Do I need a website if I have Instagram or Facebook?

By Hanbrook Studio · 24 September 2026 · 5 minute read

Plenty of small businesses run perfectly well from an Instagram or Facebook page, and plenty of owners wonder whether a website is worth the money. The honest answer is: social media is great, but it isn’t yours, and it doesn’t do every job a website does. Here’s how to decide.

What social media does well

Let’s give it its due. Instagram and Facebook are brilliant for:

• Showing your work as it happens: today’s bakes, a finished kitchen, a before-and-after.
• Staying in touch with people who already know you.
• Being found by locals who scroll, share and tag friends.
• Costing nothing to set up.

If you’re just starting out, testing an idea, or your customers are mostly regulars and word of mouth, a well-run social page may be enough for now.

Where relying only on social media falls down

You don’t own it

Your page lives on someone else’s platform, under their rules. Accounts get hacked, suspended by mistake, or locked while you wait weeks for help. The platform can change what gets seen overnight, so a post that used to reach thousands might now reach a few dozen. If your whole business is on one account and it disappears, so does your shop window.

People search on Google, not Instagram

When someone needs a plumber, a dentist or a birthday cake, most of them type it into Google: “cake shop Leicester”, “emergency electrician near me”. Social pages do show up sometimes, but a proper website with clear pages about what you do and where you do it gives you a much better chance of appearing in those searches.

Not everyone has an account

Some people don’t use Instagram or Facebook at all, and some won’t log in just to see your prices. Others are put off by pop-ups asking them to sign in. A website opens for everyone, on any device, instantly.

It’s hard to find the basics

Your opening hours, prices, service area and how to book are often buried in old posts, highlights or a short bio. A website puts the answers to “what do you do, how much, where, and how do I get in touch?” right in front of people.

Trust

For bigger purchases, such as a new website, a kitchen, a treatment or a wedding cake, people often check whether a business has a proper website before they get in touch. Fair or not, a professional site signals that you’re established and serious. That matters most when a customer is choosing between you and a competitor.

A website and social media work best together

This isn’t either-or. The strongest setup for most small businesses is:

• Social media to show what you’re up to, stay visible and bring people in.
• A website as your home base: the place those people land to see your services, check prices, read reviews and get in touch.

Think of social as the conversation and your website as the shop. Every post can point back to your site, and your site can show your latest posts so it always feels current.

Signs you’re ready for a website

• You keep answering the same questions in your DMs: prices, hours, availability, areas covered.
• Customers say they “couldn’t find you” when they searched online.
• You want to take bookings, enquiries or orders without doing it all by message.
• You’re competing for bigger jobs and want to look the part.
• You’d be in real trouble if your social account vanished tomorrow.

If two or more of those sound familiar, a website will probably pay for itself.

What a good small business website needs

It doesn’t need to be huge. For most local businesses, four or five pages do the job:

• Home: what you do, who for, and where, in one glance.
• Services: each main service explained simply, with prices or “from” prices if you can.
• About: who you are. People buy from people.
• Work or gallery: your best photos, which you already have from social media.
• Contact: a simple form, phone number, email and your area or address.

Above all, it should load quickly and look great on a phone, because that’s where most of your visitors will be, and many will arrive straight from your social posts.

What if money is tight?

Start small. A simple, well-made site that answers the basic questions is far better than no site, and far better than a sprawling one you never update. You can add pages, bookings or a shop later. Our bespoke websites start from £500, and there are DIY website builders if you’d rather do it yourself to begin with.

The bottom line

Keep your social media. It’s doing a job. But give your business a home you own, one that Google can find, everyone can open, and that answers customers’ questions before they have to ask. Your Instagram brings people to the door. Your website lets them in.

Related: Website design. See how we build websites that work alongside your social media.