Link in Bio for Small Business: A Simple Setup Guide

A link in bio for small business should answer four questions fast: where are you, when are you open, what do you sell and how can I reach you? Customers who find you on Instagram aren’t looking for your brand story. They want to know whether you’re open on Sunday and how to order a cake. If your page answers that, it’s doing its job.

This guide walks through building that small business link page, one question at a time. It’s written for owner-run businesses, such as cafés, salons, repair shops and tutors, where the person reading this is also the person who’ll have to keep it updated.

The four questions customers ask

Start by answering these. Don’t add anything else until you have. Customers often want one specific detail, and they’ll leave quickly if they can’t find it.

A local business page, top to bottom

Here’s an illustrative page for a made-up salon, Lotus Hair Studio. It isn’t a real business.

1. Profile: logo or a clear photo, with a name matching your Instagram.
2. Text: “Hair and colour studio in Baner, Pune.”
3. Messaging: “Book on WhatsApp” with a pre-filled first message.
4. Text: “Open Tue to Sun, 10am to 8pm. Closed Mondays.”
5. Maps card: “Find us in Baner”.
6. Image gallery: recent work.
7. Header: “Prices and more”.
8. Link: “Full price list”.
9. Social links: Instagram and Facebook.

The order depends on your business. A café might put its menu first. A repair shop might lead with “Get a quote”. For help deciding, see deciding what to include.

One BioFlow requirement to note: a page can’t be published without an enabled Link block that has a title and address. Here, the Maps card and price list both qualify.

Adding a map link

A map link saves customers from typing your address. On BioFlow, a Maps card is a link that opens your location in the visitor’s maps app. It isn’t an embedded map on the page, so also write your area in text.

To set it up:

1. Find your business on your maps service.
2. Use its share option to copy the link.
3. Paste that link into the card, and label it with your area, such as “Find us in Baner”.
4. Tap it on a phone to check that it opens the right place, not a similarly named business.

Showing hours and menus

Text is the simplest way to show your hours, and it’s easy to update.

• Be specific. “Open daily” can mislead. “Tue to Sun, 10am to 8pm” can’t.
• Update for exceptions. Add festival closures and holiday hours, and remember to remove them afterwards.
• Keep prices current, or leave them out. An old price creates an awkward conversation at the till.

For menus and price lists, you have a few choices:

WhatsApp and contact routes

For many small businesses, particularly in India, WhatsApp is where the sale actually happens. A Messaging block adds a WhatsApp button, with an optional pre-filled message that gives the customer an easy start, such as “Hi, I’d like to book an appointment”.

Use the route your customers prefer, and consider having a backup:

• WhatsApp: quick and familiar, but someone has to answer it.
• Form: useful for quotes and detail, and for people who’d rather not share a phone number. Each submission needs an email address, so bear that in mind if your customers rarely use email.
• Phone number in text: simple, and sometimes the most reassuring option for older customers.

If you’re managing lots of WhatsApp and Instagram conversations, see our guide to Instagram and WhatsApp for Indian businesses. Form submissions go to your Leads inbox, while WhatsApp chats stay in WhatsApp.

Printing a QR code at the counter

Your page isn’t limited to Instagram. A QR code can put it on your counter, table cards, flyers, delivery bags or a window sticker.

On BioFlow, you can download a QR code for your page as a PNG once the page is published. Before printing a batch:

• Print one and scan it with a couple of different phones, in the lighting where it’ll be used.
• Tell people why to scan. “Scan for today’s menu” beats a bare code.
• Leave space around the code, and keep it dark on a light background.
• Keep your username. If you change it later, the old address stops working, and the printed codes won’t redirect.

If you’d like to see how many visits come from the counter, create a named campaign for it and use that campaign’s QR code. Visits then show up as page views for that campaign. BioFlow doesn’t count scans directly.

Who keeps it updated

An out-of-date page costs you more than having no page, since customers act on what it says. Make it someone’s job:

• Name one person. If you have staff, make it clear who changes the hours.
• Tie updates to events. New price list, holiday, new service: update the page the same day.
• Do a monthly check. Open it on your phone and tap every link.
• Use the on/off control for seasonal items. On BioFlow, you can turn a block off without deleting it, which helps with festival menus.

If your team needs access, check which permissions they have in your account before you share anything. And there’s no need to share your password.

Do you need a website too?

Perhaps not yet. If most customers find you on social media or walk past your door, this page may be enough for now. If people search on Google for what you do, you’ll probably want a website as well, and you should keep your listing on your maps service up to date. See link in bio or website for a closer look. If you run a restaurant or salon and want to automate answers to common Instagram questions, there’s also automation for restaurants and automation for salons.

FAQ

Should a small business use a link in bio?

Usually, yes, if customers find you on Instagram or other social apps. It gives them your location, hours, offer and contact details in one place. If your website already does this well on a phone, you can simply link to that instead.

How do I show my opening hours?

Add them in a short text block near the top of the page, and write them exactly: days first, then times. Include any regular closures. Update the block for holidays, and set a reminder to change it back, because out-of-date hours cause real problems for customers.

Can customers message me from it?

Yes. On BioFlow, a Messaging block adds a WhatsApp button, with an optional pre-filled first message. You can also add a contact form, and each form submission needs an email address. Choose the method you’re able to answer quickly, because a slow reply can cost you the sale.

Build it in one sitting

Answer the four questions, add your WhatsApp button and map link, then test everything on your phone. Your link in bio for small business doesn’t need to be fancy to be useful. When you’re ready, set up your business page, and see what else CommentLink does if you’d like help with your Instagram and WhatsApp messages too.