Why I Built My Own Bio Page Instead of Using Linktree
If you're a software engineer, chances are you've spent countless hours crafting the perfect portfolio.
Projects. Experience. Tech stack. Timeline. Blog posts. Contact information.
Everything is there.
And that's exactly the problem.
The Problem
A portfolio and a bio page serve two completely different purposes.
When someone visits your portfolio, they're usually interested in learning about you:
- What have you built?
- What technologies do you use?
- What's your professional experience?
- Can you solve the problem they're hiring for?
They're willing to spend a few minutes exploring.
But not every visitor has that intention.
Sometimes people just want one thing.
Maybe they scanned your QR code at a meetup.
Maybe they found you on social media.
Maybe they're reading one of your articles.
Maybe you shared your profile in a Discord server.
In those cases, nobody wants to navigate through your entire portfolio just to find your GitHub or LinkedIn.
They just want the link.
Why I Didn't Use Linktree
There are already plenty of services that solve this problem:
- Linktree
- Bento
- Carrd
- Beacons
- and many more.
They're all good products.
But as developers, we often have different priorities.
I wanted:
- Complete control over the design
- My own domain
- The exact colors and branding as my portfolio
- Zero unnecessary features
- No vendor lock-in
- The freedom to change anything whenever I want
Most importantly, I wanted the experience to feel like it belongs to my personal website, not to a third-party service.
Keeping the Same Identity
My portfolio already has its own visual identity.
Changing fonts, colors, spacing, and animations just because someone clicked a different URL felt wrong.
So the bio page keeps the same design language.
When someone moves from the bio page to the portfolio, it feels like they're still inside the same website.
Consistency matters.
Different Pages for Different Intentions
Instead of trying to make one page do everything, I separated the two experiences.
Portfolio
The portfolio is for people who want to know more about me.
It includes:
- My projects
- Experience
- Skills
- Articles
- Background
- Contact information
It's where the story lives.
Bio Page
The bio page is intentionally simple.
Its job is to answer one question:
"Where's the link I'm looking for?"
That's it.
No long descriptions.
No scrolling through projects.
No reading my life story.
Just quick access to the places people usually want:
- GitHub
- DEV
- Portfolio
- Other important links
Fast in.
Fast out.
Why This Small Change Improved My Workflow
Since creating the bio page, I've started sharing it much more often.
Instead of asking myself:
"Should I send my portfolio or my GitHub?"
I simply send the bio page.
It becomes the universal entry point.
If someone wants my GitHub, it's there.
If they want LinkedIn, it's there.
If they decide they want to learn more about me, they can continue to my portfolio with one click.
Everyone gets what they came for.
A Small UX Lesson
As developers, we often think about what information we want to present.
Instead, we should ask:
What information is the visitor trying to find?
Those are two very different questions.
Reducing friction is often more valuable than adding more content.
Sometimes the best user experience isn't another feature.
It's one fewer click.
Final Thoughts
Your portfolio doesn't have to solve every problem.
Sometimes a dedicated landing page with your most important links is all people need.
For me, the setup now looks like this:
- Bio page → the starting point for quick access.
- Portfolio → the place for anyone who wants to dive deeper.
It's a small change, but it better matches how people actually interact with personal websites.
Have you separated your portfolio from your "link in bio" page, or do you use a single page for everything? I'd love to hear how others approach this.
If you're curious, here's my implementation:
- 🔗 Bio page: https://bio.alexiszamanidis.com
- 💼 Portfolio: https://alexiszamanidis.com
I'm always interested in seeing how other developers structure their personal sites, so feel free to share yours in the comments.
