So, you’ve probably heard of a nifty little service called Linktr.ee.

Maybe you’ve seen Link Tree being used by Instagrammer’s you follow, but aren’t quite sure what it’s for.

It’s a really great concept – since IG only allows you to have one clickable link in your bio, this service gives you a link page filled with as many links as you want!

Here’s the official Linktr.ee description:

“Linktree is a free tool for optimising your Instagram traffic, whether you’re a blogger, an artist or run a content platform. You’ll get one bio link to house all the content you’re driving followers to. Let your content live longer than the feed.”

TADA! It’s magical!

Except, of course, when it’s not.

Recently Linktr.ee went down and users all over instagram were getting error messages and not able to do anything on IG until the link was removed from their profile.

Cue internet panic.

The linktr.ee service said that it was basically a misunderstanding with Instagram, and it was resolved fairly quickly.

However – more and more often, we’re seeing examples of why it’s essential to not rely on any particular service or platform for your business or blog.

Need A Reason? How about 5:

1. Services get shut down (yes, even big ones).
2. You have no control over the service/platform.
3. You are sending your traffic to a website that isn’t yours.
4. You are boosting the SEO for a website that isn’t yours.
5. You lose important branding opportunities.

So what’s the solution?

Host your own link page! It’s suuper duper easy to create a “link tree” style page right on your WordPress website. In fact, if you’re a Divi theme user, I’ve created 5 templates to get you started.