Website basics for shops, studios and salons

If customers come to you, your website mostly has to answer three things: when are you open, how do I book or come in, and what do you offer at what price. Salons, barbershops, nail studios, yoga and fitness studios, tattoo shops, boutiques, gift shops and repair shops all live or die on those answers being right and easy to find on a phone. Add how to get there and a feel for the place, and you have a site that fills chairs and classes.

Hours: the most-checked thing on your site

Many visitors look at your site only to see whether you are open. Make that effortless.

Put today's hours, or the full week, near the top of the home page, not only on a contact page.
Write them as text, not inside a picture, so they are readable on any phone and easy to change.
Use a simple format: "Tue-Fri 9-7, Sat 9-4, closed Sun & Mon."
Update for holidays before the holiday, not after. A post-it on the door does not help someone checking from home.
Make them match your Google listing. If the site says open and Google says closed, people trust neither. Business hours on your website has a routine for keeping them right.
Walk-ins or appointments only? Say which, clearly, next to the hours.

Booking: one button, everywhere

If you take appointments, the booking button is your main button.

"Book now" at the top of every page, linking straight to your booking tool. Whatever you already use for appointments is fine; the site just needs to send people to it.
Test it on your phone from the website, all the way to a confirmed booking. Broken booking links are common after a tool changes.
Link to the specific service where your booking tool allows it, so someone reading about a balayage can book a balayage, not hunt through a long list.
Say what to do if online booking is full: call, text, or join a waitlist.
Show your policies near the button: deposits, cancellation notice, late arrivals. Stating them up front prevents awkward conversations later.

For studios with classes, show the schedule as a page people can read without logging in, with a book button on each class. Adding online booking compares ways to set this up.

Your service menu does the selling. Treat it like a restaurant menu: grouped, short, priced.

Group services into sections: Cuts, Color, Treatments; or Classes, Private sessions, Memberships; or Repairs, Alterations.
One line per service: name, length, price. "Women's cut and style, 60 min, from $65."
Say what changes the price: hair length, stylist level, materials, size.
Explain unfamiliar services in a sentence. Not everyone knows what a gloss or a lymphatic massage is.
Write it as text on the page, not a PDF or a photo of your printed price list. Text reads well on phones and you can change one price without redoing the whole thing.
Name the person if prices or services vary by stylist, artist or instructor.

For a retail shop, the "menu" is what you carry: the categories, brands and types of products, with a few photos. You do not need an online store to show what is on your shelves.

Finding you: address, parking, the door

People coming in person need practical directions that maps do not give them.

Your full street address, with a link that opens their maps app.
Parking: lot, street, meters, a garage nearby, how much.
Which door, if it is not obvious: "Entrance on Oak Street, second floor, elevator at the back."
Accessibility: steps, elevator, accessible restroom. People with mobility needs plan ahead.
Landmarks: "Next to the post office", "across from the library".

A feel for the place

Choosing a salon, a tattoo artist or a yoga studio is personal. People want to know what it will feel like to walk in.

Photos of the space: chairs, studio floor, shelves, the front counter. Bright, tidy, real.
Photos of your work, from cuts and nails to tattoos, alterations and displays.
The people: a photo and a sentence about each stylist, instructor or artist, with what they specialize in.
Your style in a line: quiet and relaxed, lively and fun, family-friendly, appointment-only and private.

Link to your Instagram or Facebook if you post there regularly, but put the essentials on the site itself; not everyone uses social media, and posts get buried.

Extras that earn their place

Only add these if they suit your business:

Gift cards, especially before holidays. A "Buy a gift card" link to whatever system you use.
Memberships or class packs with clear terms.
A new-client offer, if you have one, with any conditions spelled out.
A short FAQ: "Do you take walk-ins?", "How early should I arrive?", "Can I bring my child?", "Do you do consultations?"

What to do this week

Check that your hours on the website and on Google match, including the next holiday.
Tap your Book button on your phone and book a fake appointment all the way through, then cancel it.
Rewrite your service menu as text: group, name, length, price.
Add parking and entrance details next to your address.
Take five photos of your space in daylight.
Write one sentence about each member of your team.

If your current site has the right content but hides your hours or menu, you can see your site rebuilt first with them at the top where clients look, and check it on your own phone before deciding.