TL;DR: Good salon website design answers three questions before a client books: what does it cost, who will do my hair, and how do I book. Show a service menu with prices or "from" prices, a real photo and short profile of each stylist, and a booking button that stays visible on a phone. Everything else, from colours to animations, matters less than those three.
A client finds your salon on a map, taps through to the website on the bus and has about a minute. She wants to know whether a balayage costs what she expects, whether the stylist in the photos still works there, and whether she can book a Saturday without phoning. If the site answers with a slideshow and "call us for prices", she goes back to the map.
This guide judges salon website design the way that client does. It covers prices, stylist profiles, the booking button, reviews and a few layouts that work. Local search, which brings her to the site, is in salon SEO. Both belong to our salon marketing strategy guide.
What do clients look for on a salon website before booking?
Price, the person and the booking route. Clients want a rough idea of cost before they commit, a sense of who will do the service, and a way to book on a phone without calling. A salon site that answers those three on the first screen does more than a beautiful site that hides them.
A quick test: open your website on your own phone, on mobile data, and time how long it takes to find the price of your most-booked service, the name and photo of a stylist who does it, and a free slot next Saturday. If any of the three takes more than a few taps, that is the first fix.
The order on the home page that works for most salons:
- Name, area and the main services in one line ("Hair, colour and barbering in Riverside").
- The Book button.
- The service menu or a link to it, with prices.
- The team, with photos.
- Reviews, the address, opening hours and the cancellation policy.
How should a salon website show prices?
On the site, as a service menu with prices or honest "from" prices, grouped the way clients think: cuts, colour, treatments, nails, brows and lashes, barbering. If prices vary by stylist level or hair length, say how. A menu without prices sends clients to a competitor who shows them, or to the phone you cannot answer mid-service.
Price clarity is not only good practice; in some places it is a legal duty on the premises. In California, barbers and hair salons must post prices for their 15 most-requested standard services in 14-point bold type, plus a 24-point sign on gender-based pricing rules, with a $1,000 fine if a posting breach is not fixed within 30 days of written notice (California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology). The rule covers the premises, but clients expect the same clarity online.
A service menu that reads well on a phone:
- Service name in the client's words: "Balayage", "Root colour", "Skin fade", "Gel polish manicure".
- Duration: so the client can plan the day.
- Price or "from" price, and what changes it (length, thickness, stylist level).
- What is included: the toner, the blow-dry, the patch test appointment if your colour products require one.
Example (illustrative, not a real case): one line of a menu-led site's service menu. "Balayage · 3 hours · from 140 (senior stylist from 160) · includes toner and blow-dry · first-time colour clients book a patch test first." The prices are written as plain numbers in the salon's own currency, and the line says what moves them.
Why do stylist photos and profiles matter?
Because clients choose a person, not a building. A real, recent photo of each stylist, barber or nail technician, with two lines on what they specialise in and when they work, lets a client pick someone before booking. Stock photos of models with perfect hair tell the client nothing about your team.
A stylist profile that helps the client choose:
- A current photo at their station, in normal salon light.
- Specialities: "curly cuts and colour", "men's fades and beard work", "lash extensions and brow lamination".
- Working days.
- Three or four photos of their own work, with the client's consent.
- Their level, if prices depend on it.
Licensing can belong on the profile too. In the US, all states require barbers and cosmetologists to be licensed, typically after a state-approved programme and an exam (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). A line such as "Licensed cosmetologist since 2015" is a fact a nervous first-time client may look for.
Where should the booking button go on a salon website?
At the top of every page and fixed at the bottom of the phone screen, so it is always one tap away. It should open your online booking directly, with services and stylists already listed, not a contact form. Put the cancellation policy on the booking page, before the client confirms.
Connect the same booking route to your Google Business Profile. Google lets a salon add a "Book" option through a Reserve with Google provider or its own booking link; providers may charge per booking, and custom links give no performance data in the profile (Google Business Profile Help). Choose with those trade-offs in mind, then use the same route everywhere.
The cancellation policy belongs on the booking page, in friendly words, before the client pays a deposit or saves a card on file. The wording itself is covered in the salon no-show policy that doesn't scare clients away.
How should reviews and testimonials appear on the site?
As real reviews with a link to where they were posted, not anonymous quotes chosen by you. Show a few recent ones near the booking button and link to the full Google profile. If you collect reviews on your own website, you take on the duties of a business that publishes reviews.
In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority's 2025 guidance says fake reviews and reviews that hide an incentive are banned, and that businesses publishing reviews need a policy, a risk assessment and processes to remove banned reviews (CMA). For a small salon, the simplest route is often to show reviews from your Google profile and link to it.
Before-and-after photos on the site follow the same rules as on social media: the client's consent, the same light, and no filter that changes the result.
Which salon website examples are worth copying?
Layouts, not looks. Three structures work for most small salons: a one-page site for a single-chair or barber business, a short menu-led site for a busy hair salon, and a team-led site where clients choose a stylist first. Pick the one that matches how your clients choose, then apply your own brand.
Example (illustrative, not a real case): three salon website layouts.
| Layout | Fits | First screen | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| One page | A barber or a nail technician working alone | Name, area, Book button, price list | One page with sections: services, photos, reviews, map |
| Menu-led | A hair salon with four to eight chairs | Book button, the service menu with "from" prices | Services, team, gift cards, policy, contact |
| Team-led | A salon where clients follow a stylist | Photos of the team, each with a Book button | One page per stylist, services, policy |
A checklist before you publish:
- Prices or "from" prices for every service on the menu.
- A current photo for every stylist.
- The Book button visible without scrolling on a phone.
- The cancellation policy on the booking page.
- Opening hours that match the Google Business Profile.
- Gift cards available to buy online.
For the wider approach to finding and keeping clients, see the salon marketing strategy guide.
If you want help defining your salon's look, tone and visual rules before you brief a designer or a website builder, we are building the Brand Identity Prompt Pack. Get notified when it launches.
FAQ
What should a salon website include?
A service menu with prices or "from" prices, a photo and short profile of each stylist, a booking button that is always visible on a phone, the cancellation policy on the booking page, reviews, the address and opening hours. Gift cards to buy online are useful too. Check the whole route on your own phone before you publish.
Should a salon show prices on its website?
Yes, at least as "from" prices with a note on what changes them, such as hair length or stylist level. Clients compare prices before booking, and a menu without them sends people to a competitor or to the phone. In some places, such as California, salons are also required to post prices on the premises.
What are good hair salon website design ideas?
Start from how your clients choose. If they follow a stylist, lead with the team and give each stylist a Book button. If they choose a service, lead with the menu and prices. Use real photos of your team and work, keep the Book button fixed at the bottom of the phone screen, and put the cancellation policy before confirmation.
Sources
- Prevention of gender-based discrimination: business establishments' legal obligations (PDF) — California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, 2018.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Barbers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026.
- Set up bookings through a provider — Google Business Profile Help, accessed 2026.
- Short guide for businesses: publishing consumer reviews and complying with consumer protection law (CMA208) — UK Competition and Markets Authority, 2025.