·Adiamo Studio
Instagram is not your restaurant website
Use Instagram to be found, and put one website link in the bio so guests can see hours, the menu, and a Reserve button without hunting through posts.
Answer first
Keep Instagram. It is how many guests discover the room. It is not where they should have to learn whether you are open, what a dish costs, or how to reserve. Put one link in the bio, and make that link your website — the page with hours, a scannable menu, and a single Reserve button. A link-in-bio tool with five equal buttons sends people back into a choice. Instagram lets you add websites to the profile; use that for the site, not for a second homepage.
A guest taps your name from a story, lands on the profile, and wants a table. The grid is dishes, a birthday, a staff photo, and a closed-day story that expired yesterday. Nothing on that screen is a reliable hours line or a reservation. They DM, or they leave.
This guide is what Instagram is good at, what to put in the bio, and why a link list is not a website. The page the link should open is the one in the restaurant website checklist: name, place, hours, menu, one way to book.
How a profile differs from a website
Instagram is a feed you do not layout. The app decides the order, how long a story lives, and how a caption is cut. A website is a page you arrange: the hours stay put, the menu stays in text, the Reserve button stays in the same place. Guests use both. They follow you for the look of the room. They book from a page that still says the right thing on a Tuesday.
| Instagram profile | Your website | |
|---|---|---|
| What guests see first | Whatever you posted last | The name, the place, one Reserve button |
| Hours | A story, or a highlight you forget to edit | A line you can change the same day |
| Menu and prices | Photos, captions, no stable list | Text they can scan |
| How long it lasts | Stories expire; the grid scrolls | Until you change it |
| A link | Websites you add on the profile | The page itself |
| Who can book without an account | They still need the link | Anyone with the URL |
| Google and print | A profile is a poor thing to put on a card | One URL for the listing, the card, and the bio |
Discovery and appetite
Bio link
One URL, your site
Website
Hours, menu, Reserve
When a link-in-bio list is the wrong tool
Instagram’s own help says you can add websites to your profile — up to five — and that anyone can see them, on or off the app. That is documented in Add a website to your Instagram profile. Five links are a menu of choices. A guest who wanted a table now has to pick among the site, the delivery app, the reservation tool, and a Maps pin.
One website link
- You have one room and one way you take bookings.
- Hours and the menu change, and the page is where you edit them.
- The same URL can go on Google, print, and the bio.
- You want the Reserve button, not a second decision.
A stack of bio links
- You truly run separate businesses — a shop and a dining room — and each has its own page.
- Even then, the dining link is first and labeled “Reserve” or “Book a table”, not “Link”.
- A link tool that only forwards to your site adds a step and a brand that is not yours.
- Five equal buttons is how a booking gets lost.
How to point Instagram at a page that can book
Post
The dish, the room, the night
Bio
One link: your site
Page
Hours, menu, Reserve
The same URL in the website field
The same URL on the card
- 1
Publish the page before you tidy the bio
The link is only as good as the screen it opens. Hours a guest can trust, a menu they can scan, and one Reserve path come first. If any of those are missing, fix the page, not the highlight cover.
- 2
Put that URL in the profile, and name it
In Instagram, edit the profile, add the website, and give it a title a guest understands: “Book a table” or the restaurant name. Do not title it “link”. If you add a second link, it is secondary — a shop, a jobs page — not another way to do the same booking.
- 3
Use the same URL everywhere else
The Google Business Profile website field, the card on the table, and the bio should match. A campaign link that changes every month trains guests to tap something that dies. Google’s guidelines for representing your business expect that website to be yours, not a social profile standing in for one. The listing side of that habit is in why your Google Maps listing is not enough.
- 4
Let the posts do what posts are good at
Show the plate, the pass, the terrace. Say the dish name in the caption if you want. Do not bury Tuesday’s closure only in a story. Closures belong next to the hours, as in how to publish restaurant hours guests can trust.
- 5
Point Reserve at the channel the floor answers
The bio does not take the booking. The page does, through WhatsApp, email, or the phone, whichever service actually watches. That setup is in WhatsApp and email reservations that actually get answered.
- 6
Check the link on a phone that is not yours
Open the profile, tap the link, and see the first screen without an account. If the first thing is a cookie wall, a link list, or a PDF, the bio is sending people to the wrong place. People scan; they do not complete an obstacle course. That is the practical point of how users read on the web.
What goes in the bio, and what stays on the site
| Piece | In the Instagram bio | On the website |
|---|---|---|
| Name and neighbourhood | Yes — one line | Yes — the first screen |
| Today’s special | A post or a story | Only if it is still on the menu |
| Weekly hours | No — they go stale in a bio line | Yes — next to the map |
| Holiday closure | You may mention it; do not only mention it | Yes — dated, next to the hours |
| Prices | Rarely, and they must match | Next to the dish |
| Reserve | The link title | The button |
| Link list | Avoid | You do not need one |
When Instagram-as-a-website fails
- The only link is a link-in-bio page. The guest picks among buttons and never reaches Reserve.
- The bio link is a Maps pin. They get Google’s layout, not your menu or your booking path.
- Hours live in a highlight from March. The door says otherwise.
- Every post says “link in bio” and the link is broken. Or it opens a file they must pinch-zoom.
- Five links of equal weight. Delivery, reservations, the shop, a playlist, and the site. The booking is one of five.
- The grid is current and the site is not. The dish in the photo left the carte. Trust drops on the page you were sending them to.
What a bio link does not do
It does not rank you. Google’s local ranking tips are about the Business Profile — relevance, distance, and prominence — and the website you attach to that listing. A bio link does not replace the listing, the replies you owe on reviews, or a printed card for guests who will never follow you. It does not need a separate mini-site of buttons. And posting more often does not fix a page that still has last winter’s hours. The profile brings people. The page has to be ready when they tap.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a website if I have a busy Instagram?
Yes, if you want a place for hours, prices, and a reservation that does not depend on a story or a DM. Instagram is how many guests find you. It is a poor place to keep facts that must stay true.
Should I use a link-in-bio tool?
Only if you genuinely have more than one destination and you still put the booking page first. For one restaurant, the bio should open your site. A tool that adds a page of buttons is an extra step.
What do I write as the link title?
“Book a table” or “Menu and hours”, in the language your guests use. “Link” and “Click here” do not say what they will get.
Can I put my Google Maps link in the bio instead?
You can, and guests will get directions and reviews. They will not get a page you lay out, or a Reserve button aimed at the channel your floor answers. Use the site URL, and keep Maps for maps.
How many links should a restaurant put on Instagram?
One, unless a second destination is truly separate. Instagram allows several websites on the profile. Several equal links make the booking harder, not easier.
Does Adiamo give me a link I can put in the bio?
When you publish, you get a URL on your Adiamo address. That is the link for the bio, the Google website field, and print. You still edit hours and the menu on the page so the link stays worth tapping.