Websites for salons
What a hair salon’s website has to do to turn a visitor into a booking.
Clients choose a stylist by their work, then want to book right away. A salon site needs the stylists, photos of their work, the price list and booking.
Salon clients choose a person, not a business. They want to see who the stylists are, what each one is good at, and photos of their recent work, then they want to book a slot without phoning. A salon site that makes that a two-minute job fills the book.
Most salon sites show a stock photo of a model's hair, a short welcome and a phone number. The site we build for a salon puts booking in the first screen, gives each stylist their own short profile with their work, and keeps the price list one tap away.
Why salons lose the visitors they already have
Booking means a phone call
Many clients book late in the evening or between other things, and would rather not call. A salon whose booking link is buried, or which only takes phone bookings, loses them to the salon down the road with a button.
The stylists are invisible
A new client wants to find the stylist who does the cut or colour they want. A page with no team, or a team page with no work shown, leaves them guessing and often booking elsewhere.
Stock photos instead of real work
Clients judge a salon on the hair it does. Photos of your own clients' cuts and colours, with permission, are the strongest thing a salon site can show. Stock images say nothing about your chairs.
The price list is missing or out of date
Clients want a rough idea before booking. A current price list, or 'from' prices by service, answers the question. An out-of-date one causes awkward moments at the till.
What your visitor arrived wanting
“What do you do, what does it cost, and can I book?”
In their words, the problem
- I want a change but I am not sure what
- I need someone who listens
- what does it cost
- can I book online
What they want to leave with
- leave looking how I pictured
- an appointment that is not rushed
- someone I go back to
A hair salon’s clients think in terms of a appointment; the page should use their word, not the trade’s.
The page, top to bottom
This is the order a hair salon’s homepage runs in when we build it. Core sections are on every site of this kind; strong ones are there whenever the business has the facts to fill them. Nothing is padded to look full.
- 01
The first screen: what you do, where, and how to reach you
Core
- 02
Services, as a list a customer can scan
Core
- 03
Photos of your own work
When the facts exist
- 04
Book online
Core
- 05
Reviews, with the source named
When the facts exist
- 06
Opening hours
When the facts exist
- 07
A map of where you work
When the facts exist
- 08
How to reach you, with a form that delivers
Core
One ask: “Book online”
The primary action for a hair salon is book online. It sits in the first screen on a phone and repeats on every page; a second, quieter route to the form sits beside it. Two equal buttons pointing at the same place read as filler and cost calls.
On a phone, the sections a visitor must reach within the first three screens: services, as a list a customer can scan; book online.
The services to name
Each of these is a search someone in your town types. Each gets its own line on the homepage and, where it matters, its own page.
- Haircuts and styling
- Hair colour
- Balayage and highlights
- Blowouts
- Keratin and smoothing treatments
- Bridal and event hair
- Men's cuts
What a client checks before they book
- Each stylist named and pictured, with what they specialise in
- Photos of real clients' hair, with permission
- A current price list or 'from' prices by service
- Google reviews linked, ideally ones that name the stylist
- The cancellation and deposit policy, stated plainly
- Photos of the salon itself, so a first-time client recognises it
Photographs: what belongs and what does not
The look to aim for is styled, warm, personal.
Use
- the interior and its light
- the work, close up
- the chair or table
- product and tools, styled
Avoid
- stock models
- clip-art scissors
- a face filling the frame
No stock photography in a work role: a photo captioned as your work is a claim, and a stock one is a false one.
Local SEO for a hair salon
- Google Business Profile primary category: Hair salon. Add Beauty salon or Barber shop only if they describe real work you do.
- Connect your booking system to the listing if it supports it, so clients can book straight from the map.
- Post recent work to the listing every week; a salon listing with fresh photos gets more taps.
- Ask for the review at checkout, with a card or text link that mentions the stylist's name.
Questions salons ask us
- Should a salon website have online booking?
- Yes, and in the first screen. It is the single most useful feature for a salon. If your booking system has its own page, link to it prominently rather than hiding it in a menu.
- Should each stylist have their own page?
- A short profile each, with a photo, what they specialise in and a few photos of their work, is enough. Clients often book a stylist rather than a salon.
- Can I post client photos on the website?
- Only with their permission. Ask at the end of the appointment. Many clients are happy to say yes when the result looks good.
The two questions your own customers ask, which the site answers for you
- What will it cost?
- It depends on what you have done. Tell us when you book and we will tell you the figure before you sit down, so there is nothing unexpected at the end.
- What happens at the first appointment?
- We talk first — what you want, what you have had before, what will suit you. Nothing starts until you are happy with the plan.
Free, automatic, about 30 seconds
See what your hair salon's site is missing.
The free audit checks the first screen, the title, whether Google can read the page, whether it is mobile-friendly and whether there is a way to book.
Run the free website auditPrefer to talk? Book a 15-minute call.