Do You Really Need a Website?

Surprisingly, I still come across business owners who don’t have a website. They are all over social media and think that’s all they need.

It’s not.

Let me explain.

Just like with any other means of marketing, social media should be a tool in your toolbox. Not the only place. The biggest disadvantage of social media is that you have little to no control over how the content is shown. Some other company has a say in what you can post and how often you can post. At any given time, the site may have an issue with what you’ve posted. At that point, they can deny, block, or demote your post. And then there’s always the chance of being kicked off the platform entirely. And there’s very little to nothing you can do about it.

I know that some of you are trying. You’ve picked up a domain name (your own web address) and pointed it at your Facebook page or Instagram account. You have the right idea with a unique way of getting people consistently to your marketing. But, again, you don’t have control over the end platform. All of that hard work can be turned off by someone who has never met you before.

Having your own website with your own domain name on a web host that you have control over are all part of the equation.

The Domain Name

It gets harder and harder every day to find a web address that hasn’t already been taken. But with a little creativity, you can usually come up with something that fits your business. Adding a town, state abbreviation, “YOUR”, or “THE” into the domain can often make a unique address. How many Frank’s Pizza do you know of? Try “FranksPizzaInSpartaCommons.com” or FranksPizzaRandolph.com”. I recommend you stick with a dot-com because that’s what people remember most.

Secure your domain name yourself through a domain registrar like PorkBun.com, NameCheap.com, GoDaddy.com, or CloudFlare. You could also get a domain through your web host. They don’t have to be from a separate company. It may be convenient to get them both in the same place. That’s up to you whether or not you keep these separate or go with one company.

Website Hosting

When it comes to a place to host your website, not all web hosts are equal. I’d previously used GoDaddy.com and, later, BlueHost.com. I’m currently using Hostinger.

One of the advantages to using a web host that you build your own website on is that you have control over everything. No one is going to limit your posts. Nor is some other company not going to permit you to post something that goes against the views, like Facebook or Instagram. The site is yours. Not a post of Facebook or Pinterest.

All of my websites are built using WordPress. Although it has a bit of a steep learning curve, one of its biggest advantages is that the site you build is portable. Many web hosts provide WordPress hosting, which means that you can move your WordPress site from one host to another.

This has happened to me before. I used GoDaddy for many years until I realied how slow their servers were. I moved my sites over to BlueHost and used them for a couple of years. Unfortunately, my sites started going down for no apparent reason. After several unsatisfactory calls to tech support and trying to split the sites into two accounts, the sites continued to go down. I then moved my sites to Hostinger.com. I’m very happy with their services. If you’d like to sign up with the, please use my referral link, of which they’ll give me a small pittance for sending them some business. SiteGound is also an excellent host, with their very fast servers when I worked with a friend who was using them.

“Website builders” like Wix, SquareSpace and other web hosts, have have their own easy-to-use, but proprietary builder systems. These are generally easy to use and work really well for users who aren’t tech savvy and want to do everything themselves. These companies tend to put a good amount of effort into making sure their servers are fast, insuring quick load times of your website. But keep in mind that these are closed systems. You can’t move your site to anywhere else if you have a problem with the host. You’re locked into their environment. Just keep that in mind if you plan on going with one of those systems. I’ve worked with both SquareSpace and Wix and they’re fine. There’s no shortage of help pages, videos, and other user communities who will be able to help you get your site up and running.

You Are In Control

With your own website, the site is yours. Your business’ website is on a web host that doesn’t watch over what you do or say. You’re not a nameless account on someone else’s platform. From here you can put all of the information you want. Update it every day. Update it multiple times a day. Show visitors your videos, photos, products, and advice. You have the control. Some Karen isn’t going to not accept your post because they have a problem with your product.

I hope I was able to explain how important it is to have a “home base” for your web presence. Put videos on YouTube, post on Facebook, share on Instagram, pin on Pinterest. But always have a central location where people will be sure they can always find you, your products, and your services. Don’t think that those social media platforms are going to be there forever. Root your business with your own website that you have control over, back up, and move wherever you want.