27 Jul Website Only vs Website + Shop: A Meta Ads Setting Worth Avoiding
In markets where Facebook and Instagram Shop checkout exists, the conversion location setting on a Meta ads campaign offers a choice between Website only and Website + Shop. It’s worth thinking carefully before selecting the combined option — it can route some sales through Shop checkout with discounts that weren’t set by the advertiser, and limited visibility into why.
What the setting actually controls
This determines where Meta is allowed to send people to complete a purchase. Website-only keeps every conversion tied to your own site. Website + Shop opens up a second path: Meta may direct some purchases through Facebook or Instagram’s native Shop checkout instead, if it predicts that route will convert better for a given person.
Why this is worth being cautious about
Some advertisers running the combined setting have reported sales coming through with discounts applied that they never configured — pricing that doesn’t match what’s set on their own site. The exact mechanism behind this isn’t something Meta documents clearly from the advertiser’s side, and it’s not consistently reproducible or predictable. What is consistent: it introduces a layer of pricing and attribution that sits outside the advertiser’s direct control, on a channel (Shop) that isn’t the one most ecommerce businesses actively manage.
The practical recommendation
For most advertisers, especially those in regions where Shop checkout isn’t a core part of their sales strategy, sticking with Website only as the conversion location keeps every sale flowing through the channel you actually control — your own site, your own pricing, your own checkout experience. This isn’t about Shop being inherently bad; it’s about avoiding a setting whose behavior isn’t fully transparent when the simpler, fully-controlled alternative is right there.
Where this doesn’t apply
Not every region has Facebook or Instagram Shop checkout available at all. In markets without it, this choice isn’t really a choice — Website is simply the option, and there’s nothing to weigh. This is specifically a consideration for advertisers in regions where both options genuinely exist.
This breakdown is written by Jason Gan, a Meta Certified Professional and Badged Meta Business Partner who has personally audited over 1,000 advertiser accounts since 2010. You can see real account breakdowns on the Jason Gan YouTube channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I select Website or Website + Shop as my Meta ads conversion location? In regions where Facebook and Instagram Shop checkout is available, sticking with Website only is often the safer default. Selecting Website + Shop can let Meta route some sales through Shop checkout, sometimes with discounts applied that the advertiser didn’t set and has limited visibility into.
Does this Website + Shop setting apply everywhere? No — Facebook and Instagram Shop checkout isn’t available in every region. In markets where native Shop functionality doesn’t exist, this specific choice isn’t relevant, and Website is simply the only real option.
Why would Meta apply discounts on sales through Shop without my input? This isn’t officially documented behavior, but it’s something advertisers have observed: sales attributed to Shop sometimes come with discounting that wasn’t configured by the advertiser. The exact mechanism isn’t fully transparent from the advertiser’s side, which is part of why some prefer avoiding the combined destination altogether.
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