Why web page when I have social media?

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn play a significant role in marketing. It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to rely solely on these platforms to reach customers. However, while social media is powerful, it is not a complete solution. A dedicated website offers a level of control, professionalism, and long-term stability that social networks simply can’t match.

In fact, about 21% of small business owners market exclusively via social media without a website. This is a strategy that can backfire. Below, we explore why a website should be the central pillar of your digital ecosystem and why every entrepreneur needs one, even if you already have an active social media following.

Your Website as the Central Hub of a Digital Ecosystem

Think of your website as the home base for your business online, a centralized hub where all digital roads lead. It’s the one place that ties together every channel: social media profiles, email newsletters, search engine traffic, and online advertising. All the essential information about your business, products, services, story, and contact details, lives on your website, making it the authoritative source for your audience.

While social media excels at engagement and newsletters keep loyal customers informed, your website is the one channel you fully own and control. It isn’t subject to someone else’s algorithms or policy changes. You can seamlessly integrate all parts of your strategy through your site: your Facebook and Instagram posts can invite followers to read more on your blog, Google searches will point people to your pages, and email campaigns will link to landing pages on your site for conversions.

The result is a cohesive digital ecosystem with your website as the foundation, supported by social platforms and other channels rather than dependent on them.

Complete Ownership and Control of Content

A major advantage of having your own website is total control over your content and brand presentation. On your site, you decide how to showcase your business, from the design and navigation to the messaging and media. By contrast, on social networks you’re confined to the platform’s formats and at the mercy of its algorithms.

Here are a few key ways a website gives you control that social media cannot:

• No algorithm gatekeepers: On a website, every visitor can see the content you publish, in the way you intend. On social media, your posts might reach only a fraction of your followers due to algorithm changes or pay-to-play constraints. With a site, there’s no unseen algorithm deciding who gets to view your updates.
• Unlimited design and functionality: Your website can look and function exactly as you envision. You have freedom to choose branding elements, layout, and interactive features (forms, chatbots, e-commerce, etc.) that suit your business. Social media pages, on the other hand, all follow a generic format with limited customization.
• Permanent content availability: Content on your website remains accessible and easy to find for as long as you want. Blog posts, product pages or FAQs can continue to attract and inform visitors over time. Social media posts have a fleeting lifespan and quickly get buried in feeds, making it hard for users to find past information.

Crucially, you own the content and the platform when it’s your website. By contrast, your social media profiles exist on someone else’s infrastructure and are subject to their rules.

If a platform decides to suspend your account or change its policies, you could lose contact with your audience overnight. With a website, you’re not risking your entire online presence on a third-party platform’s whims. Full ownership means you maintain control of your brand narrative and customer experience at all times.

Credibility and Professionalism

A well-designed website lends immediate credibility and professionalism to your venture. When someone hears about your business, one of the first things they’ll do is search for your website. If they find a dedicated site, it signals that you are an established, legitimate business.

In fact, 84% of consumers say a business is more credible if it has a website. Conversely, not having a website can raise doubts – around 62% of customers will outright ignore a business if they can’t find a website for it.

Your website serves as your digital storefront and first impression. It allows you to showcase testimonials, case studies, certifications, and your portfolio in one place, reinforcing trust. Moreover, using a custom domain (e.g. yourbusiness.com) and branded email addresses (name@yourbusiness.com) conveys professionalism that a Facebook page or a Gmail address alone cannot.

Anyone can set up a social media profile for free, but maintaining an official website demonstrates that you’re serious enough to invest in your brand. This can be the deciding factor that sets you apart from competitors who rely only on social pages.

Search Visibility and Organic Reach (SEO Benefits)

Social platforms can help you engage existing followers, but how do new customers discover you online? That’s where search engines and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) come into play. A business website is essential for appearing in Google search results when people look for the products or services you offer.

Consider that 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making a purchase often checking reviews and company websites in the process. Without a website, you have little to no presence on search engines, meaning you’re invisible to a huge pool of potential customers actively seeking what you provide.

By optimizing your site for relevant keywords, you can attract organic traffic visitors who find you through unpaid search results. For example, if you run a local bakery, you want your website to show up when someone searches “best bakery in [city]”.

Social media posts are not a substitute for this; they don’t have the same weight in search rankings. Regularly publishing content on your site (blog articles, FAQs, guides) also increases your visibility on search engines and establishes you as an authority in your field. In contrast, a Facebook or Instagram post might generate a short-term buzz but won’t contribute to long-term search discoverability.

Simply put, if you rely only on social media, you’re missing out on the primary way people discover new businesses online via search engines.

Long-Term Stability and Independence

Depending solely on social media for your online presence is risky. Platforms fall in and out of favor, algorithms change, and accounts can be suspended or banned unexpectedly. We’ve seen once-dominant networks like MySpace or Vine fade away, and there are ongoing debates and regulatory threats around platforms like TikTok. If your business is tied entirely to one platform, you’re effectively “building your house on rented land.”

A website, however, is a long-term investment in stability. It’s an online asset that you own outright. As long as you maintain your domain and hosting, your site remains reachable to customers regardless of what happens on any given social network.

This independence shields your business from the turbulence of platform changes. For instance, if Facebook or Instagram were to experience an outage or a decline in popularity, your website would still be up and running, serving customers and providing information.

Think of your website as a 24/7 representative that never goes offline. Customers can always find you via your website – whether it’s midnight or a national holiday, something not guaranteed with social platforms. By investing in a site, you ensure your online presence is resilient and future-proof, rather than at the mercy of a third-party.

Scalability and Growth Opportunities

As your business grows, you need your online presence to evolve with it. A website offers scalability and flexibility that social media profiles simply cannot provide. With your own site, you can continually expand and enhance its features to support your business goals:

• E-commerce and beyond: You can add an online store, booking system, or membership portal directly on your website to open new revenue streams. Social networks have limited sales features and usually redirect users elsewhere for purchases. Notably, the vast majority of online sales still happen on websites, not via social media in 2024, about 80% of e-commerce sales occurred through websites rather than social platforms.
• Integration with marketing tools: Your website can integrate with analytics platforms, CRM software, chat support, and email marketing services. This means you can track detailed data about user behavior, capture leads, build an email list, and retarget visitors with ads. While social platforms provide some analytics, they’re nowhere near as comprehensive as what you get from your own site’s data.
• Content and functionality expansion: Need a blog section? A customer FAQ? A resource library or event calendar? You can build all of these on your site. You’re free to experiment with new content formats or features to see what best engages your audience. On social media, you’re limited to the content types and layouts the platform supports.

In short, a website grows with your business. It can be continuously optimized and updated to improve user experience and conversion rates, supporting your long-term growth strategy. Social media presence, while important, is limited in scope, you can gain followers but you can’t easily scale up capabilities or own the customer journey from start to finish in the way a website allows.

Conclusion: Secure Your Digital Foundation

Social media is a valuable component of modern business marketing, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Your website is the cornerstone of your digital presence, the place where you have full control, where credibility is established, and where all roads of online traffic ultimately should converge.

Savvy entrepreneurs recognize that a strong website and active social media profiles work together symbiotically, with the website providing the stability and depth that no social platform can offer on its own. On the other hand, ignoring the need for a website is like leaving money and opportunities on the table. Don’t risk potential customers slipping away because they can’t find a dedicated site for your business.

Now is the time to fortify your digital foundation. Invest in a professional website that showcases your brand and serves as the hub of all your marketing efforts. If you already have a site, ensure it’s up to date and optimized; if not, consider reaching out to a web development expert or using modern website building tools to get started.

By taking action and establishing your own online platform, you’re setting your business up for greater credibility, higher visibility, and sustainable growth in the long run. Your future customers are searching for you online, make sure you have a home for them to land on!