Resources
Do I actually need a website, or is Instagram enough?
A straight answer, not a sales pitch: it depends what you're trying to do, and for some businesses the honest answer right now is no.
Plenty of businesses run entirely on Instagram and a Google Business Profile, and do fine. A website isn't a requirement to exist. It's a tool, and like any tool, it's worth it when it does a job you actually need done.
When a website genuinely matters
- You want people to find you from a Google search, not just people already following you
- You want to take orders or bookings without a back-and-forth in someone's DMs
- You want somewhere that's actually yours, that a platform can't change the rules on overnight
- You're tired of re-typing your hours, menu, or price list every time someone asks
When social media might genuinely be enough, for now
If you're a one-person operation testing an idea, mostly getting customers through word of mouth or local Facebook groups, and you're not missing enquiries because you don't have a website, there's no rule that says you need one yet. A website is worth building when the thing it would fix is actually costing you something: missed searches, lost orders, or time spent answering the same questions over and over.
The real risk of social-only
The business isn't really yours if it only exists on someone else's platform. Reach on Instagram or Facebook can drop overnight when the algorithm changes, and an account can be suspended with no warning and very little recourse. A website is the one piece of your online presence nobody else controls.
A simple way to decide
If you can point to a specific thing a website would fix, like customers who can't find your hours, or orders you're currently taking by phone one at a time, it's probably time. If you can't, it's fine to wait. When you're ready, see website vs. social media for how the two actually work together.