Do you still need a website if you are on Instagram and Facebook?

It is a fair question, and we hear it a lot. You already post regularly, customers message you through Instagram, and the Facebook page has your opening hours on it. Why pay for a website as well?

The short answer is that, in most cases, you do still need one. Not because social media is bad, but because the two do different jobs.

What social media is good at

Social media is excellent at staying in touch with people who already know you. Showing new work, announcing a seasonal menu, sharing behind-the-scenes photos, answering a quick question in messages. If you do it well, it builds a following that genuinely brings in business.

None of what follows is an argument against it. Keep doing it.

What it is not good at

Being found by people who have never heard of you

When someone needs a plumber, a cleaner or a restaurant, they usually search. On Google, on Maps, and increasingly by asking an AI assistant. Those tools draw heavily on websites. A social profile can show up, but a clear website that says what you do and where you do it is far more likely to be the thing that answers the search.

Keeping important information easy to find

Social media is a feed. Your prices, the areas you cover and how to book are buried somewhere under three months of posts. A website keeps that information in one stable place, the same every time someone looks.

Being yours

Your social accounts live on someone else's platform, under someone else's rules. Accounts get hacked, locked or restricted, sometimes with no clear way back. The algorithm decides how many of your own followers see each post. A website on your own domain is the one bit of your online presence that nobody else controls.

Being open to everyone

Not everyone has an Instagram or Facebook account, and the platforms increasingly nudge people who are not logged in to sign up before they can keep browsing. A website opens for anyone, on any device, with no account required.

Building trust

When someone is about to spend real money, or let a business into their home, many will look for a proper website as a basic sign that the business is established. Fair or not, a business that exists only on social media can look less permanent.

When social media alone might be enough

To be fair, there are situations where it can work for a while. If you are testing an idea, if nearly all your customers come from word of mouth, or if you are a very visual business with a loyal local following, a strong social presence may be enough to start with.

Even then, it is worth setting up a free Google Business Profile so you appear on Maps, and planning for a website once the business is established.

The minimum a website needs to do

A small business website does not need to be large. It needs to answer five questions quickly, especially on a phone:

• What do you do?
• Where do you do it?
• When are you open, or available?
• Roughly what does it cost, or how do I get a quote?
• How do I get in touch, or book?

Link your social accounts from the website, and your website from your social accounts. Used together, each makes the other more useful.

Common questions