Link in bio or a website for a local business?

Why put a website in my bio instead of a link-in-bio page?

Because your bio link is the one door from your social profile to your business, and it should open onto a page that’s yours. A link-in-bio page is a stack of buttons made to sit in that slot. A follower taps it and sees a short list: book, see the menu, call, follow on another app.

That list is built for creators with a dozen things to promote and an audience that already follows them. A local business has a different job: to be found by people nearby who don’t know it yet, and to tell them in a minute what you do, where you are and how to book. A website does that job. A list of buttons hands it to someone else. Humfrid builds that website for you by text, on your own .com, so the link in your bio opens onto a page that’s yours.

What does a local business lose with a list of buttons?

Three things you need: showing up when someone searches for your service in your town, a full answer about your hours and service area, and an address that’s yours.

Search for your service and town. People don’t search for your page. They search for what they need, like “dog groomer” plus their town. Google’s own guide for site owners says to think about the words that a user might search for to find a piece of your content. Button labels rarely say what you do, where you do it and for whom, in plain sentences. A website says it in full.

Your hours and service area. A customer deciding whether to call wants to know when you’re open, which towns you cover, what common jobs cost and how to reach you. A list of buttons has no room for that. A short website puts it on one page they can read in a minute.

A page that’s yours. A link-in-bio page lives on the maker’s address, under their terms. A website on your own domain is different: the person or business that registers a domain is its registrant, and ICANN’s transfer rules give you the option to freely move your domain name from one registrar to another. Your address can outlast any one app or provider. More on that in Do I own my website and my domain?

How Humfrid does this for you

Humfrid builds your website from a few texts, on your own .com web address in your name, included. You text your business name and answer a few questions about what you do, where and when. Your website is ready within a day, and nothing goes live without your OK. Then put the address in your bio and on your Business Profile.

When something changes, you text it, the same way you’d post a story:

• “This week’s special is the lemon tart.”
• “Pop-up at the farmers market Saturday, 9 to 1.”
• “Put my booking link at the top.”

Photos and voice notes work. There’s no app to learn, no computer and no login. Humfrid also writes posts and review replies for your Google Business Profile, for you to post, and every plan includes online booking and payments right on your site. You can see your website free for 14 days and pay only when you want it live on your own .com. No contract, no setup fee, and you cancel by text.

Where do local customers find a business on Google?

Mostly in Google’s local results. Google says when a customer searches for a business or place near their location, they’ll find local results on Google Maps and Search. It lists three main factors for them: relevance, distance and prominence.

Google defines relevance as how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for, and prominence as how well-known a business is, which it says takes into account things like how many websites link to the business and its reviews. Google also advises making your profile’s information as complete as possible, including your business hours.

Your Business Profile has a place for your site: Google says you can share your business’s website with your customers on your Business Profile. Fill that spot with a real website that says what you do and where. A website that names your services and towns gives search and your profile something to work with. Humfrid sets your website up to be found on Google, Google Maps, ChatGPT and other AI answers, though no one can promise a ranking, and helps you set up your profile and keep it complete.

All my customers come from Instagram. Why do I need a website?

Because your next customers aren’t following you yet. Your followers already know you. The people who will find you next are searching for what you do near them, or hearing your name from a friend and looking you up. A website is what they find, and it answers them without a message back and forth.

It also keeps your business steady when the app changes. Your bio, your posts and your reach follow the app’s rules. Your website follows yours.

What’s the best setup for a local business?

Point everything at one home, your own website:

1. A small website on your own address. What you do, the towns you serve, your hours, your phone number and your own photos.
2. Your website in your Google Business Profile. Add the address in the website field, and if you travel to customers, Google says to enter your service area on your profile too.
3. Your website in your bio. One tap from Instagram lands people on your own page.
4. Quick links on your own site. Put “Book now” or “This week’s menu” near the top of your home page, where your bio link lands.
5. The same details everywhere. Your name, phone and hours should match on your site, your profile and your social pages.

Humfrid does steps 1 and 4 from your texts and helps you with step 2; the rest takes you a few minutes. Already have a link-in-bio page you like? Make your website its first button while you move your bio over.

Can I use my website as my link in bio?

Yes, and that’s the simplest setup. Put your website’s address in your bio. Make sure the top of your home page answers what a follower tapping through wants most: what you do, how to book or order, and how to reach you. On a phone, that first screen is the one that counts. For the rest of the page, see what to put on a small business website.

Text Humfrid your business name, and you’ll see your website within a day.