Do I need a website if I sell on Instagram?
Usually not a full website — but you do need somewhere of your own to send people. Instagram is excellent at reach and poor at answering questions, and a single link that explains the business will do more for you than five unfinished website pages.
5 min read · Published 1 September 2026
What Instagram does well
Instagram puts your work in front of people who were not looking for it. That is genuinely hard to replicate, and it is why so many businesses grow there without ever building a website.
It is also where a lot of buying decisions now happen. People watch how you work, read your captions, see who else buys from you, and decide.
What it does badly
- Nothing is findable. A price you posted in March is effectively gone.
- It answers questions one message at a time, forever.
- The grid shows moments, not a range or a service list.
- One bio link has to serve everyone, whatever they came for.
- You do not own the account, the reach, or the audience.
When you genuinely need a website
Build a website if you want to take payments yourself with stock and shipping, if you plan to publish regularly to attract search traffic, or if you need many pages — services, locations, case studies, policies.
Those are real jobs, and a one-page presence will not do them. If that is your situation, spend the money on a website and keep Instagram for reach.
When one professional page is enough
If you already sell or take bookings somewhere — a marketplace, a booking app, DMs — then the gap is not a shop. The gap is a place that explains the business and points people to the right destination.
That page needs to say what you do, show the work, answer the two or three questions you get asked constantly, and give every reasonable way to buy, book or ask.
What to put in your bio link
- A one-line description of the business a stranger would understand.
- Photographs of actual work, not stock imagery.
- Prices or from-prices if they help you qualify enquiries.
- The routes out: shop, booking system, WhatsApp, email, phone.
- Where else you can be found, including in person.
Where My Shop Window fits
My Shop Window is one designed page at your own address that does exactly that job. You send the content and we build it, so it does not join the list of things you meant to finish. It is a one-off payment from £19, with no monthly subscription.
If you later decide you need a full website, nothing is wasted — your Window can point straight at it.