Read this firstHow Facebook is put together
Facebook confuses people because there are two separate things, and you need both. Understanding this in the next sixty seconds will save you an hour of frustration.
1. Your personal account
A profile in your own real name. This is your key to the building — it's how you log in. Facebook requires one. You cannot create a business presence without it.
2. Your business Page
A separate public page in your business name. This is what customers find, follow and message. It lives attached to your personal account, but it is not the same thing.
"Will customers see my personal profile?" No. Visitors to your Page cannot see who runs it. Facebook's Page Transparency panel shows only how many people manage the Page and which countries they're in — never names, photos or profiles. Your personal account stays private unless you choose to comment as yourself.
Is there any way to skip the personal account?
Realistically, no. Meta offers something called a Managed Meta Account that lets staff log in with company credentials instead of a personal profile, but it is invitation-only for large organizations and cannot be requested by a small business.
The most common beginner mistake is creating a second, fake personal profile "just for the business" — with the business name in the name field. This breaks Facebook's real-name rules. When it gets caught, the profile is deleted and the Page attached to it goes with it. Use your real name on the personal account. That is what it is for.
What about Meta Business Suite?
You'll see it mentioned everywhere. It's a third, optional layer — a dashboard for managing Pages, ads and team access. You do not need it to create or run a Page. Part 5 covers it, and tells you honestly when it's worth setting up and when it isn't.
Part 1Before you start
Gather these first. Stopping halfway to hunt for a logo is how people abandon setup.
Must have
- An email address you control. A business address is ideal, but any working inbox is fine.
- A phone number that can receive text messages. Facebook may text you a code.
- Your real legal name for the personal account.
- Your business name, spelled exactly as you want customers to see it.
- A category for your business — "Hair Salon", "Plumber", "Restaurant". You'll pick from Facebook's list.
Strongly recommended
- A logo or profile image — see the size table below.
- A cover photo — a wide banner image across the top of your Page.
- One or two sentences describing what you do. Write this before you start; you'll be asked for it.
- Your business phone, email, address (or service area if you travel to customers) and opening hours.
- Your website address, if you have one.
Image sizes
| Profile picture | 320 × 320 pixels | Square. It gets cropped into a circle in posts and ads, so keep your logo or face in the middle and leave breathing room at the edges. PNG is best for logos and text; JPG is fine for photos. |
| Cover photo | 851 × 315 pixels | Wide banner. Phones and computers crop this differently, so keep any text or logo centered — the edges may not show. Minimum accepted is 400 × 150. Aim for under 100 KB so it loads fast. |
Don't let it block you. Start with a clean photo of your storefront, your work, or your product on a plain background. You can change both images at any time, as often as you like.
Only needed later — not now
You do not need business documents, a tax ID, or a registered company to create a Page. Those only come up if you later verify your business for advertising or WhatsApp automation. Part 5 explains when.
Part 2Create your personal Facebook account
Skip straight to Part 3. You do not need a new one, and creating a second personal account is against Facebook's rules.
This takes about five minutes. Use a computer if you have one — the form is on a single screen and easier to check before submitting.
On a computerOpen your web browser and go to facebook.com
Click the green Create new account button.
Enter your First name and Last name.
Use the name people actually know you by. No symbols, no numbers, no job titles, no unusual capitalisation — Facebook's system rejects these automatically.
Enter your mobile number or email address. One is enough — you don't need both.
Tip: use an email address rather than a phone number if you'd like to keep your number private. You can add the phone later for account recovery.
Create a password. Make it long and unique — at least 12 characters, and not a password you use anywhere else.
Set your date of birth using the three dropdown menus.
Enter your real date of birth. See the warning below — this matters more than it used to.
Choose Female, Male, or Custom.
Click Sign Up.
Facebook sends a confirmation code to your email or phone. Find it and type it in.
If it doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your spam folder. Full fix list is in Part 6.
You're in. Don't do anything else yet — go straight to Part 3.
Identical information, but the app spreads it across several screens instead of one form. Install the official Facebook app from the App Store or Google Play, tap Create new account, and work through the screens: name, birthday, gender, email or phone, password, then the confirmation code.
Since May 2026, Meta uses automated systems to estimate whether an account holder is a teenager — even when an adult birthday is listed. Accounts flagged as belonging to under-18s get placed into restricted "Teen Account" protections, which quietly limits reach and messaging. Correcting a wrongly-set age later requires submitting government ID. A made-up birthday is one of the fastest ways to hobble a brand-new business presence.
Turn on two-factor authentication. It takes three minutes and it is the single most valuable thing you will do today. A new account with no protection is exactly what account thieves look for — and if your personal account is stolen, your Page goes with it. Full instructions are in Part 5, and it is worth jumping ahead to do it right now.
A quiet warning about brand-new accounts
Facebook's automated systems watch new accounts closely. An account created twenty minutes ago that immediately builds a Page, sends fifty friend requests and posts repeatedly looks — to a computer — exactly like a spam operation. Real businesses get caught in this net every day.
Protect yourself: add a profile photo, turn on two-factor authentication, and let the account exist for a day or two before you start inviting people. Creating the Page right away is fine. Mass-inviting hundreds of people on day one is not.
Part 3Create your business Page
The actual creation takes about two minutes. Facebook then walks you through a short setup wizard, which is Part 4.
If you find a guide that tells you to choose between Business or Brand and Community or Public Figure, it is out of date — that screen no longer exists. The current flow is a single short form.
You can also reach it by clicking the Pages icon in the left-hand menu, then Create new Page.
Make sure you're logged into your personal account, then go to facebook.com/pages/create
Page name. Enter your business name — or, more precisely, the name people are most likely to type when searching for you.
"Marie's Kitchen" beats "Marie's Kitchen LLC". Keep it under 75 characters. You can change it later, but early changes can trigger a review, so get it right now.
Category. Start typing what you do and Facebook suggests matching options. Pick the closest fit.
You can select up to three categories. Two or three genuinely relevant ones help people find you; padding it with loosely-related categories does not.
Bio. One short sentence on what you do and who you do it for. Technically optional — write one anyway.
Example: "Family-run bakery in East Dallas. Fresh bread daily, custom cakes to order."
Click the blue Create Page button.
Your Page now exists. Facebook drops you straight into the setup wizard — continue to Part 4.
On a phoneOpen the Facebook app and tap the menu icon (three lines).
Tap Pages. It may be tucked under See more.
Tap Create, then Get started.
Enter your business name → Next.
Choose a category → Next.
Add a bio → Create.
Upload your profile picture and cover photo when prompted.
The phone app deliberately keeps setup short. Details like opening hours, full address, website and the action button are far easier to fill in on a computer. Create it on your phone if that's all you have — then sit down at a computer later and complete Part 4 properly.
Part 4Finish the Page properly
Facebook's wizard runs through these steps in order. A half-finished Page looks abandoned — this part is what makes it look like a real business.
Step 1 — Contact details
You'll be asked for your location, hours, website, phone and email. All of it is optional, and you can leave out anything you'd rather not publish. But every field you fill in is one more way a customer can reach you.
- Address — add it if customers come to you. If you travel to customers instead, set a service area rather than your home address.
- Hours — worth setting even for a small operation. Facebook shows an Open now / Closed label that customers genuinely look at.
- Website — include the full address starting with https://
- Phone and email — use business contacts, not personal ones, if you can.
Click Next when done.
Step 2 — Photos and your action button
Upload your profile photo and cover image (sizes in Part 1). Facebook shows a preview with a toggle between desktop and mobile views — check both, because the cover crops differently on each.
Then choose your action button — the prominent button at the top of your Page. Pick the one thing you most want a visitor to do:
If you take bookings
Book now or Reserve — pointed at your booking page.
If you want enquiries
Send message or Call now — the lowest-friction options.
If you sell online
Shop now — pointed at your store.
If you're not sure
Send message. It works for every kind of business and you can change it any time.
Step 3 — Connect WhatsApp (optional)
If you plan to use WhatsApp for customer messages, you can link the number here. If you haven't set up WhatsApp Business yet, tap Skip — Guide 5 in this series covers it, and you can link the two later.
Step 4 — Invite friends
Facebook offers to invite your personal friends to like the Page. Inviting a handful of people who would genuinely care is good. Mass-inviting everyone you've ever met is a fast way to get flagged as spam — and an audience of people with no interest in your business hurts your reach later.
Step 5 — Notifications
Choose whether Page notifications appear on your personal profile, and whether you want marketing emails from Meta. Turn Page notifications on — you want to know when a customer messages. Marketing emails are safe to decline. Click Done.
Now set your username (@handle)
This isn't part of the wizard, so almost everyone forgets it. Your username is your Page's short web address — facebook.com/yourbusiness instead of a long string of numbers. It's what you put on business cards.
- 5 to 50 characters.
- Letters, numbers and periods only — no spaces, hyphens or underscores.
- It gets converted to lowercase automatically.
- Match your other social handles if you can. Consistency makes you easier to find.
Older guides claim you need 25 followers before you can claim a username. That requirement has been removed — you can set yours immediately, on a Page with zero followers. Do it now, before someone else takes the name.
The five-minute quality check
Look at your Page as a stranger would and make sure a visitor can answer all five of these in under ten seconds:
- What is this business? — clear from the name, category and bio
- Is it real? — proper profile photo and cover, not blank placeholders
- Where is it? — address or service area shown
- Is it open? — hours filled in
- How do I act on this? — a working action button and at least one contact method
Part 5Lock it down & connect it
Two-factor authentication — do this today
Two-factor authentication means that even if someone steals your password, they still can't get in without a code from your phone. Business Pages are stolen constantly, and it almost always happens through an unprotected personal account.
You'll be offered several methods. In order of preference:
| Authentication app | Best choice. A free app — Google Authenticator, Authy, or the one built into your password manager — generates a fresh code every 30 seconds. Works even with no phone signal, and cannot be intercepted. |
| Security key | A physical USB or wireless key. The most secure option, but overkill for most small businesses. |
| Text message | Better than nothing, and easiest to set up. Weaker than the others because phone numbers can be hijacked, but if the choice is SMS or nothing, choose SMS. |
Facebook gives you a set of one-time recovery codes when you turn on 2FA. Save them somewhere that isn't your phone — printed and in a drawer, or in a password manager. If you lose your phone without them, getting back into your own account is genuinely difficult.
Facebook also supports passkeys — signing in with your fingerprint, face, or phone lock instead of a password. If you see the option, it's worth turning on.
Adding someone else to your Page
Never share your password. Add people properly instead, so you can remove their access later without changing anything.
| Facebook access — Full control |
Can do everything, including managing settings, changing who else has access, and deleting the Page. Give this only to yourself and a genuine co-owner. |
| Facebook access — Partial control |
Can post, reply to messages and manage comments, but cannot change settings or access. The right choice for staff and helpers. |
| Task access | Works only through business tools like Meta Business Suite, not directly on Facebook. For agencies and contractors. |
Connecting Instagram
Linking the two lets you post to both at once and handle all your messages in one inbox. Your Instagram account must be a professional account first — see Guide 2.
Connecting WhatsApp
This puts a WhatsApp button on your Page so visitors can start a chat in one tap.
Do you need Meta Business Suite?
Meta Business Suite is a free dashboard at business.facebook.com. Underneath it sits a business portfolio — the container that formally owns your Page, ad account and other assets. Meta used to call this "Business Manager"; you'll still see the old name in most tutorials online.
You don't need it if…
You're one person, posting and replying to messages, not running paid advertising. A Page on its own does all of that. Skip this section entirely.
You do need it if…
You want multiple team members with different permissions, a proper ad account with separate billing, an agency managing your ads, business verification, or WhatsApp automation.
Creating a business portfolio
Go to business.facebook.com and log in with your personal Facebook account.
Fill in the form: your official business name, your full name, and a business email address.
Click Submit.
Open the confirmation email and verify the address. Your portfolio is now active.
Add your Page and Instagram account as assets, and invite team members if you have them.
Each personal Facebook profile can create a maximum of two business portfolios. After that the option is greyed out. If you manage several businesses, get added to their existing portfolios as a partner rather than trying to create more.
Business verification — and when it actually matters
Verification is not required to have a Page. It comes up when you want WhatsApp automation, cross-account advertising audiences, higher ad spend, or if you advertise in a regulated field like finance or crypto.
You'll typically need two documents: one proving your legal business name, one proving your address or phone number. Meta accepts:
- Certificate or Articles of Incorporation
- Business registration or licence
- Government-issued business tax document (self-filed documents are not accepted)
- Business bank statement
- Utility bill — only for proving address or phone, never legal name
Inconsistent information. What you type into the form must match your documents character for character — including "Street" vs "St", "LLC" vs "L.L.C.", and every space and comma. Documents must also be unexpired and usually dated within the last three to six months. Review typically takes one to three weeks.
These are two different things and people mix them up constantly. Business verification is free, document-based, and unlocks features. Meta Verified is a paid monthly subscription that gives you the blue badge, impersonation protection and human customer support. You do not need either one to run a successful Page.
Part 6When things go wrong
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| The confirmation code never arrived | Check your spam and junk folders first — that's where most of them are. For text messages, confirm you selected the right country code. Wait a full two minutes before requesting a resend; rapid repeat requests can trigger a temporary block. If one method fails entirely, sign up using the other one. |
| "This phone number is already in use" | The number is attached to an existing or forgotten account. Either recover that old account using Forgot password and remove the number from it, or simply sign up with an email address instead. |
| My name was rejected | Facebook's real-name policy blocks symbols, numbers, professional titles and unusual capitalisation. Remove anything that isn't a plain name. Enter your business name on the Page, never on the personal profile. |
| My account was disabled immediately | Usually a false positive from automated fake-account detection — often triggered by an unusual name, a suspected underage birthday, or signing up during an enforcement sweep. Go to facebook.com/login/identify and use Request a Review or Appeal. If asked for government ID, provide it — name-related lockouts are resolved fastest that way. Expect anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, with no progress updates in between. |
| "You must be 13 or older" | The minimum is 13 globally and up to 16 in some European countries. If you entered your birthday wrong, you'll need government ID or Meta's facial age-estimation to correct it. Get it right the first time. |
| My Page isn't showing up for anyone | Check whether it's published: in your Page settings, look for Page visibility and make sure it isn't set to unpublished. If Meta unpublished it for a policy reason, you'll find an explanation and an appeal link in your Page's support or account status area. |
| Everything got flagged and I don't know why | Facebook watches for patterns that look automated: several Pages run from one browser and IP address, bursts of friend requests, repeated identical posts, or heavy activity from an account created hours ago. Slow down, complete your profile properly, turn on two-factor authentication, and give the account a few days of normal use. |
| "Unable to access Meta Business Suite" | This error commonly appears when there's no Page attached to your account yet. Create your Page first, then return to business.facebook.com. |
| I can't create another business portfolio | You've hit the limit of two per personal profile. Ask to be added to the existing portfolio as a person or partner instead. |
Do not use a VPN or a virtual phone number to get around a block. Both make you look more like a spammer, not less, and disposable numbers get recycled — leaving you permanently locked out of your own account recovery.
Do not follow "tricks" for force-unlocking features. Any guide telling you to create a developer app to force the verification button, or similar workarounds, is describing exactly the behaviour that gets new business accounts flagged.
ReferenceQuick summary
Phone vs computer — where each thing is easier
| Task | Best on | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Creating the personal account | Either | Computer shows everything on one screen and is easier to check. |
| Creating the Page | Either | Both work. The phone version is shorter. |
| Hours, address, website | Computer | The phone app hides most of these fields. |
| Action button setup | Computer | More options and a live preview. |
| Setting the @username | Computer | Easier to find under the About section. |
| Two-factor authentication | Either | Different menu paths — both listed in Part 5. |
| Posting and replying daily | Phone | Faster, and notifications reach you. |
| Business Suite & verification | Computer | Genuinely painful on a phone. |
The whole thing, in order
- Gather your details, logo and cover image
- Create your personal Facebook account with your real name and real birthday
- Turn on two-factor authentication and save the recovery codes
- Go to facebook.com/pages/create and create your Page
- Complete the wizard: contact details, photos, action button
- Set your @username under About
- Do the five-minute quality check
- Connect Instagram and WhatsApp if you use them
- Add team members through Page Access — never by sharing a password
- Set up Meta Business Suite only if you actually need it
This guide was written in August 2026 and reflects Facebook's flow at that time. Meta changes button labels and menu positions frequently. If a screen doesn't look exactly like the description here, the underlying steps are almost always the same — look for wording that means the same thing.