A website is a must for independent contractor and/or studio owner. There are some that only depend on social media. This is a mistake since there are some people refuse to use social media. Even with my closing my own studio, my website has helped me get new clients. Even with renting at different studios in New York City, my listing the neighborhoods of the studio on my website attracted clients to me.
In looking at possible website hosting sites, being able to place tags and connect to social media invites better search optimization. When I had a brick and mortar studio, I worked with web professionals about Google analytics to get my studio listed on the first page. This is essential if you are in a big city. A cheap web hosting site works only with pages format vs a post format. Most of my pages are really posts that gives you the ability to create tags. Tags are words that can lead others to you in their search.
Here are some examples of tags:
Joseph Pilates, Laban, Lesley A. Powell. Lesley Powell. Movements Afoot, Pilates, Pilates Mat, Pilates teacher, Pilates workshops for teachers, pilates post rehab workshops. Post rehabilitation, Pilates Lincoln Center, Pilates 10023, Pilates Flatiron District, Pilates 10011, Pilates 12430
I work now with wordpress. I originally had a webdesigner to give the site a look. Prior to wordpress, I was unable to make changes to my site. I am able to go into my sites; www.movementsafoot.com and www.lesleyapowell.com at any time to make changes. Some of my posts are under my tabs: News. Also with my posts I can connect them to social medial.