help you with anything that I know or redirect you to a reliable source.

[mikem]

I would also add, the most hosting services allow for easy installation of Blog/Content Management Systems.  The last couple websites I have done, while not truly blogs, I have used wordpress.  It is easy to use and very customizable.  There are plenty of pre-built themes out there that you can further customize to meet your needs.    Its not hard to put something together that looks half way decent, and not going to break the bank.

[sbarton22]

You should think of the internet the same way you think about your shop. The various vehicles, FB, twitter, website, youtube, etc, are all just tools. Just like in your shop, you select the correct tool for your job, you should do the same thing on the internet. Yes, you can chisel with a screwdriver, but is that really the right approach?

 

You really need a home base, or to keep the analogy going, a workbench. In your shop, you bring the tools and the work piece to the bench. Your website is the same thing. You want to bring people to it. Once there, the same way the bench holds the piece, your site allows you to frame and control the image of your work, process, and image. Fundamentally, people are looking four your .com, and not facebook\XXX. 

 

Everything else is just a variety of tools you are using to generate traffic to that controlled space you are trying to present. FB, twitter, and blogs are there to tell stories. You use them to generate interest in what your are doing with the goal of getting them back to that controlled space where, again, you can frame their experience. Think about presenting your work online...is it easier to create a portfolio on a web page or expect people to sift through all of your posts on FB?

 

Also, social network approaches are time relevant. If you don't post it, they won't come. In minutes, your post or tweet can be buried. On a website, your information is always there in just the right form you designed it to be presented.

 

I applaud you for being aware of the need for an internet presence, but now you need to think about what you plan on doing with it. For example, if you want to sell some pre-made items, how will you do that? You can't do it on FB (very easily). You can't do it on twitter. Sure, you can always send them to etsy, but then you are inviting them to your competition's door. That's just an example, but you get the idea of figuring out what you want to build before you go grabbing a bunch of tools.

 

You are on the right track! Keep up the effort!!

[TerryMcK]

In my day job as an IT professional which includes web designing I can give you some of my thoughts.

A website gives a more professional appearance than just a Facebook page/Twitter feed only. I would advise by all means have a social presence to backup a website but the most important factor is the website itself. Remember that not everybody uses FB/Twitter etc and they don't appear high in Google searches. You can tailor a website and use coding that can move it up search engine ratings based upon the data you place within webpages. Look for html meta tags in a Google search for an explanation.

It really is not that difficult or expensive to create your own web presence nowadays and you can even use online webcreation sites (no webdesign software required on your computer) and not know anything about the mechanics behind it. A lot of these sites are free but some are modestly priced. All it takes is a little time for you to invest enabling you to get your message over to the world.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I would look into both Wordpress.com and Squarespace.com for fairly inexpensive turnkey solutions. And to echo previous opinions, a Facebook page is only Facebook presence, not web presence. But if you can sustain a business on FB alone, imagine what you can accomplish when you broaden your scope to the entire internet.

[pghmyn]

Out of the spectrum at the moment, but consider investing in a good camera as well.

[dwacker]

I don't use FB, Twitter or anything like that never even seen a FB page. Fat Cow is a good host cheap and unlimited. They have web templates or you can just install word press right from the control panel. Pretty simple web DIY.

I would not post anything until you have some good content. I've never had the need for web but did keep a private gallery on fat cow just for customers to pick colors, door styles and moldings. If nothing else you have your domain reserved and email address. Nothing says unprofessional more than a business that uses gmail.

[jHop]

I have been told that Facebook does not distribute updates to all of your Facebook followers.  Don't remember the details of the conversation, but I was advised that the Facebook distribution lists usually only contact under 25 percent of your followers.  So I have started to think of Facebook as the social site where I go to comment on how excited I am about projects, or aspects, and the website is all business and no emotion.

 

If this helps...   

[Chris H]

I would echo what others are saying for the most part, and add, you can find someone who does website design on the side.  It will depend where you are in your business though.  Have you found the niche you wish to fill?  Do you have a small library of work you've completed?  

 

If you have a sizable portfolio, a web designer could build you a very professional site for a small fee.  Check colleges in the area, always seem to have a young kid who is looking to cut their teeth, and build their portfolio.  

 

However, if your portfolio is slowly growing, you will want a site that can grow with you easily, without having to use a designer each time you want a small change.  In this case I would go more the web-creation type sites.  They will cost more month to month, but much less up front and come with built in tech support and user friendly features.  

 

No matter which option you go with, be sure your web interface is capable of taking payment on plastic/paypal.  Both costs you a % (2%-3%), but will help get you more customers, and save you some headache with payment down the road.  

 

Good luck with the new business!

[dwacker]

If you really want to do a web site on the cheap blogger will work. Its free and for about $10 a year you can have a custom domain name with @yourdomain email addresses.

[pghmyn]

Here PB, consider this your first:

[G S Haydon]

Hi RJ,

 

Great to hear you have set up your own biz  .

 

"how important is it for a small woodworking business to have their own website when a Facebook Page pretty much does the same thing"

I think it's all about what's appropriate for you and the type of service you provide. Like you said most of you work would come by personal reference or word of mouth. If so just some images on a very simple website or blog page would work just fine as you would direct your prospective clients to your website. Social media is good for generating interest and getting feedback but it is a slow burner and is unlikely to score you a nice job (although it could). Also what's your client demographic? If they are younger people facebook might work really well.

Nothing beats real people recommending you to their friends and colleagues. If you do set up a website make sure you post it here 

[estesbubba]

As a few others have said, look into Wordpress.

[Dlhunter]

Rj,

I think you should just stick with FB for now unless you have ample time to put into building a website.  How many pics of your work do you have that you would want to use? My opinion is that you need to constantly update your site as well.  Nothing worst than a stale website that looks like it was set up in the 90's and not touched since. Personally I don't have a site or a company facebook page.  I'd rather have nothing than some half assed attempt. My biggest reason is time.  I just don't have it.

From the sounds of your situation you may be better off getting some business cards made up or flyers maybe.   A friend of mine gives out 10 business cards a day. Rain or shine to whoever he runs into.  Have an iphone? make sure you have every pic you own on there to show people on the spot.  You're gonna have to get the word out with yourself. Don't think a facebook or webpage is going to have the clients lining up.  

[Dlhunter]

Rj,

How about a link to your FB page so we can check it out?

Does this mean you elected not to finish school or are you doing both?

And by "owning your own business" does that mean it is a legit business? Taxes, insurance and all?

[Spencer_J]

i run a referral based business. when you are first starting, its important to focus on producing a good product. like Darrel said, if you can't do it right, don't do it. there will be a time where you wont be able to skate from referral to referral due to the nature of networking. people are going to want to see examples of your work on their own time. not go back to the house where they saw your bookcase etc. I see facebook as an additional web "perk". as opposed to a standalone full portfolio. get a business card going... make sure its not floppy or papery. don't need to go nuts but get a card. i personally think you should ditch the FB and when your clients start nagging at you to get online then you pull the trigger for a decent site. you can save some money by just keeping busy and once you know what your business flourishes at you can utilize your website effectively. i flew by the seat of my pants for three years before buying the domain. i recommend buying the domain now though! 

[Eric.]

Not to poop on the whole thing, but I think a website is a waste of time and money until you have a fairly broad portfolio established with a range of pieces that have been professionally photographed.  If people go to your site and all they see is "I'm a woodworker," they'll be gone in a second.  They need to see what you've done and what you're capable of doing before they'll be willing to commission you.

 

Start building for friends and family, use FB to spread the word that you're available to build for people you know, and take *any job* you're able to break even on, just so you can begin developing a portfolio.  Use a part of the profits to have the piece photographed by a pro...unless you're capable of taking pro-quality photos yourself...nothing says "hack" like poorly-lit iphone pics and cheesy linen backdrops...that's good enough to show your buddies here online, but not good enough for a professional's website.  Then once you have some work under your belt and some pictures to prove it, think about building a website and advertising to strangers.

 

*By "any job" I mean any job that's worthy of your effort and up to your high standards.  If someone comes to you and wants a screwed-together particle board painted bookshelf, pass...unless that's the kind of work you intend to do.  Try to convince your potential "customers" to use higher-quality materials and to allow you to use higher-level techniques, even if it means less profit for you in the beginning...again, the goal is to establish a portfolio of higher-end work.  Try to think of the lack of profit in the beginning as an investment in your future.

[Tpt life]

I have lots of sole proprieter side/primary business friends. While Eric's and others replies make sense, if you follow their coaching I would encourage a major tweak. If you elect to forgo a full website in the short term, take advantage of a free blogging service. You can get a feel for what it takes to create tasteful updates and posts while limiting your initial exposure to a few competent friends and family. You do not need to publicize the blog and it can grow as you do to be ported over to your domain when the time is ripe. My friends with successful web presence have used this model with good success. Most still maintain Wordpress or Blogger presence and cross link it to their website allowing frequent blogposts and gallery updates to drive the refreshing aspect of their website.