Does Your Business Need a Website If You Have Instagram?
Plenty of small businesses start on Instagram or Facebook, and some do very well there. So is a website still worth it? For most local businesses, yes — and here's why the two work best together.
By Peak Studio · 6 min read
What social media does well
Social platforms are excellent for showing personality, sharing your latest work, announcing specials and staying in front of people who already follow you. They're free to start and feel immediate. For visual businesses — salons, bakeries, landscapers, tattoo studios — they can be a real source of customers.
You don't own your social media account
The biggest issue is control. The platform decides who sees your posts, and organic reach can drop overnight when algorithms change. Accounts can be hacked or restricted, sometimes with little recourse. Your website and domain, on the other hand, are yours.
Many customers search Google, not Instagram
When someone needs a plumber at 9pm or wants to compare three caterers, they usually search on Google. Social profiles can appear in search results, but a website with clear service pages gives Google much more to work with and gives you a much better chance of appearing for specific searches like "deck builder Bradford".
Important information gets buried in feeds
Hours, prices, service areas, menus and policies get lost under newer posts. A customer shouldn't have to scroll through months of photos to find out whether you serve their town. A website puts that information in one permanent, easy-to-find place.
A website adds credibility
Fair or not, many people see a proper website as a sign that a business is established and serious — especially for bigger purchases like renovations or professional services. Some also prefer not to message a business through a personal social account.
The best setup: use both
Think of social media as the place people discover and remember you, and your website as the place they go to decide and get in touch. Link your website in your bio, link your social profiles from your site, and use posts to point people toward booking or quoting on your website.