Compared · 2 minute read
Is a Facebook or Instagram page enough for your business?
For many South African businesses, a Facebook page or an Instagram account was the first step online, and it works: people see your photos, message you and share your posts. But a page on someone else’s platform has limits, and one serious risk.
The short answer
Keep posting. Social media is where people discover you. But send them somewhere you own: a website on your own .co.za, with everything a customer needs to choose you. Appetite Host builds it for you from one conversation.
You are building on someone else’s land
Facebook and Instagram are provided by Meta Platforms, Inc., on Meta’s terms. Those terms say Meta may suspend or permanently disable access to an account. Meta’s own help pages say a disabled account is not visible to anyone, and that without a successful appeal it is permanently disabled.
Accounts also get hacked. If your page is your only presence online, losing it means losing every photo, review and way for customers to find you, overnight.
A website on your own .co.za cannot be switched off by a social network. It is registered in your name, and it stays yours.
Side by side
| Appetite Host website | Facebook or Instagram page | |
|---|---|---|
| Your address | yourbusiness.co.za, registered in your name | facebook.com/yourname, on Meta’s platform |
| Who controls it | You | Meta, under its terms |
| Found on Google | Built so search engines understand what you do and where | Mostly found inside the app |
| What customers see | Your services, areas, prices, photos and reviews, laid out to win the enquiry | Your latest posts, mixed in a feed |
| Cost | R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with your first year included, then R249 to R499 a month | Free to set up |
Your address
- Appetite Host website
- yourbusiness.co.za, registered in your name
- Facebook or Instagram page
- facebook.com/yourname, on Meta’s platform
Who controls it
- Appetite Host website
- You
- Facebook or Instagram page
- Meta, under its terms
Found on Google
- Appetite Host website
- Built so search engines understand what you do and where
- Facebook or Instagram page
- Mostly found inside the app
What customers see
- Appetite Host website
- Your services, areas, prices, photos and reviews, laid out to win the enquiry
- Facebook or Instagram page
- Your latest posts, mixed in a feed
Cost
- Appetite Host website
- R5 000 to R15 000 once-off with your first year included, then R249 to R499 a month
- Facebook or Instagram page
- Free to set up
Customers check for a website
When someone is about to spend real money, on a builder, a caterer or a guesthouse, they want to check you are a proper business. A website with your own .co.za, your contact details, your areas and real reviews answers that question in seconds. A social page often leaves them scrolling.
Social media and your website work together
- Post on social media to be discovered.
- Link your website in your bio and on every post.
- Let your website do the convincing: what you do, where, how much, and how to reach you.
- Show the links to your social pages on your website.
Easier than you think
You do not have to write a website from scratch. Tell Naya about your business, typed or spoken, and watch it build while you chat. Use the same photos you already post. Your website is live within 1 working day of payment. Your own .co.za address follows as soon as you confirm your email, usually the same day.
Questions
Do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?
A Facebook page is a great way to be discovered, but it sits on Meta’s platform under Meta’s rules, and accounts can be disabled or hacked. A website on your own .co.za is yours, and gives customers everything they need to choose you.
Can I link my social media to my Appetite Host website?
Yes. Your website can link to your Facebook, Instagram and other pages, and you can link back to your website from every profile.
Can Naya use the photos from my Instagram?
Once your website is built, you can upload the same photos you post, straight from your phone, and Naya places them on your website.
Prices checked on 8 October 2026, as each provider showed them to a visitor in South Africa. They change; check with the provider before you decide.
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Appetite Host or GoDaddy
Appetite Host or GoDaddy?
GoDaddy gives you a builder to use yourself, or a design service that typically takes around six weeks. Appetite Host builds your website from one conversation, live within a working day of payment.
Appetite Host or Squarespace
Appetite Host or Squarespace?
Squarespace gives you beautiful tools to build a website yourself. Appetite Host builds a beautiful website for you, with your .co.za included, which Squarespace does not sell.
See yours before you decide
Tell Naya about your business and watch her build it. Free to try.