Remember the good ‘ole days when Linktree was the go-to solution for people to easily stick multiple links in their Instagram bios? Now, do you remember when Instagram flagged these links as spam and they all stopped working? Like…on everyone’s accounts? Obviously, people immediately began to freak out. I remember the first time Linktree shut down and the fact that nearly every Instagram story and Facebook post I saw that day were about how people’s bio links suddenly stopped working. How were small business, online entrepreneurs or bloggers and influencers going to allow their audience to see more than one thing at a time? And then it happened again, and again, and again… I remember thinking, what is the point of having Linktree if it’s going to just keep having issues? There must be another way to utilize that all-important piece of Instagram real estate. There were options like switching my Instagram planning app to allow for linking specific articles to my actual posts…but if Linktree kept going down, what would prevent apps like those from one day not working as well? And then I thought a little more about what Linktree actually was…it was just a simple landing page with a bunch of links and buttons on it…how hard would it be to just create a custom one on the backend of a website and use that as the link in bio instead?

If you don’t know what Linktree is, here’s the basic gist:

Instagram only lets you link ONE link in your bio. It’s literally the passageway from your Instagram to your website so of all the ways to use your Instagram, your link in bio is probably the MOST important item on your profile. When you are constantly shelling out content, freebies and talking about your services and how to work with you, it can get really cumbersome changing your link in bio every time you want to talk about something new. Not to mention, when you add the algorithm to the equation and realize that the likelihood of your audience seeing your post immediately when it goes out is slim to none, do you really want to be changing that link if there’s a chance that someone won’t see your post for a couple of days? No. Definitely not. Linktree was the solution to all of our troubles. It made it possible to have one link in your bio that actually housed MANY links. Below is an example of one a previous client of mine had… Linktree was actually a genius business idea. It was so simple! Simple until it suddenly stopped working and all of Instagram lost their minds. And the best part, is that it is simple enough that it can easily be replicated in your own website so that you don’t need to use it. And in reality, you shouldn’t use it! I’m going to tell you all of the reasons why you definitely should not be using Linktree, and how to easily create your own link in bio landing page in WordPress.

1. IT CRASHED, MORE THAN ONCE, AND WILL PROBABLY CRASH AGAIN

In light of the Linktree outages, this should be a lesson learned and really the only kick you need to get off of Linktree and use this method instead! Remember when Instagram and Facebook went down for a day?  You need to remember that when it comes to things like social media (and the tools available for them) that at the end of the day you don’t own any of them. When things like your social media channels or your Linktree account just crash…is it really worth the risk to put all of your eggs in those baskets? Think about alllllllll of the potential clients and sales you are missing out on! Now, attach a dollar amount to those potential clients. When you take all of these things into account, isn’t it worth creating a landing page on your OWN website? I definitely think so.

2. IT’S ANOTHER STEP TO GET TO YOUR WEBSITE WEBSITE

The aim of Linktree (and all social media in general) is to get people to your website. If you’re using Linktree, you’re just adding an extra step. Instead of linking people directly to your website, you’re linking them away from Instagram to a site that isn’t yours, only to hope that it all works smoothly, that everything on this foreign site (that you don’t control) is working, and that they click on one of the links and end up on your site eventually. That extra step is totally unnecessary and makes it more likely for you to have problems getting the people to your website (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked on someone’s Linktree and it just hasn’t worked). With the method I’m about to show you, people will be landing directly on your site.

3. IT’S NOT ON BRAND

The first thing that I noticed when I signed up for Linktree (way back in the day) was how u-g-l-y it was. Sure, it’s evolved a little since then and now has some new backgrounds and color schemes you can apply to your account…but it really hasn’t changed much. And unfortunately, it’s become the norm, so nobody seems to care, but when you’re running a small biz you should KNOW how important branding is, and Linktree gives you NO options for adding your own brand style. Not even colors! Branding is important. Don’t work so hard to perfect your gorgeous, on-brand IG feed only to go and use Linktree and it’s limited choice of color combos.

OK, SO NOW WHAT?

If you’re ready to say GOODBYE to Linktree, you need to create a landing page on your website.  This is seriously the most simple, reliable, and FREE workaround, and I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t doing it. All you need is a mobile-friendly website (if you don’t have that already, I would be more concerned with getting that sorted ASAP! You can click here if you want to chat about one of those.) a blank page, some buttons and a header! The best part of this workaround is that you can really style it however you like, it is YOUR website after all, so you have complete creative freedom here!

STEP 1

I created a new page called “Instagram”, but you can call yours whatever you like. Just remember that the URL for this page is what you will be using in your Instagram bio, so it’s important that it’s something relevant and short. You could use “Hello” or “Click-here” or something enticing like that! Also, make sure this page isn’t linked anywhere on your site (keep it out of your site menu header) as you only want people to come to this page from the link in your Instagram bio.

STEP 2

On my new blank page you can add your headshot, logo, a brief bio, Instagram handle, etc. at the top in the center, and then a list of buttons under that, the same as what you formerly had on Linktree! Tip: While you’re building it, remember to preview it in Mobile view so you can see what it will look like on mobile since that’s where everyone will be viewing it. Remember that client I showed you above? Here’s what her custom landing page looks like after we added her colors, fonts and branding:

STEP 4

Update the link in your bio to your new URL! Done! Note: I also highly recommend removing the header and footer from your landing pages to keep them super clean and simple. The thing to remember is that if people are going to this page, it’s usually because you told them to so after they click one of your buttons they will be redirected to another page on your website where they can access the full website + menu. Sooooooo…Seriously, how simple was that? Almost more simple the signing up for Linktree. Definitely more simple than dealing with Linktree when it crashes! Need some help creating a branded page for yourself? Click here to have me build one for you!