Do you need a website?

Here’s a flowchart you can use:

Platforms/services people use instead of websites

A lot of businesses do great on social media and if you have started with an idea for a business it’s a much lower barrier to entry to just set something up on a social network or a third-party service. Here are some platforms where we’ve seen some businesses run almost entirely on that platform, and very successfully:

• Tik Tok
• Instagram
• Whatsapp
• Google Business Profile
• TripAdvisor
• Ebay
• Amazon

You might have considerable success on some or all of these. So what’s wrong with that?

Rented vs owned properties

You may have seen the distinction but any time you set yourself up on someone else’s platform it’s like you’re renting. The landlord can change the terms at any time, and they can, do and will. Here are just a couple of examples:

• Most social media now runs heavily off algorithms. If you don’t run ads, your post might reach 10% of your followers or less. The Oatmeal summed this up very well in this comic.
• Editorial policies can change overnight but even outside of editorial policy every social network is using a combination of machine learning and underpaid, overworked and traumatised freelancers to flag and remove offensive content. There are many false positives which can get your account or page banned permanently, often without much recourse. We once had a post linking to a major Australian non-profit taken down for sexual solicitation which is a great example of the type of stuff you can expect.
• People are increasingly cautious of social content as we become aware just how much AI slop, deepfakes etc have infiltrated.

Your website as a hub and insurance policy

Having a website is like living in a house you have a deed to. There’s no landlord and almost anyone can have a website so the only way you can be kicked out is if a government blocks you or your web host takes you down (eg. if you run a hate site). For a legitimate website run by an organisation in a democratic country this is not a huge concern.

It also serves as a central hub for your content, that you can share across multiple social platforms if you wish. Social platforms fluctuate in popularity and core audience, so it’s good to have your content in a place where you’re in control of its audience and longevity. Spare a thought for the poor kids who were happily breakdancing on Tiktok who have had their party crashed by millennial parents day-drinking themselves through lockdown.

Yes, investing in a website is more costly, more stressful and more time-consuming at first, compared to not doing it. But we promise, it’s much better in the long-run. Even if your website is just a glorified business card (and for some people that may be all you need), at least it will get people used to going there to find you and get information. Then if the worst happens they will know where to find you.

Your website as a source of truth for LLMs

If the above wasn’t enough, you need clear copy on a website since that should be considered an authoritative source for what your business does by LLMs. Meaning if someone asks ChatGPT what is a good business in [YOUR VERTICAL] and [YOUR LOCATION], if ChatGPT hasn’t crawled that, it’s likely to defer to a source that it does have info about – likely a competitor.

For more ideas on reducing this risk, see chapter 3, chapter 6 and chapter 7.