As of early 2026, there were roughly 3 billion monthly active users on Instagram, with over 200 million active accounts belonging to businesses. In other words, who are you or your business if you don’t have a social media account? The opportunity for massive reach is obvious and it’s usually free, so why would you want anything else?
If you’re just starting out in building your brand or business, and even more so if you’re on a budget, the choice to focus the publication of your work to social media platforms may seem like the most sensible option compared to investing time and money into building your own website.
But the truth is, there are many long-term benefits that can stem from making such an investment.
In this blog post, we are going to explore five reasons why I think you need a website and shouldn’t rely only on social media for your brand or business.
1. A website increases visibility
While you and your work can reach thousands or even millions on social media, a few more eyeballs never hurt. And these views can be delivered via search engines such as Google.
Google is used by an estimated two billion people daily. That’s a quarter of the world’s population! Just think of how many times you’ve heard someone say, “Just Google it.”
If your website is optimised for search engines, otherwise known as search engine optimisation (SEO), it means that when people perform searches for content associated with you or your business, your website is more likely to appear and be seen by new viewers.
This means that your work’s visibility is not limited to the audience you attract on social media and even better, you can direct your social media audience to a platform that provides more depth about who you are and what you do.
2. People perform research to determine credibility
In the 21st century, people turn to the internet often for answers to their questions. As they’re getting to know who you are as a brand or business, they may be asking questions such as:
1) Who are you?
2) What do you do?
3) Are you genuine?
A lack of answers to these questions can decrease their trust in you.
Claiming your space on the internet and providing answers to these questions with a well built, well informed website shows your potential audience that your brand and your business really exists, thus, increasing their trust in you.
3. It adds credibility and professionalism
Starting a business is not easy.
It may take some time for you to establish your presence in your industry and be taken seriously as a professional. One way to increase the odds of this happening is by building a website.
A website is an investment because it is a virtual space that you continuously pour into over time. It isn’t just a place to sell to your customers. It is your space to share and communicate with your community. To show that you’re ready and available to provide the product, service or value that someone may be searching for. This shows that you’re serious about what you do. You’re not just saying it with words, you’re putting it into action.
4. The constantly changing algorithms
Social media is a very effective form of marketing and communication, there’s no denying that. But have you noticed that the rules always seem to be changing?
Once upon a time, image posts were more than enough to reach your followers on Instagram and tags helped you reach people searching for similar content. Then stories, carousels, and reels were introduced, and the constant production of each of them became necessary in order to be seen.
Nowadays, you’re lucky if your content is seen by your own followers, as platforms prioritise pushing ads and content by pages we don’t even follow on our social media feeds.
The rules of the game seem to be changing every few months and you need to keep up, which is exhausting to say the least.
Having your own website allows freedom and flexibility over what you can share. Want to share blog posts, photos, and updates about your work or business? Your audience is sure to see it all in one place and in chronological order, without a pesky algorithm pulling the rug out from under your content at a moment’s notice.
5. Ownership over your work
It’s important to remember that social media platforms are free to the public, but it doesn’t come without a costs.
Ultimately, you as the user don’t get to make the rules. Which means that you are often forced to give in to any changes that are made on the platform over time. And if for some reason the platform itself is banned overnight or chooses to delete or restrict your account? Well there goes your reach and accessibility.
A website, however, gives you ownership over your platform simply because you own it.
You pay for the right to claim space on the internet. Which means that you get to decide what goes into it and you don’t have to worry about changes that may not suit you or your business.
At the end of the day, websites are not just meant for large companies or e-commerce. They’re for anyone who wants to have an extensive reach and be accessible. So consider the above points the next time you’re weighing the pros and cons of such an investment.
If you’ve found these points useful, bookmark this page and share it with a friend who needs to hear them.
Until next time,
Naomi
