Getting Started

This is your first-session playbook for Linkssi. Follow it end to end and you will finish with a live bio page at linkssi.com/yourbrand, a profile visitors recognise, at least one clear call-to-action, and a baseline in analytics — all without a credit card on the Free plan.

What you will have at the end

By the time you close this tab, you should have:

• A Linkssi account you can return to via Sign in
• A claimed slug such as linkssi.com/yourbrand that matches your brand or social handle
• A published bio page with profile photo, headline, one primary CTA link, and optionally one rich embed
• Theme colours that roughly match your brand
• The public URL tested on a real phone in a private browser window
• Your first share posted to at least one social profile or messaging channel

That is enough to start collecting clicks. Everything else — custom domain, contact card, lead forms, bookings — comes later when you hit a real business need.

Before you begin

Gather these before you start:

• Email address you control — used for login and password reset
• Brand name or handle for your slug (short, spellable aloud)
• Profile photo — square JPG or PNG, at least 400×400 px
• One primary action visitors should take: book, enquire, shop, listen, or save your details
• Two or three destination URLs for links you will add (website, menu, WhatsApp, store)

No credit card is required. Create an account on the Free plan and explore freely. If you already have an account, Sign in instead. Forgot your password? Use Reset password or read the password reset guide.

Optional but helpful: skim What Is Linkssi? if you are evaluating the platform, and bookmark the Help hub for later.

Step 1 — Create your account

What to click: Open Create an account. Enter your email and choose a password. Submit the form.

What good looks like: You land in the Linkssi dashboard with a welcome state or prompt to claim a slug. No payment screen appears — Free is genuinely free.

Why: Your account owns your slug, pages, media, and (later) billing. Everything in Linkssi hangs off this workspace.

If email verification is enabled, confirm the message in your inbox before continuing. Check spam if nothing arrives within five minutes.

Step 2 — Claim your slug

What to click: When prompted, enter your desired slug — the part after linkssi.com/.

What good looks like: The dashboard confirms availability and shows your public URL as linkssi.com/yourbrand. The slug is short, memorable, and matches how people already find you on social.

Why: Your slug is the default public address until you map a custom domain on Starter+. Changing it later confuses followers who saved the old link — choose carefully now.

Tips: Avoid hyphens unless your handle already uses them. Skip obscure abbreviations you cannot say in conversation.

Step 3 — Build your first page

What to click: Open Dashboard → Bio (sometimes labelled Links). You will see the block builder with a mobile preview.

What to add, in order:

1. Profile — Upload your photo via the Media picker or Dashboard → Media. Write a one-line headline (what you do) and a short bio (who you help).
2. Primary CTA link — Add a Link block. Label it clearly: "Book a call", "View menu", "Shop now", or "WhatsApp us". Paste the destination URL.
3. Optional rich embed — Add an Embed block with a YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, or Instagram URL to show your work inline. Rich embeds work on every plan — see Rich Embeds on Your Bio.
4. Secondary links — Add only links that support the primary CTA. Resist listing every profile you have ever created.

What good looks like: On the mobile preview, your face and headline appear above the fold. The primary CTA is the first interactive element a thumb can reach. The page loads in under three seconds on mobile data.

Why: Bio traffic is one-scroll attention. One strong action converts better than twelve equal buttons. You can add more blocks after your first share.

Save before leaving the builder. Changes publish on save — there is no separate "go live" button.

Step 4 — Theme your page

What to click: In Dashboard → Bio, open Theme or Branding settings.

What to set: Background colour or image, button colour, and font style to match your brand palette.

What good looks like: The page feels like yours, not a generic template. Text remains readable on your background choice.

Why: Visual consistency builds trust in the two seconds before someone taps your CTA.

Plan note: Free pages show Linkssi footer branding. To remove it, upgrade to Starter+ and enable hide branding — see Hide Linkssi Branding. Do not spend your first session chasing white-label; ship first.

Step 5 — Preview on a real phone

What to click: Copy your public URL from the builder (linkssi.com/yourbrand). Open it in a private/incognito window on your phone — not the in-app browser inside Instagram if you can avoid it.

What to check:

• Profile photo loads correctly
• Every link opens the intended destination
• Embed player loads without horizontal scroll
• CTA button is easy to tap with a thumb

Why: Desktop preview lies. Your audience arrives from Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp on phones. Fix layout issues now while context is fresh.

Step 6 — Share everywhere

What to click: Paste your bio URL into:

• Instagram bio link field
• TikTok website field
• LinkedIn contact info
• Email signature
• WhatsApp status or pinned message
• QR code on business cards or menus (optional)

What good looks like: The same URL appears everywhere you represent your brand. Followers see a consistent entry point.

Why: Split URLs split analytics. One canonical link makes Dashboard → Analytics meaningful after a few days of traffic.

Step 7 — Read your first analytics

What to click: After 24–48 hours of real traffic, open Dashboard → Analytics.

What to look for: Total clicks, which link got the most taps, and whether anyone interacted with your embed.

Why: Early data tells you if your CTA label and placement work. Iterate weekly — change one thing at a time. Full guide: Analytics.

First-week checklist after publish

Use this after your first session:

Ongoing habits: Bookmark Dashboard → Bio on your phone for quick post-campaign edits. Review analytics every Monday. Change one variable per week so you know what moved the needle.

When to upgrade

Upgrade when you hit a real gate, not speculatively.

Starter triggers (~$5/mo)

Upgrade to Starter when:

• A client or partner asks why Linkssi branding appears in your footer
• You need your bio on bio.yourbrand.com instead of linkssi.com/yourslug — Custom Domains
• You want visitors to save your details to their phone via Contact Card — Contact-card">Contact Card
• You need 90-day analytics history and weekly trends for reporting — Analytics
• You want featured link styling, animation, or scheduling on key CTAs

Starter is the right tier for a polished solo brand without CRM yet.

Pro triggers (~$29/mo)

Upgrade to Pro when:

• Enquiries currently die in DMs and you need a Leads inbox and Contacts CRM — Lead Forms and CRM
• Clients should self-book discovery calls or appointments — Bookings
• You need forms, booking widgets, or the Linkssi Pixel on a WordPress or client website — What Are Smart Sites?
• You run paid ads and need source, geography, and device analytics plus CSV export

Pro replaces a stack of separate form, booking, and pixel tools for most operators.

Premium triggers (~$99/mo)

Consider Premium when you manage many pages across clients and need advanced team permissions and priority support — not because you want basic CRM (Pro already includes that).

Full comparison: Plans and Pricing and live prices at Pricing. Upgrade from Dashboard → Billing.

Invite a teammate (Starter+)

If someone else will edit the page or review leads, invite them from Dashboard → Settings → Team instead of sharing your password. See Team Access.

Helpful next reads

• Dashboard Navigation — map of every sidebar area
• Bio Page Builder — deeper builder reference
• Features overview — marketing tour of the product
• What Is Linkssi? — platform overview for evaluators

Mistakes to avoid

1. Perfection before publish — A live minimal page beats a draft you tweak for weeks. Ship today; iterate from data.
2. Obscure slug — If you cannot say linkssi.com/yourslug aloud in a meeting, choose again before sharing widely.
3. Untested links — One broken CTA on launch day wastes every share. Tap every link from a phone before posting.
4. Too many equal links — Twelve buttons look busy; one primary CTA converts. Curate ruthlessly.
5. Wrong upgrade timing — Do not buy Pro on day one if you only need a custom domain (Starter). Do not stay on Starter if leads are piling up in DMs (Pro).
6. Confusing Smart Sites with rich embeds — YouTube on your bio is a rich embed (all plans). Forms on a WordPress site are Smart Sites (Pro+). Read Smart Sites vs Rich Embeds.
7. Skipping analytics — Without Dashboard → Analytics, you are guessing which CTA works.

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