6 Creative Icon Ideas to Make Your Link-in-Bio Page Click-Worthy

In a social media-facing e-commerce sector, your link-in-bio page could be the first impression your customers have beyond your social feed.

Building a brand in a fast-paced digital world requires you to maximize your targeting opportunities on multiple platforms. From socials to your website, a link-in-bio page serves as a centralized hub that helps direct your followers to your other touchpoints.

From links to your latest product pages to blog posts and newsletters, crafting an eye-catching link-in-bio page is crucial if you want to drive traffic across all platforms.

A key element that often goes overlooked is the design of the icons and visuals used on your link-in-bio. Link-in-bio icons aren’t just decorative; they serve as a navigational asset, guiding users to the right destination.

Thoughtful icon design also helps reinforce that all-important brand identity, matching brand colors or making use of recognizable fonts. The key here is to design a link-in-bio page with icons that make visitors click, helping your brand to convert casual social scrollers into loyal converters.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of six creative icon design ideas that promise to make your link-in-bio page clickworthy.

Use photo-based icons to showcase products visually

Starting strong, we have photo-based icons. Known as the most popular choice for link-in-bio icon design, photo icons remain the most effective in navigating customers to the right destination.

Instead of relying on abstract symbols or animated iconography, photo-based icons do precisely what they say on the tin: showcase a mini-snapshot of your products, services, and brand moments that aim to guide users through your links.

These are especially popular amongst online shops that use photo icons to showcase new product releases that may have been mentioned in recent social posts.

Why photo-based icons work

• Instant Context: Photo icons provide immediate context for your link-in-bio. Users know exactly what they are clicking on.
• Reinforces Branding: Your product designs, packaging, and aesthetic become part of your icon design from the start. This reinforces your social media and website branding, helping build trust amongst your audience.
• Trust-Building: If you’re aiming to appear transparent as a brand, showcasing your actual product lines within your icon design helps your business appear authentic. This is essential for a growing e-commerce brand.

Take a look at this example from Ardent Market, for instance:

As you can see here, Ardent Market has used clean, high-quality images in their link-in-bio icon design that match some of their social posts. This makes it easy for users to connect the dots and click on their desired link.

The key here is to use different shot types for each category to help users firmly distinguish between links. Think about product flatlays and close-ups, as shown in the example above.

Don’t forget to also keep your color palette in check, too; this is the key to making your icons look like a branded system rather than random images.

Use text-based icons for a high-clarity CTA experience

If your brand thrives on simplicity, opting for text-based icons can be the most effective way to streamline your link-in-bio design. 

Creating icons that rely solely on typography isn’t, however, as easy as it may seem. The key here is to lean on your brand font and a powerful call-to-action (CTA) to ensure that you capture viewers' attention.

Why text-based icons work

• CTA driven: Text-based icons immediately call users to action. If you’re looking to improve your navigation, this simple icon style is the ticket to letting your visitors know exactly where to click.
• Minimalistic design: Minimalism continues to drive branding trends, with studies showing it can increase conversion rates by up to 67%, enhance brand recognition by 13%, and improve user experience metrics. Text-based iconography is ideal for brands with a minimalist aesthetic and a preference for clean structures.
• Fast to create: Text-based icons are much quicker to create, making them a great choice for UX beginners and brands just looking to direct users to the right destination without the bells and whistles.

This example from digital creator Taylor Loren showcases just how creative you can get with text-based icon design:

Taylor has played around with different fonts, colors, and icon sizes to stay in line with her eclectic yet minimalist branding.

Her text-based icons are short, direct, and action-oriented, helping users stay on track as they navigate her link-in-bio page.

Adding subtle elements like thin borders or rounded corners can also add an extra oomph to your text-based icons. Just ensure that your design choices still maintain your text’s readability, as without this, the CTA is lost. 

Use platform logos for instant recognition & quick navigation

If you want to keep it simple, it’s best to stick to what you know works. Link-in-bio iconography doesn't always have to match your branding, especially if you’re directing visitors to your profile on other popular platforms like TikTok, YouTube, or Pinterest.

Utilising popular platform logos is a quick and easy way to invoke instant recognition and fast navigation for your link-in-bio browsers.

These recognizable icons do all of your heavy lifting. This is especially helpful for creators with multiple social accounts and brands that want a universal way to drive traffic across social channels.

Why logo-based icons work

• Instant recognition: Recognition is essential when it comes to building a powerful link-in-bio page. Age-old favourites such as the YouTube logo and the Facebook icon are recognized in a split second, streamlining your link navigation.
• Professional design: Using well-known logos naturally makes your LinkedIn bio page appear more polished and professional.
• Perfect for multi–platform brands: If you appear on numerous social pages, using recognizable icons to your advantage makes your social feeds easy to find.

A solid example of this comes from social media influencer Mathilde Barker, known for her presence on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube:

As you can see here, instead of relying on cohesive branding, Mathidle has opted to keep her icon design classic and aligned with the platform's logo colors/styles.

If you have a more minimalist brand aesthetic or want to stay in line with your color scheme, you can also opt for styled versions of the classic social icons, allowing you to change colors and designs to fit your style.

To get you started, check out our free social media icons pack for instant recognizability.

Match your icons & link-in-bio page to your brand color scheme

If you want to create a cohesive link-in-bio page that naturally reflects your cross-platform branding, your color palette is your key to linking all elements together.

When your icon design uses the same colors as your classic branding, you make it easy for visitors to associate your icons with your other popular content.

Better still, you make your entire link-in-bio experience appear polished and intentional.

Why matching your brand colors works

• Stronger storytelling: Your use of branded color immediately communicates your business’s personality and lets your visitors know they are still in your world.
• Improves trust and credibility: Color consistency helps your brand appear more credible and encourages users to keep engaging.
• Seamless visual flow: Moving from social feed → link page → website feels smooth and connected.

The Brand ‘The Pink Stuff’ knows exactly how important it is to keep your color palette cohesive when creating icons for your link-in-bio.

It’s no surprise that their link-in-bio icons are bright pink, just like the rest of the brand’s marketing efforts.

Using white to break up each element, The Pink Stuff immediately attracts attention to its pink icons and invokes instant recognition from its followers.

To match your icon set with your own color scheme, try using our color editor on some of our featured icons to make your link-in-bio feel more like your brand.

Get creative with your icons: vary shapes, sizes & interactivity

Uniform icons are so last year. Why not make your link-in-bio page feel playful? Just like your brand.

Mixing up your icon styles and shapes could be the eclectic design you’ve been looking for. From selecting different sizes for your icons to add drama to your lin-in-bio page, to creating 3D icons in the shape of the product you’re linking to, the options are endless if you have the time and a greater UX skillset.

Why getting creative with your icon design works

• Makes your link-in-bio memorable: If you want to stand out in a sea of generic square and round buttons, opting for different shapes and sizes for your icons is key to making your link-in-bio page more memorable.
• Improves usability: By emphasizing your most popular links with large icons and widgets, you make it easier for users to interact with your link-in-bio page.
• Showcases your personality: Fun, creative icon sets reflect your brand's vibe and style.
• Enhances engagement: Interactive and creative icons invite visitors to spend more time exploring your link-in-bio page. This increases your chances of clicks.

Take a look at this fabulous example from influencer Louise Thompson:

Her use of large and small iconography, along with additional product-shaped icons, makes her link-in-bio page stand out.

Turning her podcast link into an interactive widget is also a genius move, especially since users can start listening immediately from the link-in-bio page itself.

If a creative link-in-bio design is what you’re after, choose a link-in-bio tool that allows you to customize your icon designs, shapes, and sizes. Opting for templates that let you add interactive elements where possible (play buttons, hover animations, or embedded media) is also a great way to spice up your page design.

Use clickable photos to create an Instagram-feed feel

Last but not least, let’s take a look at a platform-specific link-in-bio page design that gives traditional iconography an Instagram feed feel.

If you want your link-in-bio page to be a natural extension of your brand’s Instagram page, you could ditch classic icons and use your social posts as your link headers.

This makes the browsing experience twice as rich for visitors and makes your icon design more interactive and intentional for customers seeking a seamless journey from socials to checkout.

Why clickable photos work

• Showcases your Instagram feed: The classic grid style is a perfect way to reflect your brand’s Instagram feed and encourage link engagement.
• Icons feel familiar: Users recognize your link-in-bio page as an extension of your Instagram feed, making navigation seamless and more enjoyable.

Take a look at this example from jewelry brand Linjer, which uses clickable photo icons to help customers find the product page linked to their favorite Instagram posts.

Linking each photo directly to the exact store page, blog post, or landing page it features is genius from Linjer, helping customers land straight in checkout.

The key here is to keep your link-in-bio grid consistent with your Instagram page itself. This can take time and effort, but for e-commerce stores in particular, the results could be well worth it. 

Wrapping up

Your link-in-bio page is a brilliant opportunity to put your icon design skills to the test. With the ability to steer user navigation and drive engagement, link-in-bio icons are the key to boosting social referrals.

Just ensure that your icon designs remain cohesive to your brand and are creative enough to catch the eye of the social browsers you’re hoping to turn into customers.

Don’t forget to check out IconScout’s library of over 10 million icon designs to get you started on a link-in-bio page that draws in all the engagement.