Web
Do small businesses still need a website?
This deserves a straighter answer than it usually gets, because plenty of businesses genuinely do run on Instagram alone and do well.
What social does better
Reach, warmth and frequency. Nothing on a website builds familiarity the way a feed does, and for businesses where the decision is emotional or visual, that is most of the job.
If you are booked out from Instagram, nobody should tell you it is not working.
What you are actually giving up
Three things.
Search. People who do not know you exist do not find you by scrolling. They describe a problem into Google or an assistant, and what gets found is indexable, which social largely is not.
Verification. Certain customers, particularly for anything expensive or entering their home, want to confirm you are a real business before making contact. A site does that quickly.
Ownership. This is the one that ends businesses. Accounts get locked, hacked and wrongly flagged, and appeal is often impossible. Every contact and every piece of work living inside an account you do not control is a genuine risk rather than a theoretical one.
When it starts to hurt
It rarely hurts at first. It starts mattering when you want customers who are not already in your orbit, when you sell something people research before buying, or when somebody needs to check you are legitimate.
It also matters increasingly for being named by AI assistants, which draw on sources they can read and corroborate. Content inside an app is largely invisible to that process.
How little is enough
Far less than most people assume. What you do, where you do it, proof the work is real, a way to get in touch, and answers to the questions people ask before committing.
That is a complete small business website. The common failure is not an ugly site, it is an elaborate one that is never updated because updating it is a chore.
Common questions
Do I still need a website if I have Instagram?
You can operate without one, and plenty do. What you give up is being findable by search, being verifiable to people who are cautious, and owning the place your business lives. Whether that matters depends on how your customers decide.
Does a website help you get found on Google?
It is the main asset search engines can index for you. Social profiles surface for your name occasionally, but they do not compete for the searches where people describe a problem rather than a business.
What if all my customers come from Instagram?
Then it is working, and the risk is concentration rather than performance. Everything routed through one account you do not own is fine until the account is locked, and there is often no person to appeal to.
What is the minimum a small business website needs?
What you do, where you do it, proof it is real, a way to get in touch, and answers to the questions people ask before they commit. Everything beyond that is optional.