Plenty of horse businesses run on a Facebook page and do fine. If yours keeps your stalls full or your route booked, don’t drop it. The question is what happens when someone who doesn’t already follow you goes looking.
Here’s an honest look at what each one does well, where a Facebook page falls short, and how to use both without doubling your work.
The checklist
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What is a Facebook page good for?
Short answer
News, photos and word of mouth. It’s where a lot of your clients already scroll, where they tag their friends, and where local horse groups pass names around.
A Facebook page is quick. You can post a foal photo from the barn aisle, share a schedule change, or answer a message from the truck. Clients who follow you see your work week to week, and that builds trust.
It’s also free to set up, and for a lot of barns, trainers and farriers it’s how the first clients found them. None of that changes when you add a website.
What does a website do better than a Facebook page?
Short answer
It keeps what people need to decide in one place, in order: what you offer, what it costs, where you are and how to book. On a Facebook page, those details get buried as you keep posting.
A Facebook feed runs newest first. Last spring’s rates post sinks under this week’s photos, so people message you to ask the same questions again.
A website is built around those questions. It can have a page for each service, your rates, your area, your rules and an FAQ. It can also do some of the work for you: take a booking, have a new client sign your waiver or agreement before they show up, and take payment by link. E-signed agreements are common; ask your attorney what your state requires.
With WWC: Online booking, digital waivers and documents with e-signatures, and online payments come in the same $39.99/month plan as your website.
Why does it matter that a website is yours?
Short answer
Your Facebook page lives on Facebook’s terms. If your account gets hacked or locked, or Facebook changes what your followers see, your page goes quiet with it. A domain you own is registered in your name and stays yours, even if you change website companies.
Facebook decides which followers see each post, and it can change how that works whenever it wants. You don’t get a say. If your account is locked or taken over, you may be stuck until it’s sorted out, and so is your page.
Your own web address is different. Put it on your truck, your trailer, your business cards and your invoices, and it keeps pointing to the same place. Through WWC, a .com is $10.88 a year, the registrar’s price with no markup1.
With WWC: A domain you buy through WWC is registered in your name, with privacy and a registrar lock included.
Does a website help people find me on Google?
Short answer
It can. When someone searches for boarding or a farrier near their town, Google looks for pages that match what they typed, and a website that names your services and towns gives it something to match. Nobody can promise where you’ll show up.
A Facebook page can show up on Google too. A website lets you go further: give each service its own page, with its own title and description written the way people search, like “Farrier in Stephenville, Texas.”
For the full rundown, see How do I get my barn or horse business found on Google?
With WWC: Every page has an SEO title and description you can edit in its page settings, and every page has a phone layout.
How do I use Facebook and a website together?
Short answer
Use Facebook to stay in front of people, and your website to answer their questions and take bookings. Any post that leads to a decision, like an open stall or a spot on Thursday’s route, should link back to your site.
- Put your website address in your Facebook page’s details.
- Add a Facebook link to your website so people can follow along.
- When you post an opening, include your booking link.
- When someone messages for prices, send the link to your rates page instead of typing it all out again.
- Use the same business name and phone number on both.
With WWC: Your website’s footer can show a Facebook icon that links to your page, and your booking page has one link you can share anywhere.
What does a website cost if I already have Facebook?
Short answer
With WWC, $39.99/month. One price for everyone. It covers the website, hosting, booking, waivers and documents, online payments, security and real support, and our team will build the site for free.
There’s no separate fee for the build, and WWC adds no transaction fee to your payments; the payment provider’s own fees apply. The one optional extra is your own domain, at cost.
To see what other ways of getting a website cost, read How much does a horse business website cost?
What if I don’t have time to build a website?
Short answer
Have us build it. Start your free trial, click “Have WWC build it,” and our team works with you until it’s right. If we don’t impress you, you pay nothing.
Your Facebook page is a good head start. The photos you’re proudest of, your About text and the questions people message you most are exactly what a website needs. Have them handy when our team reaches out.
Our team keeps you on the free trial until your website launches, so you’re never charged before you’ve seen it. A credit card is required to start the trial. See how the free build works.
Rather do it yourself? Start from a pre-built design or a blank page and click anything to change it.
More questions
Should I stop posting on Facebook once I have a website?
No. Keep posting. Facebook keeps you in front of people who already know you. The website is where they go when they’re ready to book, sign or pay.
Can’t I just share my Facebook page as my web address?
You can, but the address belongs to Facebook. Your own domain, like yourbarn.com, is easy to say out loud, fits on a trailer and stays yours.
What about Instagram?
Same idea. Use it for photos and news, and put your website link in your profile.
Do I need my own domain to start?
No. Every WWC website gets a free westernwebco.com address. You can add your own domain anytime.
Written by the Western Web Co. team. We’re family owned and build WWC in Cave Creek, Arizona.