# Website or social media for trades businesses? | BrandHoop

Quelle: https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/

Website or social media for your trades business? Compare roles, ongoing work and suitable enquiries, with a decision table and a practical plan to get started.

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- Website or social media: which should your business prioritise?

[ Website](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website/)9 min read Updated 18 October 2026

# Website or social media: which should your business prioritise?

If reliable information about services, service area and contact is missing, prioritise a compact website. If Instagram or Facebook already brings suitable enquiries, keep the channel and add the information customers need. Your Google Business Profile also belongs in the decision about local search.

## Key points

- Decide based on the next missing piece of information or contact option. You do not have to build a large website and several social channels at once.

- Your website, social media and Google Business Profile serve different roles. Keep services, service area and contact details current. Hide the address on your public Google profile if customers do not visit you there.

- Account for the ongoing work with both routes. Posts, messages, website content and technology need clear responsibilities.

- Compare suitable enquiries and the jobs they lead to. Views or followers alone do not answer the business question.

## Contents

- [01 Website or social media: where should you start?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#website-or-social-media-where-should-you-start)

- [02 What role does each channel play?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#what-role-does-each-channel-play)

- [03 What role does your Google Business Profile play?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#what-role-does-your-google-business-profile-play)

- [04 Example: showing a bathroom project and answering questions](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#example-showing-a-bathroom-project-and-answering-questions)

- [05 How much ongoing work is involved?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#how-much-ongoing-work-is-involved)

- [06 How much control do you have over your presence?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#how-much-control-do-you-have-over-your-presence)

- [07 How to get started with limited time](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#how-to-get-started-with-limited-time)

- [08 How can you tell what is worthwhile?](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#how-can-you-tell-what-is-worthwhile)

- [09 Conclusion](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-oder-social-media/#fazit)

## Website or social media: where should you start?

Start where customers currently get stuck: if a service description, service area and reliable contact method are missing, build the website first. If social media already leads to suitable jobs, keep managing that channel. Check missing information and your capacity to manage it before opening another channel.

Look at your business’s situation. A newly established roofer with no usable contact details online has a different task from a bathroom renovator already receiving regular enquiries for suitable projects through Instagram.

Your starting situation What may take priority
Prospective customers know you through recommendations but find little information about your business A compact website with the necessary details about the service and working together
You want to be found for relevant searches within your service area Review website content and Google Business Profile together; a social profile alone does not cover this task
A social channel already brings suitable enquiries that your team handles Continue the working channel and close recurring information gaps
You have a website and post a lot, but contacts do not fit your services Check the source and needs of contacts before adding more pages or channels

Your agency should investigate how customers search, which information is already available and where improvement helps most. Follower count or website age alone is not enough to make this decision.

## What role does each channel play?

On your website, you can organise information about services, service area and process coherently. Someone arriving through a recommendation or search can deliberately check whether your business fits their project. You determine which content belongs together and where people can get in touch.

Social networks make communication easier within that network. A project image can attract attention, someone can ask a question or share the post with another person. Direct enquiries can result too. A prospective customer does not necessarily have to visit your website first if you can already clarify their needs in conversation.

Both routes need suitable information and contacts who can be reached. Outdated services on the website can lead to the wrong enquiries; unanswered messages leave prospective customers waiting. Publication alone does not automatically bring new visitors either. In its [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide?hl=en), Google notes that even inclusion in the index is not guaranteed.

## What role does your Google Business Profile play?

For a trades business serving local customers, Google Business Profile belongs in the comparison. It can show your business with contact details, opening hours and reviews in Google Search and Maps. Your website explains services and projects in more detail; social media provides updates and conversations.

Under [Google’s guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en), eligible businesses either receive customers at their location or work at customers’ locations. If you only travel to customers and do not receive them at your business address, hide that address from the public profile. Your profile and website should describe the same services, phone numbers and actual service areas. Our guide explains [addresses and service areas for trades businesses](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/google-unternehmensprofil-handwerker/).

A profile does not fully replace a website, but it can already enable direct calls. Equally, a new website does not secure a place in Maps. Google identifies relevance, distance and prominence as the main factors in [local search results](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en).

## Example: showing a bathroom project and answering questions

Suppose a fictional bathroom renovation business wants to show a completed project. The photos used and their publication have been cleared with those involved. A short social network post can show part of the work and explain the task the business undertook.

Prospective customers may then want to know more: was it just tiling or a complete bathroom renovation? Which work did the business carry out itself? In which area does it take on similar jobs? How does planning begin?

A suitable project or service page can bring these answers together. A link from the post or profile can lead there. It does not always have to be the homepage. Someone interested in the bathroom shown should quickly find the information that goes with it.

If the enquiry arrives as a direct message instead, the business can reply there and link additional information if needed. What matters is that the enquiry is handled. An extra form step is not automatically helpful.

A new project does not have to be completely reworked for every channel either. The same approved images can support a short post and a more detailed project description. Content and length depend on which question needs answering at each point.

## How much ongoing work is involved?

Social media involves selecting suitable images, writing and answering questions as well as publishing. Advertising or external management can create additional costs. A profile with no basic fee therefore does not mean that customer acquisition takes no effort.

For the website, building and operating it involve work and costs. Content must be accurate, contact methods must work and the technology used must be maintained. How much ongoing maintenance is needed depends on the system. A simple static website has different technical tasks from a large installation with many extensions.

Agree on specific responsibilities: who supplies and checks project information? Who may publish it? Who answers an enquiry, and who handles website changes? If the team is already fully occupied, one well-maintained channel may be more helpful than several additional profiles.

You do not have to handle all implementation yourself. You can commission text, page structure and technical management. Your input is the business facts and a contact person for questions. The guide to [website costs for trades businesses](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-kosten-handwerker/) helps with comparing proposals.

## How much control do you have over your presence?

On a social network, the provider sets the functions and rules. The distribution of posts is also only partly in your hands. If a channel is important for your enquiries, the business should be able to manage its access and know who is responsible. Protect accounts with two-factor authentication and agree how access will be transferred or removed when changing providers.

Your own website gives you more freedom over content and structure. There are dependencies there too, such as hosting, software used and ongoing administration. Clarify who the domain is registered to and how the business can access the website and content when switching providers. For .at domains, nic.at’s [registration guidelines](https://www.nic.at/media/files/pdf/RegRL-2018_DE.pdf) describe the registered domain holder as the contracting party with the rights and obligations relating to the domain. An agency can handle administration without having to be the holder itself.

Also keep approved original images and texts somewhere the business can find them again. A social profile should not be the only archive of your project material. Technical management and website backups can also be covered in the commission.

## How to get started with limited time

- **Check the route from customer to business.** Open your website and profiles on your phone, including without logging in where possible. Can you find services, service area and contact details? Test the form and phone number.

- **Close the biggest information gap.** If you lack a usable website, start with services, area, business information, approved project examples and contact. Use the guide to [content for a trades business website](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-for-trades-businesses/) to plan its scope. A blog is not a prerequisite.

- **Check your Google profile.** Check whether the business is eligible, the profile is verified and its details match your website. Clarify customer visits and service area.

- **Use one social channel you can manage.** Choose based on previous suitable contacts and available time. An approved project can supply material for both a post and your website. Decide who answers messages and when the channel is checked.

- **Agree on the review.** Before making a change, record which gap it should close, who will implement it and when you will review suitable enquiries and the work involved together.

An Austrian business using only social media still needs the required business disclosures. The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) expressly states that social media is no exception in its [guidance on information duties under the Trade Regulation Act](https://www.wko.at/internetrecht/impressumsvorschriften-fuer-e-mails-und-websites-nach-der-1). The details you need depend, among other things, on legal form and company register status.

## How can you tell what is worthwhile?

Together with the agency managing your presence, look at suitable contacts: which services were requested, which areas did prospective customers come from and what happened afterwards? Include the work involved in content, management and any advertising. A channel with a few suitable enquiries can be more valuable to your business than a post with high reach but no relevant projects.

A simple enquiry log is enough to start. Record the date, initial contact method, other interactions the customer mentions, requested service, project location and outcome. Define a suitable enquiry in advance: the service and location fit your offer and you have capacity to handle the project. A click on a phone number is not yet a conversation.

For the same review period, calculate: **Ongoing cost per suitable enquiry = (ongoing external costs + the value of your own time) / suitable enquiries.** Compare one-off setup costs separately and use the same period for both routes. With zero suitable enquiries, no finite cost per enquiry can be calculated. Jobs won and their financial contribution need a separate check, since even a suitable enquiry does not always become a job.

The source cannot always be clearly assigned. Someone may see a project on Instagram, later search for your business name and finally call. Avoid attributing the same job in full to several channels as each one’s own success. New channels often lack your own comparison data at first. Record which assumptions you are testing and when you will review developments together; unknown results should also be shown as unknown in the evaluation.

The guide to [measuring SEO success](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/seo-erfolg-messen/) explains how to distinguish search visibility from business results. If your website is the next gap to close, discuss your [website and its next improvements](https://brandhoop.at/en/leistungen/website-erstellung/) with BrandHoop. Show us your existing presence and describe which jobs you want to win.

## Conclusion

First check how customers reach you today and where information is missing. For a business that wants to be found through search and assessed before an enquiry, a reliable website is a worthwhile next step. You can connect it with a social channel that already works.

## Next step

Rather have it done for you? Tell us in two sentences where you stand – we reply by email.

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Still wondering?

## Frequently asked questions

Can a Facebook page replace my website?

It can be enough for an initial presence if customers find the information they need and you reliably answer enquiries. Add your own website when services and project examples become hard to find or information is unavailable without logging in. You do not have to give up a Facebook channel that works.

Does my trades business have to be on Instagram?

No. What matters is whether you reach the right people there and can manage the channel. Projects and insights into your work can be interesting. But if no one maintains the content or answers messages, another account is not a sensible first step.

Do I need a blog on my website straight away?

No. Clear services, service area, business information and a working contact method come first. A guide or blog makes sense when it answers specific customer questions and can be maintained. A fixed number of articles is not a useful measure for this.

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