Do you use Linktree - or some other third-party platform - for your Instagram bio link? With Insta previously only allowing us to use one link in our bios, platforms like Linktree became really popular as a hack to being able to highlight more than just one link. And now, even though we can have more links in our bios, these platforms are still super popular because you only have to update that one page, rather than all of the links.

But, if you have your own website, you really don’t need Linktree - or any other similar platform. It’s just one more space you have to remember to update. And really, there is a much simpler solution that keeps all of your content in one place, and gets visitors on to YOUR website, rather than to Linktree’s website (and cross your fingers that they then click on a link to visit yours).

And that solution? Add a “link in bio” page on your website.

Why shouldn't I just use Linktree?

Don’t get me wrong - I have nothing against Linktree. In fact I’ve used it before, and there are some benefits, especially if you don’t already have a website. But if you do have your own website, the cons far outweigh the pros.

#1. Your branding gets lost

The free version of Linktree is very limited in terms of what you can customise so that your landing page looks on brand. You’re limited to a handful of colours and fonts, and you’ll have to pay and upgrade to the Pro version to be enable more customisations. This may not seem like a big deal - “it’s only one page” - but when it comes to your brand and marketing, it is problematic. Every touchpoint your customer interacts with should reinforce your brand. If they suddenly see something new or different, it can cast doubt in the back of their mind, and that’s a slippery slope to get yourself on just for a link page.

#2. It adds an extra step to your user’s journey

Social media marketing is about getting your brand in front of potential customers at different stages of their buying journey. And the main goal of that exposure is to ultimately get that user back to your website so that can see what you have to offer and buy from you.

But when you add in a platform like Linktree to this journey, you add an extra step to that journey which makes it even harder to achieve that ultimate goal.

Instead of following a simple path like this:

social media post ——> website

It looks like this:

social media post ——> linktree ——> website

In that middle step, you could very easily lose that potential customer as when they land on that third party landing page full of links, one of these things could happen:

They find the right link for the content they were interested in
They get distracted and click on a completely different link
They feel bombarded with all of the links and go back to Instagram instead

And unfortunately, most people feel overwhelmed when they see so many links. It’s called “decision paralysis” - when there are so many options to choose from, most people don’t know which one to choose, so they don’t choose anything. Potential new customer lost :(

#3. It doesn’t help your SEO

One of the reasons why social media is useful for your SEO is because it tells Google which content resonates with your audience. When the link from your socials is clicked on, taking your audience to the content on your website, it tells Google that that piece of content is seen as valuable to your audience and gives your site an SEO boost. That boost in traffic to your website also helps your SEO ranking.

If you add a middle-man such as Linktree, that SEO lovin’ stops going to your website. All the clicks from your profile go to Linktree instead, and you lose the opportunity to increase the page rank for your own website. It’s a missed opportunity for sure!

(Un)sold on Linktree (or whichever other platform you’re using)? Read on to learn how you can use the the best alternative option instead - your own website!

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Why Use Your Squarespace Website Instead?

Your own website - whether you use Squarespace or another CMS platform - is a far better option for this type of link page because it offers the pros to all of the above cons.

✔️You have full control over the appearance of the page, which includes using all of your brand colours, fonts and button styles. This makes it much easier for your page to stay on brand!

✔️You have way more flexibility with the layout of the page and the elements you want to include. Images? Tick! Blog posts? Tick! Buttons? To your hearts content. No restrictions. No limitations.

✔️Your social media followers will be sent straight to your website when they click on the link in your bio, which means less friction in their journey (to find the content they’re looking for), and more traffic for your site (which equals more SEO love).

✔️It doesn’t cost you anything extra to have all of above AND it’s one less platform for you to remember to update!

How to Build a Link Page on Squarespace

Navigate to “Pages” and click on the “+” icon in the “Not Linked” section
Select “Blank Page”
Name your page “Instagram Links” (or something similar) and adjust the URL slug. You can do this by hovering over the gear icon next to the page and click on it to edit to the page title, navigation title and URL slug
While you’re editing your page settings, you’ll also want to add code to remove the header and footer from your landing page. This will give you a cleaner user experience because when a visitor clicks on your link from your bio, they will only see the links you want them to see and not all of the navigation links that may present too many options.
This is the code I have used: <style>.header, #footer-sections {display:none!important;}</style>
Go to “Advanced” and add the code above
Make sure to hit save!

That’s the bare bones of your page done. Next you can design the page layout and add your content. Remember, visitors will be coming to this page from their phones, so make sure you’re designing for mobile view. To see how your page looks in mobile preview, toggle the icon in the top right corner to the phone and Squarespace will automatically adjust your screen view to a mobile design. In Squarespace 7.1, you have to edit for mobile (as opposed to Squarespace 7 that pretty much adjusted it all for you).

I suggest keeping things simple on this page - add buttons and include relevant CTA’s (call to actions) on each to represent the links you reference in posts. You could also include a mini about section so your Insta visitors get a quick intro of who you are, and maybe even include an email sign up or a link to your freebie. On my page, I added a summary block for my blog, and that will automatically update when I create a new blog post. This means I won’t have to change the link on my Insta page each time.

Tips for Creating a Successful Instagram Link Page in Squarespace

#1. Add the link page in the “Not Linked” section on Squarespace

This page doesn’t need to be part of your navigation. In fact, you an even make sure it won’t be indexed by search engines by disabling the page for SEO. Again, click on the gear icon to edit the page settings, navigate to the SEO section and toggle that setting off. This page will only be used for traffic from Instagram, so there is no need for it to be indexed - the page set up is unlikely to be super SEO-friendly, so there’s no need for this page to bring your overall site ranking down; and also zero need to optimise it for search.

#2. Keep it simple

Keep the design simple and make sure you’re designing it for mobile view. This page is all about function over form, so it doesn’t need to be super pretty. You also want to make sure you’re not including 2,371 links for your vistor to choose from. Be select about what content you add to the page. By minimsing the number of links and options for your followers, you’re making it much more likely that they will take action once they hit this page, rather than dropping off the site because there’s just *too* many options!

#3. Update your links regularly

Make sure that the links included on this page are relevant and updated regularly to match the content you’re putting out to the Insta world. It’s a great idea to include some evergreen content that is always there - think your lead magnet, or a blog post you want to share over and over again. But if you’re always putting new content out in to the world, make sure you update this page so it also includes the links to your latest blog or podcast.

All of the Good Stuff

And there you have it - all of the reasons why you don’t need to (and shouldn’t) use Linktree or any other third party platform for your Instagram link page, when you have a perfectly good website to host the page instead. By setting up your Instagram landing page on your website, you’re making it that much easier to get your followers from your profile to your website with no middle man (or site) in between.