If you’ve spent any time on Instagram or TikTok, you know the phrase “check the link in bio.” It’s where creators, cafés, and even big brands direct followers when they want to promote something: menus, events, promotions, or newsletters.
But here’s the truth: your link in bio is not your home. It’s a supplement, a shortcut. And like any supplement, it only works if you have a strong foundation: your website.
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1. What a Link in Bio Actually Is
A link in bio is essentially a mini landing page. Most use it to:
• Group multiple links (menu, promo, event RSVP).
• Highlight a product or service.
• Direct traffic to a platform (ShopeeFood, GoFood, Tokopedia, YouTube, etc).
Tools like Linktree, Beacons, or Milkshake make it easy. But they’re templates — designed to fit everyone, which often means they don’t truly fit you.
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2. The Limitations of a Link in Bio
• No ownership: You don’t own the platform. If Linktree goes down, so does your bio page.
• Limited design: Your brand gets boxed into the same look as thousands of others.
• Shallow analytics: You don’t really own the data, just surface-level clicks.
• SEO zero: A link in bio doesn’t build Google presence.
Domain ownership (asset) esp dotcom.
Feature to grow. Maybe you need to engage ur audience even further? Link in bio cannot fulfil. They can’t provide feature that you need bcs they made a system for many people to rent.
Asset. Having a website is an asset.
It’s like renting a booth at a market — useful, but not the same as owning your own store.
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3. Your Website Is the Home, Link in Bio Is the Doorbell
Think of it this way:
• Your Website = Your Café.
Where the atmosphere, branding, and experience are completely yours. People step in and feel your identity.
• Your Link in Bio = Your Doorbell.
A simple button to ring, pointing people to come inside.
This is why the smartest use of link in bio is not to replace your website, but to point towards it.
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4. How to Use Link in Bio the Right Way
• Keep it focused. Don’t overload with 10+ links. Highlight the top 2–3 actions (like “See Menu,” “Book a Table,” “Shop Now”).
• Use it as a funnel. Every click should ultimately lead to your website, not get stuck in third-party apps.
• Make it branded. Even if you use a template, customize colors, tone, and visuals to reflect your brand’s personality.
• Upgrade when ready. As your brand grows, move from a generic template to a custom branded link in bio page — hosted on your own site.
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5. Why a Website Changes Everything
• Full control of design. Your site can mirror your café’s energy — youthful, stylish, cozy, premium, whatever your vibe is.
• SEO visibility. Google can find you. A Linktree can’t.
• Integrated experience. Menu, blog, event calendar, reservation form — all under your own domain.
• Long-term asset. You own it. It grows in value the longer it exists.
That’s why we say: social media is rented space; your website is home.
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Conclusion
Link in bio tools are useful. They’re like the front porch that invites people in. But don’t confuse the porch for the house.
If you want to build a lasting brand — one that people recognize, trust, and return to — you need your own home on the internet. That home is your website.
At Pumpqin Studio, we help café owners go beyond templates — building stylish, branded sites that feel like you, not like everybody else.
I may be a web designer but its not my responsibility to convince you to have a site. its yours. bcs its your brand. whether you just wanna stay with free link in bio like literally everyone and every local business, or level up.