Last Updated on June 23, 2025 by George Pavlopoulos
There’s a never-ending online debate regarding where a business should focus: running a website or using social media? For most people, the reply is obvious: use both. This sounds fine, especially if you’re a big business with lots of money to invest. But how about a freelancer wanting to make the next step or a small business just about to start? Soon, they’ll have to reflect upon the website vs. social media question. What’s better for their business? Can you skip one in favor of the other?
If you’re here for a quick reply, I’ll share it straight with you. In my opinion, it’s better to run a website instead of spending money and time on social media. This opinion is not some bizarre rant or a need to create controversy. On the contrary, it’s based on my experience after running websites for several years and after using social media since the Myspace days.
Therefore, in the following lines, you’ll read why I think running a website is essential for every business and what you should do with your social media accounts.
Let’s start.
*Some links might be affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Website vs. social media: the current landscape
Today’s social media landscape
According to current statistics, more than 4,6 billion people use social media. That’s more than half of the planet’s population, and one might rightly wonder: how can I ignore such a market? That’s, of course, the shiny side of social media.
On the darker side, social media engagement is at an all-time low. Social media engagement describes how your followers interact with your content: likes, comments, shares, saves, etc. Nowadays, a good engagement rate for Instagram is between 1% and 5%, while for Facebook it is 1%. Yet, most social media accounts are nowhere near that; they’re actually much lower.
So, what does this practically mean? Well, let’s assume you have 1,000 Instagram followers and another 1,000 on your Facebook Page. You can expect anything between 10 and 50 likes, comments, and shares on Instagram and another 10 on Facebook. That’s it. Is there a way to reach a wider audience and increase your engagement rate? Sure. It’s called pay-to-play: pay for expensive ads to reach thousands of people and see your budget disappear before you even make your first sale.
Today’s website landscape
While the importance of having a website never faded away, the truth is that social media has significantly altered the online landscape. However, people still visit websites for informational purposes, and even blogs attract a large number of visitors. In a recent study, 90% of people enjoy reading custom content to get informed about a brand.
Content marketing seems much stronger than social media marketing, and according to the same study, 70% of people prefer to learn about a company through articles rather than ads. That said, running a website as a small business or freelancer comes with several advantages.
And that’s what the following sections will be about.
Website vs. social media: pros and cons
Websites and social media come with pros and cons. This section of the article will be about the pros and cons, to understand what to expect from them. In the next section, I will focus exclusively on their differences.
Social media pros
- Social media is free. Anyone can sign up for an account and share content straight away.
- You don’t need technical knowledge. Social media platforms come with premade templates, and all you have to do is post your content.
- They increase brand awareness. If people start talking and praising your X skill or your Y product, they can bring attention to your services or brand. Subsequently, you can attract new customers or secure new work opportunities.
- Access to a broad international audience. The number of people using social media means that a small business can reach a large audience.
Social media cons
- You don’t own your account. You practically occupy an online plot of land, and you can be kicked out anytime (banned, shadowbanned, etc.) if people report your channel.
- Very low engagement. As you’ve read above, engagement across social media is extremely low. That said, to reach a broader audience and gain visibility, you’ll have to pay.
- Pay-to-play is becoming increasingly expensive. Subsequently, running ad campaigns is becoming more expensive. And what matters the most is that the results are rarely satisfying.
- Overwhelming toxicity levels. The last thing you need as a small business owner running social media accounts is to have trolls attacking you. And it happens more and more.
The Website pros
- You own the online plot of land. Hosting a website usually comes at a cost, but you are the owner. That said, you can create content without the fear of getting banned. You can post whatever you think fits your brand without caring about community guidelines.
- Customize to reflect your business identity. Every website is customizable, and you don’t have to rely on a single premade template. Even the free website themes can be customized to reflect your business’s personality.
- Do SEO and save the ad money. Optimizing your website’s content for search engines (SEO) means that you can bring organic traffic to your site. Organic traffic is free traffic, and if you don’t want to spend money on campaigns, it’s what you should do.
- A website offers credibility. A business with a website feels more credible, especially if you create high-quality content. Running a website is more professional than posting on Facebook.
- It’s easier to make money. You can earn money from ads or affiliate links, but you can also get hired or sell products through your website.
The Website cons
- You have to pay for it. Your needs will define how much a website will cost: it can be 60 $ per year if you need a landing page or several hundred if you want an e-commerce site. There are free options, but let’s face it: websites cost some money.
- They require some technical skills. There are plenty of website builders out there. Some of them are simply drag-and-drop solutions, while others require some skills. While you can learn everything on your own, you’ll have to put in some effort.
- It takes time to see results. You won’t easily attract clients from day one. You’ll have to work hard to bring in some clients. Websites are for the long term, and you can’t expect instant results.
Website vs. social media differences
The differences between a website and social media presented in this section are largely based on the pros and cons section. Subsequently, I will attempt to demonstrate here why it is preferable to have a website rather than relying solely on your social media presence for your online business.
A website might cost less money
While a website costs money to set up, it might be cheaper in the long term. Sooner than later, as a small business owner, you’ll have to pay for social media visibility. Apparently, investing 10 $ won’t take you anywhere if you are willing to sell services or products.
On the other hand, you can create a website for as little as $ 80-$ 100 and have it up and running in a couple of hours (read my article about the costs of starting a website or blog). In addition, if you optimize your content for search engines (SEO) and LLMs, you can get free traffic without having to spend money on ads. While ads are currently a must for businesses that base their existence on social media, for websites, they are just a plus.
Therefore, I firmly believe it’s better to pay for a website and generate free traffic, rather than having a free account and paying for visibility.
Evergreen content is the goal; forgotten content is no fun
For website owners, evergreen content is probably the online version of the holy grail. Evergreen content is content that remains relevant for an extended period because readers constantly find value in it. Several of my blog posts have consistently received high traffic for over four years. People like them and get valuable information, and Google shows them on the first page of the search results (sometimes in place No. 1). One of my best articles in terms of traffic was written in 2019.
On the other hand, how easily can you find a post from 2019 on social media? It’s most likely buried under a billion other posts, and you’ll need days of scrolling to find it. Does it really make any sense to work hard and produce content that disappears after some hours or (in the best-case scenario) after a few days?
No, it doesn’t.
I prefer to see traffic growth, not a decline
We all agree on something: when you put hard work into your business, you want to see it grow. One of the cruelest things you can see in your working life is to see hard work vanishing. Sure, mistakes are part of the game, and in the case of a website, you might see less growth sometimes.
However, the thing that I observed with social media accounts is ridiculous. Take, for example, my Instagram account. Once upon a time, I managed to grow it organically to almost 40,000 followers. No cheats, no bots, nothing at all. I dedicated myself to shooting photos, to being part of the (online and offline) community, and I was twice on the suggested users’ list, a feature long gone. I would receive 800-1100 likes per photo, and the engagement was almost 25%. Then, one day, I woke up, and the engagement was 5%. And a year or two later, the engagement went down to 1%.
The same happened with Pinterest a couple of years ago. And it was even crueler: the traffic went down overnight by 80% (I once wrote about my Pinterest experience here). Do you need that for your business? I mean, does it sound fair to you that social media algorithm updates can destroy your business overnight? Well, I don’t need that at all.
On the other hand, the website you are currently reading is still growing. Sometimes the growth is small, and sometimes the traffic decreases for various reasons (e.g., seasonality), but I have never woken up with zero traffic. Last but not least, a blog post I wrote a year or two ago still receives traffic; I never saw a single like on an Instagram or Facebook post that I posted two months ago.
An online marathon is more rewarding than an online sprint
Social media offers quick exposure, which can be tempting. Everyone wants to make it big overnight without working that much. It’s human nature: we live 70-80-90 years, and then we become stardust. We want results, and we want them now. However, it rarely works like this. Content is king, but patience is key.
I had much more success working with brands through this blog than through social media. However, the website didn’t grow overnight, and the growth it still has doesn’t happen alone. It takes time, and, like social media, it needs consistency. It won’t work if you plan to create a website or blog and think you can create content whenever inspiration strikes. You’ll need to create a schedule outlining how you plan to grow it and follow it.
However, seeing constant traffic and conversions is rewarding. If you create website content, you will remain visible; on social media, I’m not so sure.
For whom is a website better than social media?
It doesn’t mean that you don’t have to use social media at all. However, this article intends to demonstrate that transitioning your online presence from social media to a personalized website is more effective. Therefore, here’s who I think will profit from a website rather than social media.
Freelancers. As a freelancer, it’s important to have your own online home. There you can showcase what you do, set up a professional e-mail, and present your work.
For small business owners. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting a small business or if you’ve been running one for several years. Focusing exclusively on social media for visibility will eventually become a problem. Moreover, if you’re willing to sell products, why do you have to pay commissions all the time? Apart from creating a home for your business or passion, you will be able to work on your own terms.
For individuals writing lengthy social media posts or captions. If you enjoy writing long social media posts, why not make your texts available online? It means that you enjoy writing and want your voice to be heard. Therefore, it’s better to give your followers a chance to access your older posts that nowadays are buried somewhere in your profile.
If you don’t want to have just a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn’s popularity is increasing, and people use it to showcase their CVs and find employment opportunities. If you want to be more professional, a website can only help you. Actually, you won’t need anything more than a plain landing page. It will definitely look better than the LinkedIn profile, and it will give you some credibility points.
Who can still benefit from social media
I’ll add here a short section about who can still benefit from social media.
Established brands. If you’re an established brand with lots of traffic and money, you can still benefit from social media, given that you are willing to invest, of course. Creating brand awareness is still a thing, and as an established brand, you can still see conversions.
Strong social media account(s). Of course, if you have a strong social media account (or more), you wouldn’t be reading this article. If you still have engagement and find work opportunities via social media channels, there’s no need to change your approach (at least for now). A website would be a nice plus for you, but not a must.
Where to host your website as a small business or freelancer
In the final section of this long article, I thought of adding a couple of words about where you can host your website. There are tons of website providers out there. However, I always suggest only the services I use and appreciate.
The best web hosting for people willing to learn
Creating a website for the first time is like embarking on a journey to the unknown. If this doesn’t sound scary to you, it’s probably the best solution. However, keep in mind that you’ll have to learn new things and understand how they work. If you’re still reading this subsection, then WordPress is what you’re searching for. While WordPress is the simplest way to create your website or blog, it also requires some of your time to understand how it works. That’s nothing to scare you, but it’s not as easy as Strikingly.
However, the fact that WordPress powers more than 40% of all the websites on the Internet is good proof of its capability. You will need to sign up for a web hosting provider to build your website, and WordPress comes with thousands of themes and plugins to help you make the most of its capabilities. I recommend buying web hosting from Bluehost, as it’s one of the oldest web-hosting providers and among the most affordable options. In addition, it offers a one-click WordPress install, so you don’t have to struggle with setting everything up.
You can create a stunning website within half an hour, and as time goes by, you’ll familiarize yourself with the things you need to do. My website is also built on a Bluehost plan on WordPress, and when I started it, I had no idea how to use it. If you’d like to see more, you can read my guide on starting a travel blog or any kind of blog, and also my honest Bluehost review.
See the current Bluehost prices here and get up to a 60% reduction on their plans.
Website vs. social media conclusion
I’ll take a deep breath and say that social media is not dead (if I don’t take that deep breath, I’ll say it is). However, the social media landscape is saturated, and I firmly believe that for small businesses and freelancers, it’s no longer the way to go. Yes, social media platforms are free, but visibility is almost nonexistent. Showcasing your skills or products on a website is more professional and something for the long term, and I honestly can’t believe that “DM for prices” is still a thing.
That said, if you fall under any of the above-mentioned categories, I find it a no-brainer to start a website. Customize it, make it feel like your online home, and start working on it. The results will take more time, but they will come.
More articles: Best blogging tools for beginners, A must-use SEO tool, 10 reasons to start a blog
Pin it for later
Sharing is caring. Please share this article about Websites vs. Social Media with your friends.