But if you're serious you probably want to still host your own site to sidestep some of the lunacy and arbitrary actions FB is occasionally guilty of. Ask anybody whose account has been automatically suspended - or who's site was taken down due to a purely bogus complaint from somebody with a grudge - how easy it is to talk to somebody and get FB's decision rescinded.
Doing your own site isn't that difficult or expensive. And there's plenty of professional design help available, as well as template driven site providers that can have you up and running in no time if all you want us a basic "business card" and band blog site that can also sell merchandise.
I see FB primarily as a workable supplement to a band's web presence. But that's me. I've got over 35 years working in IT, so my perspective is probably different from most people who don't have a similar background.
I haven't worked in IT as long as you but my perspective is slightly different. I agree with @Plutonium244 as stated below. I agree that it isn't that hard to create a professional looking website, I looked at the bottom page of the OP's friend's website, and it was built by Squarespace. The days of hand coding HTML is nearly gone, it's taught as a basis for understanding under the hood of automated HTML creation tools nowadays. Not to forget the wave of WordPress websites that are also free to create and hosted by almost all providers.
Agree. Facebook is kinda creepy if you ask me, at its core. I have never given it my phone number to "help secure" my account. I will not sign in to any other pages with my facebook account. I will not download the FB "messenger app" so that I can view a facebook message from my phone; I was able to view them on my phone before so I can only conclude that by changing things to make that impossible, they are trying to force me to communicate through their messenger for their own benefit, not mine.
The want to have all your movements and communications interconnected so they can have a complete map of everything you do, every site you visit, every person you message. Some day, if not now, they will use it to your detriment one way or the other, to compose a complete profile on you that they can exploit for profit.
And that kinda creeps me out.
I read tech news all the time, as well as national news. The way FB does business to me is equivalent to sleazeball business practices. I had sworn off FB for a decade after seeing my relatives have all-out wars on FB to try and out-humiliate each other. It just go plain embarrassing. I work with some nice young ladies and they've become good friends at work. They convinced me to get back on and I did, but I still don't visit much.
Well, this morning, I dropped in to see what was new, after all this discussion. There had been a drummer I worked with in the 80's that was pure BS. He stabbed me in the back but professed to call me "brother" and told me he loved me like a brother when my own brother died. He was from the Hollywood area and was as phoney as a 3 dollar bill. Well, he's sent me numerous 'friend' requests but I've always ignored them. He sent an email to me today, and F*ing FB automatically accepted his "friend" request so now I'm stuck with the SOB as my "friend?" And I guess nowadays some people are so addicted to FB that they go "postal" if you "unfriend" them...! FB is slimey all the way from it's creator, CEO, and staff down to people like the drummer who I avoided at all costs.
NOW, having said that, if you don't have a habit of falling into dysfunctional situations like I do, and can keep it professional, FB is another tool that can be used to greatly enhance a band's web presence. Nowadays, with the massive media blitz everyone experiences, every band needs every tool available to promote themselves. Don't forget Youtube can make instant media stars. Stroke of luck and timing and all that...
But to say a mainstream band doesn't need FB is like telling Noah he doesn't really need a boat for the upcoming rain season.
