Do You Actually Need a Website in 2026?

Your business might not need a website. There. I said it.

For years, articles like this one have pushed the “everyone needs a website” narrative without nuance. It was true in 2010. It was mostly true in 2020. But in 2026, the answer is more complicated. Some businesses will thrive with nothing more than an Instagram profile and a booking link. Others will hemorrhage money without a proper web presence.

The question isn’t whether websites matter. They do. The question is whether YOUR business needs one, what kind you need, and whether the investment makes sense for where you are right now.

Over the last decade, I’ve seen businesses waste $15,000 on sites that brought zero customers. I’ve also watched a simple $500 WordPress site generate $200,000+ in revenue for a local service business. The difference wasn’t the website. It was the strategy behind it.

Let me help you figure out which camp you’re in.

The Real Reason Most Businesses Need a Website

Social platforms come and go. Algorithm changes can destroy your reach overnight. But a website you own? That’s yours. Nobody can take it away, change the rules, or suddenly charge you to reach your own audience.

I watched a food blogger lose 70% of her traffic when Pinterest changed its algorithm in 2023. Her entire business model depended on pins driving visitors to her recipes. When the algorithm shifted, her ad revenue dropped from $8,000/month to under $2,000. She had no email list. No direct relationship with her audience. Just borrowed attention from a platform she didn’t control.

Contrast that with a freelance designer I worked with last year. She gets most of her clients through Instagram. But every post drives people to her website where they book discovery calls. She captures emails. She owns the relationship. If Instagram disappeared tomorrow, she’d still have 3,400 email subscribers who know and trust her work.

The website isn’t just a digital brochure. It’s the only piece of online real estate you actually own.

When You Definitely Need a Website

Not every business is the same, and blanket advice is useless. Here’s when a website is non-negotiable.

If you’re selling products or services over $500, you need a website. Period. According to Capital One Shopping research, 81% of consumers research online before visiting a store to make a purchase. For major purchases like furniture, 73% of U.S. consumers compare prices from at least three different retailers. People research expensive purchases. They Google your business name. They look for reviews, case studies, and proof you’re legitimate. If they find nothing, or worse, a half-broken Facebook page from 2019, you’ve lost the sale before you knew it existed.

I worked with a B2B consultant who charged $5,000 for strategy engagements. He got referrals but couldn’t close them. Prospects would search his name, find nothing, and move on to competitors with professional sites. Three months after launching a simple 5-page website with case studies and testimonials, his close rate went from 20% to 55%. The website didn’t bring new leads. It converted the ones he already had.

If you want to rank on Google, you need a website. This seems obvious, but I still meet business owners who think their Google Business Profile is enough. It’s not. Your GBP helps with local searches, but it can’t rank for informational queries, long-tail keywords, or comparison searches. A carpet cleaning business in Denver can rank their GBP for “carpet cleaning Denver.” But they can’t rank for “how to remove red wine stains from carpet” or “best carpet cleaning methods for pets” without actual web pages. If you’re serious about SEO, you need pages to optimize.

If you’re building a personal brand, you need a website. LinkedIn is great. Twitter/X has its moments. But these platforms showcase their brand, not yours. Your website is the one place online where you control the narrative completely. Your colors. Your voice. Your story. Your terms.

If you run any kind of professional service, you need a website. Lawyers, accountants, consultants, coaches, therapists, photographers, designers. Credibility matters in these fields. A professional website signals you take your work seriously. A missing website signals the opposite. Web design tips can help you get started on the right foot.

When You Might Not Need a Website (Yet)

This is where most articles chicken out. They won’t tell you that sometimes, a website is premature or unnecessary. I will.

If you’re a local service business with steady referral traffic, a website might be low priority. A plumber I know has been booked solid for years. His entire marketing is a Google Business Profile, a few dozen reviews, and word of mouth. He answers his phone, does good work, and people recommend him. A website would be nice, but it wouldn’t meaningfully change his business.

If you’re just starting out and still validating your offer, a website can be a distraction. I’ve watched too many new entrepreneurs spend months perfecting their website instead of talking to customers and making sales. A simple landing page or even a well-crafted Instagram bio with a Calendly link might be all you need initially. Build the website once you know what you’re selling and to whom.

If your customers genuinely don’t search online, you might not need one. Some businesses serve audiences that simply don’t Google for solutions. If you’re selling handmade goods at local craft fairs and your customers are primarily in-person, a fancy website might generate zero return. A simple Etsy shop or Instagram grid might serve you better.

The key question: Where do your customers actually look when they need what you sell? If the answer is “online,” you need a website. If the answer is “they ask their neighbor” or “they walk into my store,” the calculus changes.

The True Cost of Not Having a Website

I have to tell you about a client I almost had. Back in 2016, a catering business approached me about building them an e-commerce site and mobile app. They were growing fast, planning to expand to multiple cities. I put together a proposal. We agreed on scope and timeline.

Then the owner pulled out. His reasoning? The business was already doing well. Websites were “resource-eaters.” His exact words: “Who’d waste their precious time on such sh*t?”

I tried to convince him otherwise. Suggested at least registering the domain and putting up a basic site. He declined.

Eighteen months later, their expansion failed. Competition from online food delivery giants ate into their market share. Customers who might have ordered directly found it easier to use apps from competitors with established digital presence. When he finally called me to restart the project, it was too late. The window had closed.

This story isn’t about me being right. It’s about timing. The cost of not having a website isn’t always obvious. It’s the clients who never find you. The credibility you don’t build. The competitors who capture the customers you could have had.

What Kind of Website Do You Actually Need?

Most businesses don’t need a $20,000 custom website. They need something that works. Here’s a realistic breakdown.

A simple 5-page WordPress site costs between $1,500 and $5,000 if done professionally, or $200-500 if you DIY with decent templates. This covers most service businesses, freelancers, and local companies. Home page, about, services, contact, maybe a blog. Clean, fast, mobile-friendly. That’s enough for 80% of businesses. Check out my website pricing guide for more detailed breakdowns.

An e-commerce site ranges from $3,000 to $25,000+ depending on complexity. If you’re selling physical products online, you need proper inventory management, secure checkout, and a design that builds trust. Don’t cheap out here. A bad e-commerce experience kills sales. My guide on ecommerce development covers what to look for.

A content-focused site for SEO and lead generation typically runs $2,000 to $10,000 for the initial build, plus ongoing content costs. This is for businesses where organic search traffic matters. Think blogs, resource sites, and businesses targeting informational keywords.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the website itself is only part of the investment. Hosting costs $50-500/year depending on traffic and needs. Maintenance runs $100-300/month if you outsource it, or a few hours of your time monthly if you DIY. Content creation is ongoing if you’re serious about SEO.

I use WordPress for all my client sites because it’s flexible, cost-effective, and clients can manage basic updates themselves. According to W3Techs, WordPress powers 43.4% of all websites on the internet and holds 62.6% of the CMS market share. No other platform comes close. For hosting, I recommend Bluehost for beginners who want simplicity, or a VPS setup on Hetzner if you need performance and don’t mind a slight learning curve.

The Basics Every Website Must Get Right

Once you’ve decided you need a website, execution matters. A bad website can hurt more than no website at all.

Speed is non-negotiable. According to Portent’s research, a site that loads in 1 second has a conversion rate 3x higher than a site that loads in 5 seconds. Google’s data shows that as page load time increases from 1 to 3 seconds, the probability of bounce increases by 32%. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing visitors. Use a good caching plugin like FlyingPress, optimize your images, and choose hosting that doesn’t suck.

Mobile-first isn’t optional anymore. According to StatCounter data, approximately 59-62% of global web traffic now comes from mobile devices. In regions like India and Southeast Asia, mobile usage pushes past 70%. Your site must work perfectly on phones. Not “kinda works if you pinch and zoom.” Actually works. Buttons you can tap. Text you can read. Forms you can fill out.

Clear calls to action matter more than fancy design. Every page should answer: what do you want the visitor to do next? Call you? Fill out a form? Buy something? Make it obvious. Don’t make people hunt for how to contact you. Good web design prioritizes user action over aesthetic flourishes.

Trust signals are essential for conversion. WebFX research indicates that nearly 95% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. Testimonials, case studies, credentials, association logos, secure checkout badges. Anything that reduces friction and answers the unconscious question: “Can I trust this business?” Include them prominently.

Your contact information should be ridiculously easy to find. Phone number in the header. Contact form that actually works. Physical address if you have one. I’ve seen websites where finding the contact page requires three clicks and a scroll. That’s insane.

The DIY vs. Professional Decision

Can you build a website yourself? Technically, yes. Should you? Depends.

DIY makes sense if you have more time than money, you’re tech-comfortable, and your needs are simple. WordPress with a theme like GeneratePress or Kadence, plus a page builder if you need it, can produce professional results. It takes learning, probably 20-40 hours to do it properly, but it’s doable.

DIY doesn’t make sense if your time is worth more than the cost of hiring someone, you need complex functionality, or your brand requires polish that templates can’t provide. If you’re a lawyer billing $300/hour, spending 30 hours building your own website costs you $9,000 in opportunity cost. Hiring someone for $3,000 is the smarter move.

A middle path that often works: hire a professional for the initial build and strategy, then learn to manage updates yourself. This gives you a proper foundation without ongoing dependency. My WordPress development services page explains how this works.

If you want to learn the fundamentals, I’ve written extensively about web design and web development that can help you understand what goes into a good site.

The Platforms That Pretend to Replace Websites

Let me address the elephant in the room. With Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and now AI-powered builders everywhere, do you even need a traditional website?

These platforms are fine for getting started. They lower the barrier to entry. A Shopify store can be live in a day. A Squarespace site looks decent out of the box.

But they come with tradeoffs.

Monthly costs add up. Shopify’s basic plan is $39/month. That’s $468/year, every year. A WordPress site on decent hosting costs maybe $100-200/year after the initial build. Over five years, the difference is significant.

You’re locked into their ecosystem. Moving from Shopify to WooCommerce or from Wix to WordPress is painful. Your data, your design, your URLs, everything needs to be migrated. This creates switching costs that platform companies love and you’ll hate.

Limited customization hits eventually. What seems “enough” when you start often becomes restrictive as you grow. Custom functionality that takes 30 minutes in WordPress might be impossible on Wix or require expensive apps on Shopify.

SEO control is often limited. Some platforms give you less control over technical SEO elements. Page speed is harder to optimize. URL structures might be suboptimal.

According to Themeisle’s CMS market share data, WordPress maintains 61.3% of the CMS market, while Shopify holds 6.7%, Wix has 5.2%, and Squarespace sits at 3.3%. When you look at the top 1 million websites by traffic, WordPress powers over 50% of them. Wix and Squarespace barely register among high-traffic sites. There’s a reason for that.

For a small store selling a few products, Shopify is probably fine. For a business where the website is a central asset you’ll build on for years, I’d recommend WordPress every time.

The AI Website Question

“Can’t I just have AI build my website?” I hear this constantly now.

The answer is Yes.

AI tools can do everything needed to create a website. They can write decent copy if you know how to prompt them. They can suggest layouts and even create design mockups.

What they can’t do: understand your specific business, your customers, your competitive positioning, and your unique value proposition. They can’t conduct the strategic thinking that separates websites that convert from digital brochures that just exist.

Use AI as a tool in the process. Use it for first drafts of copy, for brainstorming layouts, for generating placeholder content. But don’t outsource the thinking entirely. The strategy, the positioning, the “why should someone choose you” part, that still requires human judgment.

Getting Started Without Overwhelm

If you’ve read this far and decided you need a website, here’s the simplest path forward.

First, secure your domain name. Even if you’re not ready to build, own yourcompanyname.com. Domains cost about $12/year. This is the cheapest insurance policy you’ll ever buy. I’ve seen businesses pay $5,000+ to buy their name back from domain squatters who got there first.

Second, decide on your minimum viable presence. What’s the smallest website that would serve your needs? For most businesses starting out, it’s a home page, an about page, a services page, and a contact page. That’s it. Don’t overcomplicate.

Third, choose your platform. I recommend WordPress for most businesses because of its flexibility and ownership model. But if simplicity matters more and you’re okay with the tradeoffs, Squarespace or Shopify can work.

Fourth, invest in good hosting. Don’t go with the cheapest option. Bluehost is solid for beginners. If you’re more technical, a VPS gives you better performance for roughly the same cost. Check out my guide on unlimited web hosting services for options.

Fifth, focus on content before design. A mediocre-looking website with compelling content will outperform a beautiful website that says nothing interesting. Write your copy first. What do you do? Who do you help? Why should they choose you?

The Bottom Line

A website isn’t a magic business growth lever. It’s a tool. Like any tool, it’s only as good as the strategy behind it and the hands wielding it.

Some businesses will do fine without one. Most won’t. The question isn’t whether to have a website. It’s whether you’re ready to do it right.

If your business relies on people finding and trusting you online, you need a website. If your competitors have websites and you don’t, you’re handing them an advantage. If you’re building something meant to last beyond next year, own your digital real estate.

Start simple. A domain, basic hosting, a clean WordPress site with your essential pages. That’s enough to begin. You can always expand later.

The worst move? Waiting until “someday” while your competitors build the online presence you’re putting off.

Here’s what to do right now: Register your domain name if you haven’t already. Even if you don’t build the site for six months, own that name. It costs $12 and takes 10 minutes. That’s your first step.

Questions about what your specific business needs? Drop them in the comments. I’ve been doing this long enough to give you a straight answer.

Frequently Asked Questions