Instagram Allows 5 Bio Links. Do You Still Need a Link in Bio?

In April 2023 Instagram started letting every account add up to five links to its profile. Tech press at the time asked whether that was the end of Linktree and every other link in bio tool. Three years on, the tools are still here, and so is the question: if Instagram gives you five links, do you need anything else?

Sometimes no. Here is how to tell, written by people who make a link in bio tool, so weigh it accordingly.

How Instagram's five links work

You add them in the mobile app: edit your profile, open Links, then add an external link with an address and a title. You can add up to five and reorder them. On your profile, people see the first link with a note that there are more; tapping it opens the full list.

Instagram changes menus from time to time, so if the labels differ, look for links under Edit profile.

When five links are enough

Skip the extra tool if all of these are true:

• you have five or fewer places to send people, and they rarely change
• you only need people to reach those places, not to understand how they fit together
• you do not need to know which link gets tapped beyond what each destination tells you

A shop with a store, a booking page and a newsletter fits that well. Put the one that matters most first, because it is the only one people see without a tap.

When a link in bio page still helps

• You have more than five things. Products, posts, a podcast, a store and a waitlist add up fast.
• You are on more than one platform. Instagram's links only exist on Instagram. One page works the same from TikTok, X, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, YouTube and your email signature, and you update it once.
• Context matters. A list of five bare titles does not say what each thing is, whether it is live, or why someone should care. A page can.
• You want to know what works. A page with its own stats shows views, clicks per link and where visitors came from.
• You want people to stay in touch. An email signup on the page keeps a visitor when they are not ready to buy today.

The best of both

You do not have to choose. A setup that works well for makers:

1. First link: your link in bio page. It is the one people see without tapping, and it leads to everything.
2. Links two to five: your most important direct destinations, such as your store, your current launch or your newsletter.

On makerhandle, add a tag to the page link you put on Instagram, for example makerhandle.com/yourname?ref=ig. The stats then list Instagram by name as the source. Our UTM guide explains tagging, and the free UTM builder writes the link for you.

What to put on the page

For someone who makes things, a good page answers three questions in five seconds: who you are, what you make, and what to tap next. That usually means:

• a one-line bio
• your current main project at the top, marked as the featured one
• your other projects or links below, each with a short description
• a way to stay in touch, such as an email signup or a contact form

If you sell physical products through Shopify, see makerhandle for Shopify stores. If you are moving from another tool, import it in one step. And if you have not picked a tool yet, the glossary entry on link in bio explains the idea and our Linktree alternatives roundup compares the options.