Website vs. Social Media: Do You Still Need a Website?

A Clutch survey published in August 2025 found that 83% of small businesses now have a website. Of the 17% that don’t, over a third said a website isn’t relevant and they rely on social media or marketplaces instead. But a DreamHost survey of 1,200+ US consumers (November 2025) found that 58% often or always check a business’s website to confirm what they saw on social media, Google, or AI tools.

For most small businesses, the answer is yes, you still need a website. Social media is good for being discovered and for talking with customers, but a website is the one place you own, control, and can point every search, ad, and profile toward. Using social media with your website, rather than instead of it, covers both jobs. This guide explains how, with costs, common mistakes, and a 90-day plan.

What Using Social Media With Your Website Means

The two do different work, which is why one can’t fully replace the other:

Both matter because your customers use both. Pew Research’s 2025 survey found that 84% of U.S. adults use YouTube, 71% use Facebook, and 50% use Instagram, so you’ll want a presence where they already are. And customers still look for proof. DreamHost’s survey, which comes from a web hosting company, also found that 45% of consumers say businesses without websites feel less “real.”

Why Social Alone Is Risky

When your whole business lives on someone else’s platform, a single decision can take it away. A few documented cases:

• In 2025, local news outlets in Milwaukee and Denver reported small business owners whose Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended, in some cases over accusations they say were false, with appeals going unanswered for weeks.
• Meta has said it hasn’t seen an increase in incorrect suspensions, according to RNZ’s October 2025 reporting. So these cases show the risk, not how common it is.
• Platform-hosted websites can disappear too. In March 2024, Google began redirecting the free websites made with Business Profiles to the profile itself, and the redirect ended on June 10, 2024.

The lesson isn’t to leave social media. It’s to own the pieces that can’t be taken away: your domain name, your website, and your customer list.

A Step-by-Step Framework

Step 1: Give your website one job

Decide what a visitor should do: book, call, buy, or request a quote. Everything on the site should lead to that one action.

Step 2: Build a small, solid site first

You don’t need 30 pages. A focused site works better than a big, half-finished one. Plan on these:

• A home page that says what you do, where, and for whom.
• One page for each main service, with a price or price range if you can.
• An about or contact page with your address, hours, phone, and real photos.
• A booking or contact button on every page, working on a phone.

Register the domain in your own name, and use an email address on it. That single step keeps you in control.

Step 3: Connect social and website

• Put your website in every social profile’s bio, and point it at your booking or contact page, not just the home page.
• Add the same website to your Google Business Profile.
• Add social icons to your site’s footer or contact page.
• Keep your name, address, phone, and hours identical everywhere.

Step 4: Let each side feed the other

Use social media to show your work and answer questions, and end posts with one clear step toward your site. Use your website to hold the proof: reviews, price lists, FAQs, and booking, which social posts can point to. A short video of a finished project, for example, can link to the matching service page.

Step 5: Capture contacts you own

Offer an email or text sign-up on your site and at the counter. Use clear consent wording, never pre-check a box, record when and how people agreed, and honor opt-outs. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide requires commercial email to include your valid physical postal address and a clear way to opt out. Ask your attorney to review your wording, especially for text messages.

Step 6: Measure what social sends to your site

• Tag the links in your bios and posts so Google Analytics shows social traffic separately.
• Count bookings, calls, form submissions, and email sign-ups, not just visits.
• Ask every new customer, “How did you hear about us?” and keep a tally.

A Worked Example: A Neighborhood Salon

This is a made-up scenario, not a client result, and it contains no performance numbers on purpose.

• Before: a salon takes bookings through Instagram messages, has no website, and its Facebook page is the only listing on the web.
• Weeks 1 to 4: the owner registers a domain, builds a four-page site with prices and a booking button, and links it in her profiles and Google listing.
• Weeks 5 to 8: she posts finished looks on Instagram, each pointing to the booking page, and tags her links.
• Weeks 9 to 12: she adds an email sign-up with consent and compares bookings from Instagram, Google, and referrals.

At day 90 she’d look for clear answers: which source brought bookings, what the setup cost, and whether to keep doing it herself or get help.

Tools and Budget: Free vs Paid

Published website prices vary widely, mostly from agencies and software vendors, so treat them as ranges. These come from 2026 sources:

Those figures exclude ongoing costs such as hosting, domain renewal, and updates.

• Free to start: a domain-based email, a DIY builder’s free or low-cost plan, Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, and your social profiles. Free plans often have limits or ads, so check the terms.
• Restaurants: menus, hours, and ordering links matter most. See our comparison of best website builder for restaurants options.
• Pay when you need it: custom design, online booking or ordering, ongoing updates, and tracking set-up.

Whoever builds it, ask: Will the domain be registered in my name? Who holds the hosting login? What happens to the site if I cancel?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating social media as your only home. A suspended account then takes your whole presence with it.
• Letting someone else own your domain. If an agency or freelancer registered it in their name, you may not be able to move the site.
• Linking to a home page that buries the booking button. Send bio traffic straight to the action.
• Inconsistent details. Different hours or phone numbers across profiles confuse customers and search engines.
• Starting with a big site. Launch a small one and grow it.
• Skipping tracking. Without tagged links and conversion counts, you can’t tell what’s working.
• Collecting contacts without consent. Emailing or texting people who didn’t opt in breaks the rules and hurts deliverability.
• Using images you don’t have rights to. Use your own photos or properly licensed ones, and ask customers before featuring theirs.

Your 30-60-90 Day Plan

FAQ: Website vs. Social Media

Do I need a website if I have social media?

Most small businesses should have one. A website gives you a home you own, a place to verify your details, and a way to take bookings that doesn’t depend on a platform’s rules.

Can I use my Facebook page as my website?

You can start there, but it’s rented space. Pages can be suspended or change features, so treat it as a supplement, not your only home.

Is Instagram enough for a small business?

It’s enough to start showing your work. For bookings, prices, and proof that people can verify, a simple website adds what Instagram can’t.

How much does a small business website cost?

Sources from 2026 put DIY builders at about $0 to $50 a month, freelancers at $500 to $5,000, and small agencies at $3,000 to $15,000. Add hosting, domain, and updates.

What should a small business website include?

A clear home page, service pages, contact details, real photos, and one visible action, such as book or call.

How do I link social media to my website?

Put a tagged link to your booking or contact page in every bio, end posts with one next step, and add social icons to your site.

Sources (checked Oct 2026): Clutch via Business Wire (Aug 21, 2025) · DreamHost, 2026 Local Business Trust Index (survey Nov 2025; DreamHost is a web hosting company) · Pew Research Center, Americans’ Social Media Use 2025 (Nov 20, 2025) · TMJ4, Milwaukee business owners and Meta suspensions (2025) · Denver7, Coloradans and Meta suspensions (2025) · RNZ via TVNZ, Meta suspensions (Oct 1, 2025) · Wordtracker, Google turns off Business Profile websites (Jan 16, 2024) · DEV Community, website cost (2026) · Merge, website design cost (Apr 23, 2026) · Levitate, website design cost (2026) · FTC, CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide. Cost figures come from vendors and agencies, and survey results may reflect the sponsor’s interests. This article is general information, not legal advice. The worked example is an illustrative scenario, not a client result.