Link-in-bio vs a shop website
A link-in-bio page such as Linktree or Portaly exists to send visitors somewhere else. But when what a customer wants to know is where you are, how late you are open today and what things cost, that answer belongs on your website itself rather than behind the next link. This page sets out how the two approaches differ, and when each one is the right call.
What this page says about Linktree and Portaly follows their own websites and pricing pages: Linktree offers Free, Starter, Pro and Premium plans, priced by region and shown in local currency, with no fixed figures published; Portaly offers a free tier and Premium at NT$219 a month, with a discount for annual billing. This page was checked on 25 August 2026. Both companies can change features and prices at any time, so treat their own sites as the source of truth. If anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
How the two differ
A link-in-bio page's job is to send people elsewhere. When the answer a customer wants is inside your shop — the address, the hours, the prices — every extra tap is another chance to lose them.
A link-in-bio page asks you to fill in every field yourself: the heading, the images, each link. Search for your business on tiama and it imports your details, hours, reviews and photos.
The two sit together happily. Keep the link-in-bio page on your Instagram profile and point the shop information entry on it at your tiama website.
Line-by-line comparison
| Feature | tiama | Link-in-bio (Linktree, Portaly) |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of site | A one-page shop site: address, hours, services and prices, featured reviews and photos, all in one place | A list of links, each one sending the visitor to another site |
| Where the content comes from | Search for your business and it imports details, hours, reviews and photos, plus menu and booking links where available | You add the heading, the images and every link yourself |
| Who it is built for | Shops with a counter and an address, whose customers look up the location and the hours | Creators and influencers: Portaly describes itself as being for influencers and creators, Linktree as being for creators, businesses and artists |
| Opening hours | Imported from Google Maps and shown on the website | No such field; you type them into a text block or a link title and retype them whenever they change |
| Address and directions | A map and a one-tap Google Maps directions button | A link that points at Google Maps |
| Google reviews | Your Google Maps reviews are imported and you pick which ones to feature | No review feature |
| How search engines read the website | The website carries a copy of your details that search engines and AI can read, covering the name, address, phone number and opening hours | Linktree's paid plans and Portaly Premium both offer SEO settings, but a link page does not declare itself to search engines as a physical business |
| Mobile contact flow | A sticky bar on mobile with LINE, WhatsApp, KakaoTalk or Messenger, plus phone, Google Maps directions and the booking link | Each of those is one more entry in the list, sitting alongside every other link |
| Announcements | Built into the premium plans, with a display window, time zone and ordering, shown as a floating card on the website | Linktree's paid plans can schedule when a link appears; Portaly does not list timed announcements |
| Analytics and visitor feedback | Built into the premium plans: feedback emailed straight to you; analytics cover views, visitors, contact-button taps, sources, devices and countries | Linktree includes analytics depending on the plan; Portaly Premium connects GA4, GTM and Facebook Pixel |
| Selling and taking payment | Not offered. The website helps a customer find you, understand what you sell and get in touch; the sale happens wherever it happens today | Both sell digital products and take payment on the page, which is something they do better than we do |
| Domain and branding | A free address such as yourshop.tiama.page, which cannot be swapped for a domain you bought; the free plan carries a line of small print in the footer, which the premium plans remove | Both support custom domains on their paid plans; Linktree's branding comes off on Premium, as do Portaly's ads |
| Price | Linktree has Free, Starter, Pro and Premium tiers, priced by region in local currency; Portaly has a free tier and Premium at NT$219 a month |
When a link-in-bio page fits better
A link-in-bio page is not a broken shop website; it was built for a different job, which is fanning one audience out to many destinations. In these cases we would point you at one.
- You are a creator or a personal brand sending followers to Instagram, YouTube, a podcast and partner links.
- You want to sell digital products or take payment on the website itself. tiama has no checkout.
- What you want is a list you can swap around: a marketplace listing today, event sign-ups tomorrow.
- Your business has no physical location and no Google Maps listing to build from.
- You need the website on a domain you bought. tiama currently gives you only a free address such as yourshop.tiama.page.
When tiama fits better
tiama is built for shops with a counter and an address. The information is already on Google Maps; what is missing is a website you can hand to a customer.
- What customers most want to know is where you are, how late you are open and what things cost, and those answers belong on your website.
- You do not want to retype your address, hours and menu.
- You want Google to see a business, not a list of links.
- Your customers reach you on a messaging app or by phone and need a button they cannot miss.
- You want to post a holiday closure or a limited-time offer, with the display window set in advance.
Common questions
I already have a Linktree or Portaly page. Do I need a shop website too?
It depends on what people do after they tap. If what they ask most is where you are, when you are open and what things cost, putting those answers behind another link adds a step. A shop website lays them out on one page instead.
Can I use both?
Yes, and most shops do. Leave the link-in-bio page on your Instagram profile, add an entry on it for shop information pointing at your tiama website, and keep the rest of your links as they are.
Cannot a link-in-bio page show my address and hours anyway?
You can type them into a text block, but they stay plain text: a search engine does not know those are opening hours, you have to go back and edit them by hand, and nothing syncs from Google Maps. On tiama the hours are an imported field, and they also go into the copy of your details that search engines and AI can read, so search engines and AI know what they are.
Do my Google reviews come across?
Your Google Maps reviews are imported and you pick which ones to feature on the website. The reviews themselves stay on Google; the website shows the ones you chose.
Can tiama sell products or take payment on the website?
No. The website exists to help a customer find you, understand what you sell and get in touch; the sale still happens wherever it happens today. If you want checkout on the website, a link-in-bio tool does that better than we do.
What does it cost?
The free plan builds one shop website, lets you edit it yourself, and publishes it at an address such as yourshop.tiama.page. Solo keeps that one website and adds every premium feature: monthly review and photo refreshes, announcements, analytics, and no small print in the footer. Pro raises that to up to three shop websites, refreshed up to three times a month. Monthly prices are in the table above, shown in your local currency.
Do I have to change the link on my Instagram profile?
Not necessarily. You can point the profile link straight at your tiama address, or keep the link-in-bio page and add an entry to it. Either works; it depends on whether the rest of your list still earns its place.
Build the website first, then decide
Search for your business and see the draft. No sign-up, no payment. Decide afterwards.
Build my website free