Not every trader does. If all your income comes from regular market pitches, Instagram may be enough. A website starts to matter when you want private work: corporate lunches, weddings and parties.
If you trade at the same markets each week and your customers find you there, an active Instagram account does the job. It shows your food, your dates and your location, and it costs nothing.
Keep the bio current, pin a post with your menu, and reply to messages quickly.
Private bookings are won differently from market trade. The person booking is often an office manager, an event planner or a couple, and they are comparing several caterers.
Corporate clients and venues often ask for a website before they add you to a supplier list.
People looking for event catering search by type of food and place. A trader with no website has nothing for Google to show.
Menu, a guide to price, the numbers you can serve and a way to enquire. On Instagram that is spread across posts, highlights and messages.
As text, with dietary notes, readable on a phone.
An events diary for the weeks ahead.
One that asks for date, guest numbers, venue and budget, so you can quote the same day.
A one-page site is enough for most traders. Pitch to Private builds one for £200, and the only required running cost is a domain name at about £10 to £20 a year. The website cost guide compares this with building it yourself and with monthly plans.
Before you take on more events, the free pitch fee checker shows whether an event is worth its fee.
For regular market trade, often yes. For corporate, wedding and private bookings, a website gives clients the menu, a guide price and an enquiry form in one place.
A one-page site with a menu and an enquiry form costs £200 with Pitch to Private, plus a domain at about £10 to £20 a year.
It is not a rule, but many corporate clients and venues ask for one before they book or add a supplier.
A link page helps people find your accounts. It does not hold a menu, prices and an enquiry form, and it gives Google little to show in search results.