Will Facebook Replace Traditional Websites?

There's some really interesting data in the Network Solutions State of Small Business report on the impact of social media on traditional websites. 

When asked how social media usage is impacting their spending plans on their traditional websites, 62% of small businesses said that social media didn't change their spending plans for the coming year.  27% said they are planning on increasing their spend due to social media.   

But 9% plan on eliminating (4%) or spending less (5%) on their traditional website due to social media.  While 9% sounds low, last June only 2% reported plans to spend less or eliminate their traditional website due to social media. 

In the forecasting world, we call a 6 month shift of this magnitude a signal. 

Last year we wondered if social media in general and Facebook in particular could replace traditional websites.  The general consensus of the feedback we got was a solid no. 

But despite the feedback, many small businesses are using Facebook for their firm's primary website.  We're also seeing a growing number of new small businesses choosing Facebook over a traditional website for their web presence. 

As our post earlier this week shows, the trend towards Facebook becoming an important web presence site for small businesses is clear. 

What is unclear is how big this shift will be, and whether or not Facebook will fully replace traditional websites or simply augment them. 

We don't think Facebook is going to fully replace traditional websites, at least not in the next 5 years. 

But we do think over the next 5 years Facebook is going to become the primary web presence for roughly half of all small businesses that are online. 

What do you think?

Comments

[facebook timeline application]

Will Facebook pages replace websites? ... it seemed everyone was talking about whether Facebook pages will replace traditional websites.

[Jamie Fairbairn]

I think your post is spot on. I work with a lot of small business owners in the UK and have seen a few start-ups building a Facebook page rather than a conventional website to cut down on time and costs.

However, I agree that over the next 5 years this number will grow and I can only see Facebook adding business-centred features in the future.

[Janet T.]

Generally, Individual websites will still dominate the business world because as a consumer, I would want to know more about the business and the products they're selling. Facebook only offers limited capabilities for business.

[Becky Kate - signaturefiling.com]

I definitely think Facebook might become more popular for small businesses than having their own websites. I've noticed that in my own work as a social media marketer, I've been working harder at getting views on my company's Facebook page than actually getting visitors to the website.

[xbox wireless controller]

As Facebook is born on the social media World, It seems that it is becoming more popular as it goes further on it's progress. It is getting more and more Gigantic that it made it fellow social Medias left on it's way. But the questions is that, How far thus face grow?

[NetPresenceCA]

All depends on the objective of the site

[GetLocalShopprs]

I think that as the ability for retailers to design their Facebook Pages with all of the functionality of their webpages the shift will increase.
Shopping is a very social activity. Showcasing store offerings right within Facebook will allow customers to browse while they chat, share, and connect with their social network. This is great for retailers as it creates great referral advertising by having people talking about and sharing products on theirs and their friends Facebook wall.

[Francesca]

Facebook has millions of users, visitors and still counting. It is a fad even for businesses. However, I think traditional websites will still dominate as the primary web presence in the next 5 years. Basically, my reason is that I want to have a unique site as what I wanted my business to be, distinct. I can put my imagination, the designs that I want in a website with several pages to drag a market with my own creative strategy. http://businessoptimizercoach.com/