Set up a Facebook Page and Meta Business Suite

The short version

• A Page is your business’s home on Facebook. It’s separate from your personal profile.
• Create it under Pages, then Create page, then Public page.
• Add hours, phone, address, website, a profile photo and a cover photo.
• Create a business portfolio so the Page, Instagram and ad account are managed together.
• Use Meta Business Suite to schedule posts, answer messages and comments, and read insights.

How do I create a Facebook Page?

These steps come from Facebook’s create a Page article, on a computer. You need a personal Facebook account to start; the Page itself is separate from it.

1. Log in to Facebook, then click Pages on the left.
2. Click Create page.
3. Select Public page, then click Next.
4. Click Get started.
5. Enter your Page name and category. Use your real business name, exactly as it appears on your sign.
6. Add a short bio if you like, then click Create Page.
7. Add your contact details, location and hours, then click Next.
8. Add a profile photo (your logo) and a cover photo, set the action button, then click Next.
9. Connect WhatsApp, or click Skip.
10. Invite people to follow the Page, or move on, then choose notification settings and click Done.

Expected result: your Page is live and searchable. Check it while logged out to see what customers see.

Before you post anything

• Add your website link so people can go from the Page to your site.
• Match your details to Google. Your name, address, phone and hours should be the same as on your Google Business Profile. Our answer on NAP consistency explains why.
• Add a backup admin. Facebook’s Page access article says you need Facebook access with full control to add, edit or remove other people’s access. Give full control only to people you’d trust with the business. Everyone else gets task access, which lets them help from tools like Business Suite without full control.

How do I set up Meta Business Suite?

Meta Business Suite is Meta’s free dashboard for managing Facebook and Instagram, and Threads and WhatsApp too. Meta’s overview says it needs a business portfolio: “a container that holds your organization’s business assets,” such as your Page, Instagram account and ad account, plus the people who can access them.

To create a business portfolio on a computer, Meta’s portfolio guide says:

1. Go to business.facebook.com and log in with your Facebook account.
2. Click the dropdown menu below Home in the top left.
3. Click Create a business portfolio.
4. Enter a name that matches your business’s public name, with no special characters.
5. Enter your first and last name and a business email address. Meta uses it to contact you and doesn’t show it to customers.
6. Click Create or Create portfolio, then confirm the email Meta sends.

Then add your Page and your Instagram account to it. Meta notes each asset can belong to only one business portfolio, so if an agency or a relative set things up in their own portfolio, ask them to transfer it to yours.

What can I do in Business Suite?

• Create and schedule posts. Click Create post, choose where to post under Post to, add photos and text, then pick a date and time under Scheduling options. Meta’s posting guide says the Active times option suggests times based on when your followers were most active over the past 7 days.
• Plan a month. The Planner shows scheduled and published posts, stories, reels and ads on a calendar. See our content calendar guide.
• Answer people. The Inbox brings Facebook messages, comments, Instagram messages and WhatsApp together.
• Read results. Insights shows views, interactions, follows and your audience. See measuring what works.
• Run simple ads. Business Suite can boost a post or make a simple ad. For more detailed campaigns, Meta points you to Ads Manager. See boosting versus Ads Manager.

Why use a Page and not a personal profile?

A Page is built for a business. It has contact buttons, hours, insights, ads and shared admin access. A personal profile can’t be handed to a new owner or managed by your team safely. Facebook’s help also describes a “Pro mode” for personal profiles; that’s meant for creators, not for running a shop or a service business.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• One admin. If the only admin loses their account, the Page is very hard to recover. Always have two people with full control.
• The Page lives in someone else’s portfolio. A past agency’s portfolio may own your Page. Ask for it to be moved before you part ways.
• Duplicate Pages. Old Pages created by staff or check-ins confuse customers. Find them and, if you can get access, merge or remove them.
• Personal email on the portfolio. Use a business address that will outlive any one employee.
• Ignoring messages. Business Suite insights show your response rate and time under Messaging. Turn on notifications in the Business Suite app.

What if this didn’t work?

• Create page isn’t there. Make sure you’re logged in to your personal account, not switched into another Page.
• You can’t find a Page you used to manage. Someone may have removed your access. Ask a current full-control admin to add you back.
• The portfolio won’t create. Meta says you can personally create up to 2 business portfolios. Check whether you already made one.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

Pages and Meta Business Suite are free. Setting both up properly takes an hour or two, including photos and details. Ads are the only paid part.

How does E-3 handle this?

We link your Facebook Page from your website and your Google profile, and make sure the name, address, phone and hours match everywhere, as part of our SEO and AI search service. If you’d like us to help with access, we’ll ask you to add us as a person with task access, not to share your password.

Related questions

• How do I switch Instagram to a professional account?
• Should I boost a post or use Ads Manager?
• How do I plan posts on a calendar?
• Can you add social media links to my site?
• Back to the complete social media guide

Sources

1. Create a Facebook Page (Facebook Help Center)
2. How Meta Business Suite works (Meta Business Help Center)
3. About business portfolios (Meta Business Help Center)
4. How to create a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite (Meta Business Help Center)
5. Create and manage posts in Meta Business Suite on desktop (Meta Business Help Center)
6. Give, edit or remove Facebook Page access (Facebook Help Center)
7. When to use Meta Business Suite and when to use Meta Ads Manager (Meta Business Help Center)