Salon website builder guide: how to pick one that books clients (2026)

What a salon website has to do

A salon website has one main job: get a client from “I need a cut” to a confirmed appointment in a few taps. Clients often book when you’re closed: in a November 2025 survey by Zenoti, a salon software vendor, 71% of hair and beauty regulars said they had skipped booking because it was too hard to reach someone or book online.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 80% of barbers and 48% of hairdressers and cosmetologists are self-employed, so a hair salon website is often one stylist’s booking page. A good salon website or barbershop website covers these basics:

• A Book button at the top of every page, ideally per stylist or per location.
• A service menu with prices or starting prices.
• Your cancellation, no-show and deposit policy, shown before the client confirms.
• Stylist or barber profiles with photos of real work.
• Address, hours and phone, matching your Google Business Profile.
• Gift cards, packages or memberships, if you sell them.
• A phone-first, accessible layout, with labeled booking forms and alt text on photos.

Choosing a salon website builder: four ways to get a site

The quick verdict: for a salon, the booking app matters more than the website. Some booking apps include a site; others give you a link or widget for a site you build on Wix, Squarespace or WordPress. The big differences are marketplace fees on new clients, contract length and what you can take with you.

1. A booking app that includes the website

• GlossGenius: every plan includes a booking website builder. Standard is $24 a month billed yearly ($28 billed monthly), Gold (up to 9 staff) $48 ($56) and Platinum (10 or more) $148 ($168). No marketplace commission is listed. The pricing page doesn’t say whether you can use your own domain.
• Square Appointments: Square Free is $0 a month per location with scheduling and a basic website or booking site; Plus is $49 and Premium $149. Square’s help center covers connecting your own domain on Plus and Premium; Free uses a Square address.
• Fresha: Independent is $19.95 a month for one person, Team $14.95 per bookable team member, and the Smart Website add-on $15.95 a month. The pricing page doesn’t say whether the site works with your own domain.
• Vagaro: $30 a month billed monthly ($23.99 for the first 6 months), with bookable calendar licenses at $10 each, up to seven. Its MySite builder supports your own domain, per Vagaro’s 2023 announcement, but its price isn’t published.

2. A general website builder

Wix Bookings works only on a plan that supports it: Core ($29 a month billed yearly), Business ($39) and Business Elite ($159) list scheduling and payments; Light ($17) doesn’t. Squarespace sells booking separately through Acuity Scheduling, which it owns. Acuity Starter is $16 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly), and Standard, the lowest plan with gift certificates, packages and text reminders, is $27 ($34). The site plan is extra: Basic is $19 ($25) with a 2% fee on online sales, Core $29 ($39).

The trade-off is leaving: Wix scores 3/10 on our exit score and Squarespace 5/10. Our best website builders for small business list compares both.

3. Self-hosted WordPress with a booking plugin

WordPress runs on hosting you choose, such as Bluehost Starter at $3.99 a month on a 36-month term, then $9.99. Booking comes from a plugin: Bookly has a free version and Pro at $39 a year (shown discounted from $99); Amelia Pro is $149 a year and lists deposits, packages and shared chairs and rooms. You own every file, so WordPress scores 10/10 for leaving. We build on WordPress every week, so weigh our bias; the cost is upkeep. See our WordPress review.

4. Your own site plus a salon booking app

Many salons point the Book button on their own site at a separate app. In our best salon websites roundup, Heritage Barbershop pairs Squarespace with Acuity and Resident Barber pairs WordPress with Booksy.

• Booksy: $29.99 a month plus tax, plus $20 for each additional team member. Clients book through your Booksy profile link; the pricing page doesn’t describe a website builder.
• Mangomint: $120 a month per location plus $10 per user, with booking that embeds on your own site and no fee on bookings made there.
• Boulevard: Essentials is $143 a month for one location; Premier $234 and Prestige $328 per location are limited-time fall prices for new customers (normally $293 and $410). Its agreement starts with a 12-month term.

Marketplace fees vs a flat monthly price

Fresha and Booksy also run consumer apps where new clients find you, and that exposure is paid for on the first visit. Fresha charges 20% of a marketplace new client’s first appointment, minimum $6. Returning clients and new clients from your own website or social pages are free, though its help center says clients who first saw your Fresha profile still count. Booksy Boost charges 30% of a Boost client’s first visit, capped at $100; with Boost off, Booksy takes no commission. On a $60 first visit, that’s $12 or $18. Card processing applies everywhere; see transaction fees.

The options side by side

The exit score, out of 10, measures how much of your site comes with you if you switch (see our exit scores tool); booking apps don’t have one, so read their terms on your client list. Our salon website cost guide adds domain, email and booking fees over three years.

Which salon website builder should you use?

There is no single best pick. These fits come from published prices and features, not our own testing.

• Solo stylist or booth renter on a tight budget: Square Free ($0 plus card fees) or GlossGenius Standard ($24 a month billed yearly), both with a booking site included.
• You want new clients from an app: Fresha, or Booksy with Boost, if a fee on each new marketplace client’s first visit is worth it. Send regulars to your free direct link.
• You want a site that carries your brand: Wix Core with Bookings is one bill; Squarespace with Acuity Standard adds gift certificates and packages; WordPress with a plugin costs the least and moves most easily.
• A team with a front desk: Mangomint, Boulevard, or GlossGenius Gold or Platinum, linked from a site you control. Read Boulevard’s 12-month term first.

How to make a salon website, step by step

1. Pick your booking app first. If you already take cards through Square or a salon app, start with what it includes.
2. Register your domain name in your own name, even if the app hosts your site, and set up email at that domain.
3. Add stylist profiles, real photos, hours and address.
4. Write your service menu and policies: prices by time, length or stylist level rather than gender, plus cancellation, no-show and deposit rules.
5. Test booking on your phone: book, move and cancel an appointment, then use the same booking link on Google and your social bios.

Salon website design that turns visitors into clients

Make booking one tap, per person or place

Heritage Barbershop in Portland gives each barber a booking link and a page, and The Rosemont Barbers in Denver has a Book button for each location.

Show prices, even as ranges

Heritage prints its full price list on the homepage; Spoke & Weal shows starting-price ranges, like $81 to $321 for a haircut.

Put the policy where the booking happens

Spoke & Weal says plainly that a card holds the appointment and is charged only after the visit. Show your rule before the client confirms, with one notice period and the fee.

Sell gift cards and memberships

Spa Sasse in Portland puts gift card buttons in its header and footer and promotes three membership tiers.

The rules your salon site has to follow

These are the main US rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

Gift cards

Under federal rules, gift card funds can’t expire sooner than 5 years after the card is issued or last loaded, the expiration date must be disclosed, and inactivity fees are allowed only after 12 months without use (12 CFR 1005.20). California goes further: under Civil Code 1749.5, gift cards may not carry an expiration date (Sonoma County DA).

Prices, fees and deposits

Since July 1, 2024, California’s SB 478 requires listed prices to include all mandatory fees, online and in the shop. The Attorney General’s FAQ says fees triggered by a customer’s later conduct, such as late return fees, aren’t mandatory. It doesn’t name salon no-show fees or deposits, but a mandatory booking fee would need to be in the service price (California AG FAQ). The FTC’s federal fees rule covers only live-event tickets and short-term lodging, not salons, though the FTC Act’s general ban on deceptive pricing still applies (FTC).

Gender-neutral pricing

California and New York bar different prices for substantially similar services based on gender; differences based on time, difficulty or cost are allowed (California guide). California’s guide covers the shop, not websites, but a “women’s cut” label online may carry the same risk, and New York’s Department of State recommends gender-neutral price lists (NY DOS).

The name you advertise under

Minnesota’s rule requires salon ads to use the licensed salon name (Minn. R. 2105.0110). In Massachusetts, a booth renter advertising under another business name must include the shop’s name in all ads, including social media (board policy). We found no state rule requiring a license number on a website.

Accessibility, reviews and texts

• Accessibility. DOJ guidance says the ADA covers services offered on the web and lists barriers such as unlabeled forms and mouse-only navigation. A booking widget is an online form (ADA.gov).
• Reviews. The FTC rule in effect since October 21, 2024 bans fake reviews and rewards that depend on a review being positive (FTC).
• Texts. Autodialed marketing texts need prior express written consent, so a phone field used for promos needs clear consent wording (FCC).

Pre-launch checklist

1. Your domain is registered in your name, at a registrar you control.
2. You know who owns your client list and how to export it before you cancel.
3. Every service has a price or starting price, with no gender labels.
4. The cancellation and deposit policy appears in the booking flow, worded the same everywhere.
5. The booking form works on a phone and with a keyboard.
6. Gift cards show their expiration terms, or say they don’t expire.
7. Hours, address and phone match your Google Business Profile.
8. If you’re replacing an old site, redirects are set up; see website migration.

Getting found after launch

Start with your Google Business Profile, which can take bookings through a Reserve with Google provider or your own booking link. Google says the provider might charge you and lists no Google fee (Google).

Then work on reviews. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 97% said they read reviews for local businesses and 71% use Google for them. Ask clients after the visit. Over time, service pages, stylist pages and real photos help your site show up in local searches; our SEO entry covers the basics. Our sister site, SEO PPC Management, covers local SEO.

Where to go next

• How much a salon website costs: true 3-year totals and a marketplace fee example.
• Best salon websites: 13 real salons, barbershops, nail salons and spas.
• Best website builders for small business: our do-it-yourself picks.
• Glossary: domain name, transaction fees and web accessibility.

Website guides for other industries: Real estate, Law firms, Dental, Medical, Therapists, Contractors, Electricians, Restaurants, Schools, Churches, Artists, Events, Vacation rentals, Nonprofits, Creators and courses. All industries.