Website vs. Social Media for Business: Which One Do You Really Need?
It’s the age-old question (or at least as old as social media), should you focus on your website to grow your business or should you focus on social media? And while there are some business owners who swear by social media as being the best way to reach a wide audience and others who say a website is the most important tool for a business, the reality is both have their strengths and weaknesses.
As a Squarespace website agency, we have some thoughts. So, let’s break down the differences between a website and social media for growing your brand to help you decide what’s best for your business. Keep reading!
The pros and cons of websites and social media
We could talk all day about websites, and the same goes for social media, because there are just so many aspects to both. But don’t worry, we’ll just cover the most important bits. Keep reading!
The benefits of a website
When it comes to building a strong online presence, a website offers some amazing benefits that social media simply can’t match. Let’s dive into these.
Websites show more credibility
Here’s the thing about websites, they instantly make your business look more professional. In fact, most businesses know this since 71% of them have a website. Let's face it, any teenager can whip up an Instagram page in five minutes flat, but a thoughtful website shows you've invested time and resources into your brand. When customers are getting ready to hand over their credit card info or book your services, they'll often hunt for your website first just to make sure you're the real deal.
Your website is also a great place for showing off all those glowing reviews, impressive projects, and success stories in one organized spot. Rather than forcing potential customers to scroll through months of social posts to figure out what you're all about, they can get the complete picture of your business in just a few clicks through your portfolio, service pages, and blog content.
Websites are more sustainable
While social media requires constant posting to stay relevant, a website can work for you even when you’re not actively updating it. If it’s optimized for SEO, a website can attract visitors continuously over time through search engine traffic.
For example, a blog post or service page published today could still bring in new visitors months or even years from now. A website provides long-term value, with content that builds authority and attracts organic traffic without needing daily engagement.
Websites allow for better customer support
Your website can be customer support central:
FAQs – Put all those questions you answer twenty times a day in one spot. Customers find their answers instantly, and you save your sanity.
Live chat & chatbots – These little helpers can jump in right when someone's puzzling over which offer to choose—even at 2 AM when you're fast asleep.
Contact forms – Give people a way to reach out that feels more official than a casual social message. Plus, you can make sure you get all the info you need upfront (as you control the form).
Sure, you can handle customer questions on social media too, but juggling inquiries across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter gets messy fast. Messages get buried under notifications, and suddenly you're apologizing for missing someone's question from three days ago. A website keeps everything in one organized hub that works better for everyone involved. And let's be honest, couldn't we all use a little less chaos?
You don’t have to compete for attention on your website
Social media feeds are crowded with ads, influencers, and endless content vying for attention. On a website, though, visitors aren’t distracted by any of that, they’re focused solely on your business.
And you also get to design the journey from the moment someone lands on your homepage. With thoughtful layout, great content, and strategic design choices, you're creating a path that naturally leads visitors toward booking that consultation, adding products to their cart, or dropping their email for your newsletter. It's your house, your rules!
Websites give you more control
With a website, you have full control over your content, branding, and user experience. Your site is yours to design, update, and optimize without worrying about external changes. And your website is going to stay yours regardless of platform trends (there are websites that are more than 30 years old!).
Good for conversions
A website requires search engine optimization (SEO) to attract visitors (other than the ones you directly send to your website). And unlike social media, where content is pushed to users based on algorithms, website traffic is typically more intentional—people visiting your site are actively searching for your specific products, services, or information. This often results in higher-quality leads who are more likely to convert. In fact, 60% of marketers say their best leads come from inbound marketing (which includes blogging and SEO).
The downsides of a website
While a website is a powerful (even essential) tool for building a strong online presence, it does come with some challenges. Here are the key downsides to think about.
There’s a significant initial investment
Setting up a website requires a not-so-insignificant upfront investment. And while platforms like Squarespace can make it easier to build a site without coding, there are still costs involved. You’ll need to pay for:
Domain name – A custom URL (e.g., yourbusiness.com) adds credibility but comes with a yearly fee.
Hosting – Whatever web hosting platform you use comes with a cost.
Design and development – A professional-looking website may require hiring a designer or purchasing a premium template. Building it yourself comes with a significant time and effort.
Growth can take time
While social media posts can blow up overnight, websites usually take their sweet time to gain momentum, especially if you're starting from scratch.
Search engines are picky about who they put on page one. Google doesn't just hand out top rankings to brand new sites, no matter how great your content is. You have to put in the work, consistently publishing quality content and fine-tuning your SEO before the traffic starts coming in.
A great website can become your most valuable business tool, with SEO driving 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media on average, but it takes time. The payoff is worth it though!
There’s a lack of 1:1 connection
Unlike social media platforms where direct engagement is built into the experience, websites can feel more impersonal. Visitors browse your content, but there's often a disconnect between you and your audience. This one-way communication can make it harder to:
Build relationships with potential customers
Answer questions in real-time
Understand your audience's immediate reactions and needs
Create the personal touch that drives customer loyalty
However, this downside can be significantly mitigated by using interactive features like live chat boxes. Adding this functionality allows visitors to reach out directly when they have questions or are ready to engage, creating that crucial human connection while still enjoying all the benefits a website offers.
The benefits of social media
Now that we’ve talked about websites, let’s explore the major benefits of using social media for your business.
Social media is cheaper to start
One of the biggest benefits of social media is its cost-effectiveness. Most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are free to use. This makes it a great option for businesses with limited budgets or those just starting out. You don’t need to pay for a website, domain name, or hosting fees, and you can start posting immediately.
And even when you opt for paid ads, social media advertising tends to be more affordable compared to traditional methods like TV, radio, or print ads.
Social media can allow for fast audience building
While websites often take months to build decent organic traffic, platforms like Instagram or TikTok can help you connect with potential customers right away.
Think about it, billions of people are already scrolling through their feeds every day. Your posts have a shot at landing in front of them almost instantly. The algorithms actually work in your favor here, showing your content to people who might like what you offer, even if they've never heard of your business before.
There’s great community engagement
Social media thrives around engagement. When your business posts on Instagram or Facebook, you're starting conversations. Your followers can comment, share their stories, and tell you what they really think about your products or services.
This back-and-forth creates real relationships with your audience. When someone leaves a comment and you respond personally, they feel seen. When you ask questions in your stories or run a quick poll, people love sharing their opinions. Those fun giveaways and contests? They get people excited and involved with your brand in ways that are hard for other forms of marketing to match.
The downsides of social media
While social media offers significant benefits for businesses, it also has its challenges. Let’s take a closer look!
A lot of algorithm changes
One major headache with business social media? Those endless algorithm changes. Just when you've figured out what works, Facebook or Instagram switches things up, and suddenly your posts are practically invisible.
Most businesses have been there — that post format that used to get tons of engagement now barely reaches anyone. It can be really frustrating to build a strategy only to have the platform change the rules without warning.
This constant shifting also makes it tough to maintain steady growth without constantly tweaking your approach.
You’re on rented land
Another significant downside of social media is that it’s essentially "rented land." Unlike a website, where you own your content and have full control over how it’s displayed and accessed, social media platforms are owned by third parties. This means that the platform can change its rules, policies, or even shut down without warning, putting your business at risk.
For example, if a platform like Facebook or Instagram decided to make sweeping changes that negatively affect your reach or visibility, there’s little you can do. Additionally, if a platform were to close or undergo drastic changes (like Vine’s discontinuation or the TikTok ban in some regions), businesses could lose their established presence and have to start over on another platform.
Conversions can be tough
Social media can be great for brand awareness, but when it comes to turning those likes into actual sales, things get tricky.Unlike your website where customers can seamlessly complete purchases, social platforms create a disjointed journey. Someone might love your Instagram post but then need to click through, load a new page, and navigate a completely different environment just to buy what caught their eye moments ago. Each additional step is another opportunity for potential customers to get distracted or change their mind. The result? Plenty of engagement metrics that look impressive in reports but don't necessarily translate to the bottom line.
Requires constant updates
Social media is not the most sustainable of marketing channels. It tends to require consistent (and often constant) engagement to continue to reach people and grow. The lifespan of social media posts can be as little as a few hours (for example, X/Twitter posts have a shelf life of about 15 to 20 minutes).
Websites vs Social Media: An Overview
| Category | Websites | Social Media |
|---|---|---|
| Credibility | More professional appearance. Shows investment in a business. | Easy to create, lower barrier to entry. Anyone can make a profile quickly. |
| Sustainability | Works long-term without constant updates. Content can attract visitors for years. | Requires constant engagement. Very short content lifespan (15-20 min for X/Twitter). |
| Customer Support | Centralized through FAQs, live chat, forms. Organized in one location. | Inquiries scattered across platforms. Messages can get buried in notifications. |
| User Attention | Visitors focus solely on your content. No distractions from competitors. | Competing with ads, other content. Users easily distracted. |
| Control | Complete ownership of content and branding. Stays yours regardless of platform trends. | "Rented land" - platform owns everything. Subject to platform policies and changes. |
| Conversions | Higher-quality, intentional traffic. | Disjointed customer journey. Difficult to convert engagement to sales. |
| Initial Investment | Requires domain, hosting, design costs. Significant time or money investment. | Most platforms are free to join and use. |
| Growth Speed | Takes time to build momentum. Slow to achieve good search rankings. | Can connect with audiences immediately. Algorithms help reach relevant users quickly |
| Personal Connection | Can feel impersonal with one-way communication. Harder to build relationships (without added features). | Direct engagement built into experience. Facilitates conversations and interaction. |
| Algorithm Stability | More predictable performance with SEO. | Frequent algorithm updates. |
| Customization | Complete creative control over design, unique layouts, features, and functionality. | Limited to platform's predetermined features. |
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