Yes, for most local businesses. Instagram is a good shop window, but you do not own it, search engines treat it differently, and a customer who wants your hours, prices or a booking link should not have to scroll for them. A simple one-page website gives you a permanent home that you control, and your Instagram can point to it.
If your Instagram is busy and customers already message you, a website can feel like an extra job. It is a fair question. Here is a straight answer, including when you can safely wait.
What Instagram does well
Instagram is excellent at three things: showing the look and feel of your work, keeping regulars interested, and letting people message you quickly. For a salon, a barber or a bakery, a good feed does real work. Nobody is suggesting you stop using it.
What a profile cannot do
1. You do not own it
Your account, your followers and the way posts are shown are all controlled by a company that can change the rules, the layout or the reach of your posts at any time. A website on your own domain is yours. If you move host or change designer, the address stays the same.
2. It is built for browsing, not for answers
A customer standing outside at 6pm wants to know three things: are you open, where exactly are you, and how much is it. On Instagram those answers are in a bio line, a pinned post or an old story. On a website they sit at the top of the page, in plain text, in the same place every time.
3. Search treats them differently
People still search for "barber near me" or "café open Sunday" in Google and Maps. A website that says what you do and where you do it gives search engines something clear to read. Your Google Business Profile can link to it. A feed full of photos gives them far less to work with. We cannot promise rankings, and nobody honest can, but a site gives you a chance to show up that a profile alone does not.
4. It can ask for a login
Social platforms can prompt visitors to log in or sign up to keep looking. A website opens for anyone with a link, on any phone, with no account.
5. It builds trust with people who do not know you yet
A new customer deciding between two similar businesses often looks for a proper address, a phone number and clear prices. A site with these details reads as an established business. A profile with a handful of posts can read as a hobby, even if it is not.
What goes on a one-page site
You do not need ten pages. One well-built page can cover:
- What you do, in one sentence, with your name and town.
- Opening hours, address and a map.
- Your services or menu with prices.
- A handful of your best photos (your Instagram is a good source).
- Two or three genuine customer reviews, only if you have them.
- A tap-to-call button, a WhatsApp button if customers already message you there, and a contact form.
- A link to your Instagram.
How the two work together
Treat the website as the permanent home and Instagram as the shop window. Put the website link in your bio and in your Google listing. On the site, link back to Instagram so visitors can see your latest work. Each one makes the other more useful. If you take bookings or orders through another tool, link it from the site as well, so there is one obvious place to start.
When you can wait
- You are just testing a business idea and have no regular customers yet.
- All your customers come by personal recommendation and already have your number.
- You are a hobby seller with no fixed place or hours.
Even then, claiming your free Google Business Profile is a sensible first step, because it costs nothing.
Three common objections
"My customers already find me on Instagram." The ones who already follow you, yes. The ones who do not know you yet, and who search for what you offer in your area, are a different group. A website is how you meet them.
"I do not have time to run a website." A one-page site is not something you run. It changes when your hours, prices or menu change, which for most businesses is a few times a year. A care plan or a supplier can handle those edits.
"It will cost too much." It can, if you go to an agency. It does not have to. A simple site in the low hundreds of pounds, or a DIY builder at a few pounds a month, covers what a local business needs to start.
A useful test: ask three recent customers how they found you. If any of them says "I Googled you", or "I looked for your hours and could not find them", the website is already costing you money by not existing.
What it costs to get started
A DIY builder is a few pounds or dollars a month but needs your time. A freelancer building a few pages is usually in the hundreds. See our guide on what a small business website costs in the UK for the ranges. If you would rather not build it yourself, we make a free demo from your business name so you can see a real site before you decide. Ask for yours here; you pay only if you want it live.
Frequently asked questions
Is Instagram enough for a small business?
It can be enough to show your work and take messages. It is usually not enough on its own for opening hours, prices, directions and a clear way to book, and you do not own the account.
Will a website get me more customers than Instagram?
We cannot promise that. A website helps people who search for what you offer and gives every other channel, including Instagram and your Google listing, a place to send people.
Can I just link to my Instagram from Google?
You can, but customers who tap through land on a feed rather than a clear answer. A single page with your hours, location and prices converts a visit into a call or visit more directly.
How big does my website need to be?
One page is enough to start. Add more pages when you have more to say, such as separate services or a gallery.
Want to see it before you pay?
Tell us your business name. We build a free demo of your website first, and you only pay if you want it live. No card needed to look.
Get my free demoPrices and what is included are on our pricing section. Updated 29 October 2026.