How to sell on Instagram without paying for a website

Why posts alone don’t sell

Instagram is where people find you, but it’s an awkward place to buy. A link typed into a caption can’t be tapped, so “link in bio” becomes the instruction on every post, and a customer who taps it needs to land somewhere that shows the thing they just saw, its price and a way to pay. Without that page, every sale turns into a back-and-forth in your messages: is it still available, how much is postage, what’s your bank account. Some people give up halfway.

Instagram does have its own shopping features, but they come with their own rules about accounts, product catalogues and countries, and they don’t suit everyone who sells a handful of things a week. A plain shop page with payment links works for any account, in any country your payment provider supports, from the first sale.

The set-up, step by step

1. Make a payment link for each product in your Stripe or PayPal account (the next section shows how). Gumroad, Square, Lemon Squeezy, Ko-fi and SumUp make them too.
2. Open Shop Maker and start from the Handmade, Bakery or Art and prints template, or a blank shop.
3. Add each product with a photo, a name, a price and a few words. Use the same photo as your post, so people recognise it the moment the page opens.
4. Paste its payment link. The Buy button opens it, and the shop shows who takes the payment, such as “Pay with Stripe”.
5. Fill in delivery and returns, your email and your Instagram handle, so the questions people would message you about are answered on the page.
6. Tap Share and copy the link. In Instagram, go to Edit profile, add it as a link and save.

One thing to know: your shop travels inside its own link, so nothing is stored on a server, and a shop full of photos makes a long link. It works anywhere a link does, but when you change the shop you share again and update your bio. If you’d rather have a short address that never changes, download the shop and put it on a free host at an address of your own, or use a short link such as yuzool.com/shop/your-name, which comes with Shop Maker Pro and also counts visits and Buy presses.

Payment links in a minute

A payment link is a checkout page for one product. Whoever opens it sees the product and price and can pay by card, and often by Apple Pay or Google Pay; the provider sends the receipt and pays the money into your bank.

If you post things, turn on address collection so the order arrives with the address. If someone might buy two, turn on adjustable quantity. The step-by-step for Stripe is in how to sell online with Stripe payment links.

Turning DMs into sales

People will still message you, and that’s good: a question is a customer halfway there. The trick is to answer with something they can act on straight away.

• “How much?” Reply with the price and the product’s own payment link, not just “link in bio”. They can pay without leaving the chat.
• “Is it still available?” Keep the shop honest. Mark a product sold out the moment it goes (hold the product and choose Mark sold out) and give small batches a Stock number: ten or fewer shows “Only 3 left” on the product.
• “Do you post to…?” Say it once, clearly, under delivery on your shop page, then point people there.
• Save quick replies in Instagram for your shop link and your delivery times, so you’re not typing them twenty times a week.

Selling on WhatsApp too

The same shop link works in a WhatsApp status, a group for your regulars or a reply to a customer. Shop Maker can also show a QR code for your shop: print it for a market stall, a flyer in your parcels or the counter of a shop that stocks your work.

If you’d rather take orders first and payment on collection, which suits bakers and anyone making things to order, a form that sends each order to your WhatsApp is a better fit. This guide to a WhatsApp order form shows how to make one with Website Maker.

Posts and Stories that sell

• Show the thing in use. A mug with coffee in it, a print on a wall, a cake being cut. Then a close-up that shows the detail.
• Put the price in the caption. “From £14” saves a message and filters out people who were never going to buy.
• Use a link sticker in Stories. Stories can carry a tappable link: point it at your shop on launch days and when something is back in stock.
• Name it the same everywhere. If the post says “Fig and cedar candle”, the shop should too, so people know they’re in the right place.
• Announce drops ahead. “Twelve pieces, Friday at 7pm” gives people a reason to come back, and your shop’s sold out labels show the rush honestly.

What this set-up doesn’t do

A shop page with payment links is the lightest way to sell, and it’s worth knowing where it stops:

• No basket. Each Buy button pays for one product; a customer buying three different things pays three times, or you make a payment link for a bundle.
• No stock syncing. Sold out and the Stock count are numbers and labels you keep up to date yourself.
• No customer accounts or discount codes in the shop. Your payment provider may offer promotion codes on its own checkout page.

If you sell hundreds of products or need those things, a full shop platform earns its monthly fee. For a maker selling a few things a week from Instagram, a free page and payment links usually do the job. Compare the options in our guide to a free online store with no monthly fee.