I hear this one all the time, usually from businesses doing really well on social: “My Facebook’s busy and my Instagram’s growing — do I actually need a website too?”
It’s a fair question, and I’m not going to pretend the answer is a simple “yes, obviously.” Social media is genuinely brilliant for a lot of small businesses. But there are a few things it just can’t do, and they’re the things that quietly cost you customers. Let me talk you through it honestly.
The big one: social media is rented ground
This is the point that matters most. Your Facebook page and your Instagram account aren’t yours. You’re a tenant. The platform decides who sees your posts, changes the rules whenever it likes, and can restrict, suspend or delete an account overnight — sometimes by mistake, with no way to appeal. People lose accounts they’ve spent years building, through no fault of their own.
Your website is the one place online that’s genuinely yours. Nobody can take it away, throttle your reach, or bury you under an algorithm change. Everything else you do online should point back to something you actually own.
What a website does that social can’t
It gets you found on Google. When someone searches “dog groomer near me” or “café in Southport”, social profiles rarely show up — websites and Google Business Profiles do. If you’re not turning up in those searches, you’re invisible to everyone who doesn’t already follow you. That’s a lot of lost custom.
It answers the practical questions in one place. Your opening hours, your prices, exactly what you do, where you are, how to book. On social that’s scattered across old posts and buried in DMs. On a website it’s clear, reliable and always up to date.
It builds trust fast. Loads of people will find you on social, get interested, and then — before they get in touch — go looking for your website to check you’re legit. If there isn’t one, some of them quietly drift off. A proper site is a signal that you’re an established, serious business.
It works the way you want it to. No character limits, no algorithm deciding who sees it, no distractions from competitors’ ads right next to your post. Your website says exactly what you want, to everyone who lands on it, and guides them to the one thing you want them to do next.
So is social media a waste of time? Not at all
Here’s the bit some web designers won’t tell you: for many small businesses, social media is the better tool for a lot of jobs. It’s perfect for showing personality, posting your latest work, building a following and staying in front of people day to day. A salon or a café that’s brilliant on Instagram should absolutely keep at it.
The mistake isn’t using social media. The mistake is using it instead of a website, rather than alongside one.
The way they actually work best together
Think of it like this:
- Social media catches attention and builds a relationship.
- Your website turns that attention into a booking, a sale or an enquiry — and gets you found by the people who aren’t on social at all.
- Your Google Business Profile ties it together and puts you on the map (literally).
Use social to catch the eye, your website to seal the deal, and you’ve got something far stronger than either on its own.
When can you get away without a website?
I’ll be straight with you — sometimes you can, for a while. If you’re just starting out, testing an idea, or you’re a tiny operation running entirely on word of mouth and repeat regulars, a well-run Facebook page and a Google Business Profile might genuinely be enough to begin with.
But the moment you want to be found by new customers who don’t already know you, look credible to people comparing their options, or stop losing enquiries to a competitor whose site turns up first — that’s when a website stops being optional.
The honest summary
You don’t need a website to replace your social media. You need one to do the jobs social media can’t: get you found on Google, answer the practical questions, build trust, and give you a home online that’s actually yours.
If you’re weighing it up for your own business and want a straight opinion — including an honest “you’re probably fine as you are for now” if that’s the case — drop me a message. And if you’d like to see what I’d actually build for you, here’s what I do.