How to Start a Facebook Business Page in 2026: Setup, Verification, Ads and Metrics

A Facebook business page gives your company a public home on the social network where many of your customers already spend time, with a place to post, take messages, collect reviews and run ads. Setting one up takes about 20 minutes. Setting it up so it's verified, safe from lockouts, connected to Instagram and WhatsApp, and ready to advertise without breaking Meta's rules takes a bit longer. This guide covers how to start a Facebook business page step by step, Meta Business Suite, the different kinds of verification, lead ads, ad account set-up and the Special Ad Category rules that apply to housing, jobs and financial services, plus the metrics to track. It was checked against Meta's help and policy pages, DOJ and FTC sources in October 2026.

Quick answer

To start a Facebook business page, log in to your personal Facebook account, open Pages → Create, choose a public Page, enter your business name and category, then add contact details, hours, a profile photo and cover photo, and an action button such as Call or Message. Next, open Meta Business Suite to add a second admin, link Instagram and WhatsApp, verify your business and domain, and set up an ad account before running ads.

• Free to create and run; you only pay for ads or optional Meta Verified

• Add a second trusted admin on day one so a hacked account can't lock you out

• Free business verification and paid Meta Verified are different things

• Housing, job and financial ads must be declared as Special Ad Categories, with limited targeting

• Since November 2025, Meta reports 'views' where it used to report impressions

Page, profile or group: what a business actually needs

Facebook has three things that people confuse. A profile is a personal account for a real person. A Page is a public presence for a business, brand, organization or public figure. A group is a community space. A business needs a Page. Meta's rules treat personal profiles as accounts for people, not businesses, and a profile can't run proper ads or give you business insights.

You still need a personal profile, because every Page is created and managed by real people. Your personal details aren't shown on the Page. Visitors see only the Page name, and posts you publish as the Page appear under the business name. If you have staff or an agency, they use their own personal accounts and get access to your Page; nobody shares a password.

Groups are optional but useful for some businesses, such as a gym's member community or a garden center's growing club. They work best once a Page exists, because the Page can own and moderate the group.

Before you begin, decide the exact name. Use the same trading name you use on your storefront, Google Business Profile and website, because consistent naming helps customers trust that they've found the real business. If you trade under a name that isn't your legal name, register it as a DBA first. Our Google Business Profile guide explains why the same name, address and phone number everywhere matters.

How to create a Facebook business page, step by step

Meta's own steps are short. On desktop or in the app, the flow is the same.

Create your Page

1. 1

   Open Pages and choose Create

   Log in to your personal account, click Pages in the left menu, then Create new Page. Choose the public Page option if asked.

2. 2

   Enter the name and category

   Type your business name and pick the category that best describes what you do. You can add more categories later.

3. 3

   Add contact details, location and hours

   Add your phone, email, website, address (or service area) and opening hours. Leave the address off if customers don't visit you.

4. 4

   Add photos and an action button

   Upload a square profile photo (usually your logo) and a cover photo, then set the button to Call, Message, Book or WhatsApp.

5. 5

   Connect WhatsApp or skip

   If you use WhatsApp Business, connect the number now so customers can message you from the Page.

6. 6

   Invite people and set notifications

   Invite friends who are genuine customers or supporters, then choose which notifications you want.

7. 7

   Claim a username

   Set a short username (facebook.com/yourbusiness) that matches your other accounts, so it fits on signs and cards.

After the Page exists, fill in the parts people skip. Write an intro that says what you do, where, and for whom, in one or two plain sentences. Add your price range, services and any accessibility details. Pin a post that tells a first-time visitor how to buy or book. Turn on reviews (shown as recommendations) unless you have a specific reason not to.

Then fix access. Open the Page's settings, go to Page access, and add at least one other person you trust with full control. Meta gives two levels: Facebook access, which lets someone manage the Page fully or partly, and task access, which lets someone handle messages, content, ads or insights from Business Suite without switching into the Page. If you're the only person with full control and your personal account is hacked or disabled, recovering the Page is slow and sometimes impossible. A second admin is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

Meta Business Suite and your business portfolio

Meta Business Suite (business.facebook.com) is the free dashboard for running a Facebook Page together with Instagram and WhatsApp. It has a shared inbox for comments and messages across all three, a planner for scheduling posts and stories, insights, a Leads Center for downloaded leads, and links to Ads Manager and billing. You can run a Page without it, but you'll want it as soon as two people are involved or you post on Instagram too.

Behind Business Suite sits your business portfolio, which Meta used to call Business Manager. It's the container that owns your business assets: Pages, Instagram accounts, WhatsApp numbers, ad accounts, pixels and domains. Owning assets in a portfolio, rather than on someone's personal account, is what lets you add and remove staff and agencies cleanly. When you hire an agency, give them access to your assets through your portfolio. Don't let them create the ad account inside theirs, or you won't own your own data and history if you part ways.

Set up two-factor authentication on every personal account that has access to your business portfolio. Meta prompts for it, and some admin tasks require it. Account takeovers through phishing messages that pretend to be from "Meta Support" are common, and Meta doesn't contact Page owners through Messenger threatening to delete their Page. Our guide to IT services for small business covers MFA and phishing in more depth.

Verification options: which one you need

"Verified" means three different things on Meta, and they solve different problems. Most small businesses need the first and third; the second is optional.

Business verification asks for official documents that show your exact legal business name and either your mailing address or your business phone number. Meta's solution partners list, for US businesses, items such as articles of incorporation, a business license, a business bank statement and IRS letters confirming your EIN. Purchase orders, self-made forms and website printouts aren't accepted. Make sure the legal name you type matches the document exactly, including "LLC" or "Inc." Reviews can take up to 14 business days, according to those partners, and you can check progress in the Security Center.

Meta Verified is where the blue badge now comes from. It's worth considering if impostor accounts copy your business, or if you rely on Facebook and Instagram for most of your sales and need faster help when something breaks. Prices vary by plan and change, so check the current figure in the app rather than trusting a number you read online.

Domain verification is a five-minute job if you can reach your DNS settings or upload a file to your website. Do it before you advertise, because it stops others from rewriting the headline and image on links to your site.

Linking Instagram and WhatsApp

Linking accounts lets one inbox handle messages from all three apps, lets you post to Facebook and Instagram together, and lets ads run across both. To connect Instagram, open the Page's Settings, go to Linked accounts under Permissions, choose Instagram and follow the prompts. If your Instagram is a personal account, Meta will ask you to switch it to a professional (business or creator) account, which must be public.

WhatsApp connects from the same Linked accounts menu, or from the WhatsApp Business app under Business tools. You'll confirm the number with a code. A WhatsApp number can only be linked to one Page at a time, so if you see an error that the number belongs to another business, it needs to be removed from that business's assets first. Once linked, you can set the Page's main button to WhatsApp and run ads that open a WhatsApp chat, which many service businesses find converts better than a web form.

Posting, reviews and the FTC rules that apply

What to post is simpler than it looks: real photos of your work, your team and your premises; short videos showing how something is done; answers to questions customers ask; offers with clear terms; and events. Post when you have something to say, consistently, rather than daily filler. Reply to comments and messages quickly; your response rate and time show on the Page.

Two sets of federal rules apply to social content. First, the FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule bans buying or selling fake reviews and also bans buying fake social media indicators, such as bot followers or views, to make a business look more popular than it is. Paid "follower packages" fall squarely into that. Second, the FTC's endorsement guidance says anyone you pay or give free products to must disclose that connection clearly in the post itself, using plain words like "ad" or "sponsored". Bios, hashtags buried at the end, and vague tags like "collab" don't count. If you work with local creators, put the disclosure requirement in writing.

Ad account set-up and Special Ad Categories

You can boost a post from the Page in two taps, but a proper ad account in Ads Manager gives you more control: objectives, audiences, placements, budgets and reporting. Create the ad account inside your business portfolio, set the right time zone and currency (they can't be changed later), add a payment method, and set an account spending limit while you're learning. Install the Meta pixel or Conversions API on your website so you can measure enquiries and sales, not just clicks.

Before you create an ad, check whether it falls into a Special Ad Category. Meta requires US advertisers, and anyone targeting US audiences, to declare these categories, and its advertising standards bar using targeting to discriminate. The rules exist because of civil rights law. In 2022, the Justice Department settled a Fair Housing Act case with Meta over its housing ad delivery system. Meta agreed to stop using its Special Ad Audience tool for housing ads, to build a Variance Reduction System to reduce disparities in who sees housing ads, and to pay a $115,054 civil penalty, the maximum then available under the Act.

Targeting with and without a Special Ad Category (housing, employment, financial products and services)

Setting	Normal ads	Special Ad Category ads
Age	Adjustable range	Fixed at 18–65+
Gender	Can target	All genders only
Location	ZIP codes, radius, exclusions	No ZIP codes or exclusions; at least a 15-mile radius around a city, address or pin
Detailed targeting	Interests, behaviors, demographics	Limited approved interests; no behaviors, demographics or exclusions
Lookalike audiences	Available	Not available
Customer lists	Available	Allowed only with Meta's certification and eligibility checks

Age

Normal ads

Adjustable range

Special Ad Category ads

Fixed at 18–65+

Gender

Normal ads

Can target

Special Ad Category ads

All genders only

Location

Normal ads

ZIP codes, radius, exclusions

Special Ad Category ads

No ZIP codes or exclusions; at least a 15-mile radius around a city, address or pin

Detailed targeting

Normal ads

Interests, behaviors, demographics

Special Ad Category ads

Limited approved interests; no behaviors, demographics or exclusions

Lookalike audiences

Normal ads

Available

Special Ad Category ads

Not available

Customer lists

Normal ads

Available

Special Ad Category ads

Allowed only with Meta's certification and eligibility checks

The categories are housing (sales, rentals, home insurance and mortgages), employment (job ads, recruiting), financial products and services, and social issues, elections or politics. Financial products and services replaced the narrower "credit" category, and Meta made it mandatory for US-based or US-targeted campaigns from January 2025. That catches more small businesses than people expect: insurance agents, tax preparers offering refund advances, car dealers advertising financing and real estate agents all need to declare. Political and social-issue ads need a separate authorization with ID checks and a "Paid for by" disclaimer.

If you advertise in one of these areas, plan for broader audiences. A roofer advertising financing to one ZIP code can't do that; the ad will reach everyone within at least 15 miles. Let your ad copy and creative do the qualifying instead, and send people to a landing page or form that filters out poor fits.

Lead ads basics

Lead ads show an instant form inside Facebook or Instagram, pre-filled with details the person has already shared with Meta, so they can request a quote without leaving the app. Leads belong to your Page. You can download them from the Leads Center in Business Suite, or send them automatically to a CRM through Meta's integrations or webhooks. Treat Meta as a mailbox, not an archive: download or sync leads regularly and call them quickly, because a lead that waits a day often goes cold.

There are firm limits on what you can ask. Meta's advertising standards bar lead forms from requesting account numbers, criminal history, financial or insurance information, government IDs, health information, political affiliation, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, trade union membership, or usernames and passwords without Meta's prior written permission. You'll also need to link your own privacy policy in the form, so publish one on your website first. Our small business website guide covers what it should say.

Quality beats volume. Instant forms are easy to submit by accident, so many advertisers choose Meta's "higher intent" form option, which adds a review screen, and add one qualifying question, such as the service needed or the timeframe. Fewer, better leads usually cost less per customer.

Metrics that matter, with a worked example

Meta changed its reporting in 2025. Views, which count each time content appears on a screen including repeats, replaced impressions as the headline metric, and Meta removed impressions and the old "page fans" count from its Page Insights API from November 15, 2025. Followers is now the audience number. If you compare this year's reports with older ones, expect views to look higher than impressions did, and don't read that as growth.

For organic posts, watch views, reach, engagement (reactions, comments, shares, saves) and link clicks, and above all the messages and calls that follow. For ads, judge on cost per result: cost per lead, cost per booked appointment or cost per purchase, and on return on ad spend.

Worked example — a local service business test (illustrative figures)

$450

Ad spend

$15 a day for 30 days

25

Leads

at $18 per lead

5

New customers

20% close rate

4.4×

Return on ad spend

5 jobs × $400 = $2,000

These numbers are an example, not a benchmark; costs vary widely by industry, city and season. The point is the chain: spend, cost per lead, close rate, average sale. If a $400 job leaves you $160 of gross profit, five jobs earn $800 against $450 of ads, which is worth continuing and improving. If your close rate were 8% instead, you'd have two jobs and a loss. Fix the follow-up before you raise the budget. Our ROAS calculator runs this maths for your own figures.

Common mistakes and a launch checklist

The mistakes we see most are avoidable. Owners run the business from a personal profile, or make a Page with a single admin who then gets hacked. Agencies create ad accounts the business doesn't own. Pages buy followers, which inflates numbers, breaks the FTC rule and drags down reach because those accounts never engage. Mortgage brokers, recruiters and landlords run ads without declaring the Special Ad Category and get rejected or restricted. And many businesses collect leads with no plan to call them within the hour.

Facebook business page launch checklist

0/10

• Page created with your exact trading name, category, intro, hours and contact details
• Profile photo, cover photo and a pinned 'how to buy or book' post
• Username set to match your other accounts
• Second trusted admin added; two-factor authentication on every admin account
• Business portfolio owns the Page, Instagram, WhatsApp, ad account and pixel
• Business verification submitted; domain verified
• Instagram (professional account) and WhatsApp linked
• Privacy policy published on your website before running lead ads
• Special Ad Category checked for every campaign
• Lead follow-up process: who calls, how fast, and where leads are logged

Share Print

What to do next

With the Page live, make sure the rest of your local presence says the same thing: a verified Google Business Profile and a fast, simple website with your privacy policy.

Official links

• Create a Facebook PageMeta's step-by-step
• Meta Business SuiteInbox, planner, insights, business portfolio
• Special Ad CategoriesDeclared categories and targeting limits
• Meta Advertising StandardsAd, targeting and lead form policies
• FTC: Disclosures 101 for influencersPaid and gifted endorsements
• DOJ: United States v. Meta PlatformsFair Housing Act ad settlement

This is general information, not legal advice. Meta's tools and policies change often, so confirm details in Meta's Help Center and Ads Manager before you launch.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a personal Facebook account to create a business page?

Yes. Pages are created and managed from a personal profile, and Meta doesn't allow separate fake profiles for running a business. Your personal details aren't shown on the Page, and visitors see only the Page name. Add at least one other trusted person with full control so you don't lose access if your own account is locked or hacked.

Is a Facebook business page free?

Yes. Creating a Page, posting, messaging customers and using Meta Business Suite cost nothing. You pay only for ads or boosted posts, which you control with a daily or lifetime budget, and for optional subscriptions such as Meta Verified, which adds a verified badge and account support for a monthly fee shown in the app.

What's the difference between a Facebook Page and Meta Business Suite?

The Page is your public presence: name, photos, posts, reviews and messages. Meta Business Suite is the free dashboard for running it alongside Instagram and WhatsApp. It holds the shared inbox, post scheduler, insights, lead downloads and links to Ads Manager, and it's where your business portfolio, people and ad accounts are managed.

How do I get a blue check on my Facebook business page?

The blue badge now comes through Meta Verified for business, a paid monthly subscription that checks your business details and adds impersonation protection and better support. Free business verification in the Security Center is different: it confirms your legal business to Meta and unlocks some tools, but it doesn't add a badge to your Page.

What are Special Ad Categories on Facebook?

They're categories US advertisers must declare when an ad is about housing, employment, financial products and services, or social issues, elections and politics. Declaring housing, employment or financial products locks age to 18–65+, removes gender and ZIP-code targeting, requires at least a 15-mile radius and turns off lookalike audiences. Undeclared ads in these areas can be rejected.

How much should a small business spend on Facebook ads?

There's no minimum that guarantees results. Many small businesses start with a test of $10 to $20 a day for two to four weeks, which is our estimate of a budget large enough to produce readable data, then keep only the ads with an acceptable cost per lead or purchase. Work out what a customer is worth first, so you know the most you can pay for one.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Create a Facebook Page — Meta (Facebook Help Center) · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.Connect a Facebook Page to an Instagram account — Meta (Facebook Help Center) · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.Special Ad Categories (Marketing API) — Meta for Developers · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Meta Advertising Standards — Meta Transparency Center · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Lead Ads guide — Meta for Developers · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.Page Insights API updates — Meta for Developers · accessed 9 October 2026
7. 7.Domain verification — Meta for Developers · accessed 9 October 2026
8. 8.United States v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (S.D.N.Y.) — U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division · accessed 9 October 2026
9. 9.Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — Federal Trade Commission · accessed 9 October 2026
10. 10.Federal Trade Commission announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials — Federal Trade Commission · accessed 9 October 2026
11. 11.WhatsApp: documents accepted for Meta business verification — Telnyx (Meta business solution provider) · accessed 9 October 2026