New survey indicates 1 in 5 small businesses use social media in place of a Website.

Many assume a Website is cost-prohibitive and may not consider the risks of not having one.

[source: PRNewswire] More than one-third (36%) of small businesses do not have a Website, according to the Websites section of the fourth annual Small Business Survey conducted by Clutch, a B2B research firm. One in five small businesses (21%) selectively use social media instead of a Website in an effort to engage customers.

The survey indicates that small businesses consider cost a bigger concern than the potential repercussions of not having a Website.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram attract small businesses by cultivating a highly engaged user base.

However, relying solely on social media may be a risky strategy for businesses.

Facebook recently announced changes that potentially increase the risk of using social media in place of a Website. The social media platform plans to prioritize posts from family and friends over posts from brands.

This new policy may make it more difficult for small businesses to reach their audiences through social media. As a result, Websites are expected to regain importance among businesses – as long as cost is not considered an obstacle.

More than a quarter (26%) of small businesses surveyed say cost is a key factor that prevents them from having a Website. However, nearly one-third of small businesses with Websites (28%) report spending $500 or less.

Mobile-friendly Websites has becoming standard

Businesses that do have Websites are moving to mobile friendly ones, the survey found. Over 90% of respondents said their company Websites will be optimized for viewing on mobile devices by the end of this year.

In addition to the 81% of company Websites that are already optimized for mobile, an additional 13% that say they plan to optimize for mobile in 2019.

Clutch’s Small Business Survey included 351 small business owners. The small businesses surveyed have between 1 and 500 employees, with 55% indicating that they have 10 or fewer employees.