Putting your social media on your website

Put small, recognizable icons for the social accounts you actually keep up in your website's footer and on your contact page, and link each one straight to your business profile. That covers almost every small business. Do not put them at the very top of the page, do not include accounts you have abandoned, and never use social links as a substitute for real information on your own site. Your website is the place you control; social media is where you remind people it exists.

Which accounts to link

Only link accounts that pass two tests:

You posted on it in the last few months. A Facebook page whose last post is from 2021 tells visitors you might have closed.
A customer would learn something useful there. Recent work, current specials, your hours this week, photos of the latest cakes.

For many local businesses that means one or two accounts. A restaurant might have Instagram and Facebook. A contractor might have Facebook and a YouTube channel with project videos. A salon might have Instagram. That is plenty.

Also worth linking, even though they are not social media in the usual sense:

Your Google Business Profile reviews, if you want people to see or leave reviews. A "Read our Google reviews" link often does more than any social icon.
Yelp, Houzz, Nextdoor or a trade directory, if that is where your reviews and photos live and you keep the listing current.

Leave out accounts that are personal, accounts that mostly share memes or politics, and any account you set up once and forgot.

Where the links go

The bottom of every page is the standard place. Visitors who scroll down looking for more are exactly the people who want to see your Instagram. A row of small icons next to your phone number, address and hours is all you need. Website footer: what belongs at the bottom of the page covers the rest of what sits there.

The contact page

Some people prefer to message you on Facebook or Instagram rather than call or fill in a form. If you answer messages there, say so on the contact page: "You can also message us on Facebook. We usually reply the same day." If you do not check messages, do not invite them.

Next to the content it relates to

If you post finished cakes on Instagram every week, a line on your gallery page saying "See this week's cakes on Instagram" with a link is more useful than an icon. Same for a photographer's portfolio or a boutique's new arrivals.

Not at the very top

Many old templates put social icons in the top bar, above the menu. On a phone that takes up space your phone number and heading need, and it invites visitors to leave your site in the first few seconds, before they have seen what you do. Move them down.

Icons that work

Use the official logos, small and in one color that matches your site, or their usual colors. People recognize them instantly.
Make them big enough to tap. A thumb needs a target about the size of a fingertip. Tiny icons crammed together lead to wrong taps.
Add a text label for screen readers. Each icon link should have a name like "Our Facebook page", so a visitor using a screen reader hears what it is. Most website editors have a field for this.
Open the right page. Each icon should go to your business profile, not to the platform's home page, and not to a personal profile.

Test every icon on your phone. If you have the app installed, it will usually open in the app, which is what most visitors want.

It is tempting to say "see our Facebook for the latest" and leave the website bare. That causes problems:

Not everyone has an account. Many of your customers, especially older ones, will not log in to see your posts, and some platforms nag visitors who are not signed in.
You do not control the platform. Pages get restricted, accounts get hacked, features change, and reach goes up and down without warning. Your website stays where you put it.
Things get buried. Your hours, prices and service area scroll out of sight in a feed within a week. On your website they stay where people look for them.
Google reads your website more reliably. Your services, your towns and your answers belong on pages you own.

The rule of thumb: everything a customer needs to decide and contact you lives on your website. Social media shows the latest, and links back.

Showing your feed on the site

Some website editors and plugins can show your latest Instagram or Facebook posts right on a page. It can look lively, but think twice:

Feed widgets often slow the page down.
They break when the platform changes its rules, leaving an empty box or an error.
If you post rarely, the feed shows old content front and center.
They can show posts you would not choose for your website.

If you post often and well, a small feed on one page, like the gallery, can work. For most businesses, picking your best photos and putting them on the site yourself is more reliable. Using your own photos instead of stock photos has tips on choosing them.

Linking the other way

Make sure your social profiles point back to your website. Each platform has a field for a website link in the profile or "About" section. Use your full website address and check it works. If you just got a new website, update these links the same day.

Your Google Business Profile should have your website too. Adding your website to your Google Business Profile shows where to click.

What to do this week

List every social account your business has. Cross out any you have not posted on in months.
For the rest, check that the profile has your current phone, hours and website link.
On your site, move the social icons to the footer if they are at the top.
Tap each icon on your phone and make sure it opens the right business page.
Add a line to your contact page if you answer messages on a platform.

If your current site has social icons where your phone number should be, or links to accounts you closed years ago, you can see your site rebuilt first with only the links you choose.