Your salon's website is one of your most important marketing assets. Choosing the wrong designer can cost you thousands in wasted investment and lost bookings. Here's how to find the right partner.
Selecting a website designer for your salon is a decision that will impact your business for years. The right choice leads to a professional online presence that generates bookings consistently. The wrong choice means wasted money, missed opportunities, and the frustration of starting over.
After working with hundreds of salons and spas and seeing the results—both good and bad—of various web design partnerships, we've identified the key factors that separate exceptional designers from those who will leave you disappointed.
Why the Beauty Industry Requires Specialized Expertise
Before diving into selection criteria, it's important to understand why salon website design is different from general web design. Your industry has unique requirements that general designers often miss:
- Visual Focus: Beauty businesses are inherently visual. Your website needs stunning imagery, before/after galleries, and portfolio displays that generic designers may not prioritize or execute well.
- Booking Integration: Online booking isn't just a nice feature—it's essential. Designers unfamiliar with salon software may struggle with proper integration.
- Service Presentation: Organizing and presenting multiple services, price tiers, and stylist specialties requires specific industry knowledge.
- Local SEO: Salons depend on local search visibility. Designers need to understand beauty industry-specific local SEO strategies.
Essential Criteria for Evaluating Designers
1. Beauty Industry Portfolio
The single most important factor is experience with salon and spa websites specifically. Ask to see examples of beauty business websites they've designed—not just one or two, but several across different types (hair salons, day spas, barbershops, nail salons).
When reviewing their portfolio, evaluate:
- Do the sites look professional and visually appealing?
- Is the photography high-quality and well-presented?
- Are they mobile-responsive and fast-loading?
- Can you easily find booking options and contact information?
- Do they feel unique or templated?
- Would you book an appointment based on these sites?
2. Understanding of Beauty Business Marketing
A beautiful website that doesn't generate bookings is a failure. Your designer should understand beauty business marketing—not just aesthetics. They should be able to discuss:
- How they approach conversion optimization for salons
- Their strategy for mobile users (over 70% of salon searches)
- How they incorporate SEO best practices
- Their understanding of the client booking journey
- Experience with booking system integrations
Be wary of designers who only talk about how the site will look. Appearance matters, but performance matters more.
3. Technical Capabilities
Modern salon websites require modern technology. Ask about:
- Page Speed: How do they ensure fast load times? What scores do their sites achieve on Google PageSpeed Insights?
- Booking Integration: What experience do they have with platforms like Boulevard, Vagaro, Fresha, Square, or Booksy?
- Mobile Optimization: Is the site truly mobile-optimized or just responsive?
- Security: How do they handle SSL, security updates, and protection against threats?
- Hosting: Where will the site be hosted? What's the uptime guarantee?
4. Portfolio and Gallery Expertise
Since visual content is crucial for beauty businesses, assess their ability to create stunning galleries:
- Can they build before/after comparison displays?
- Do they know how to integrate Instagram feeds?
- Can they create filterable portfolios by service type?
- Do they understand image optimization for web?
5. Transparency and Communication
The design process requires collaboration. Evaluate how they communicate:
- Do they explain their process clearly?
- Are they responsive to your initial inquiries?
- Do they provide clear timelines and milestones?
- Will you have a dedicated point of contact?
- How many revision rounds are included?
If communication is difficult before you've paid them, it will only get worse after.
6. Ongoing Support Options
A website isn't a one-time project—it needs ongoing maintenance, updates, and optimization. Ask about:
- What support is included after launch?
- How are content updates handled (new photos, services, prices)?
- What are the costs for ongoing maintenance?
- What happens if you want to make changes later?
- Do they offer SEO and marketing services?
Red Flags to Watch For
Certain warning signs indicate a designer may not be the right fit:
- No Beauty Industry Experience: If they've never designed for salons or spas, they'll learn on your dime.
- Template-Based Designs: If every site in their portfolio looks the same, yours will too. Cookie-cutter templates won't help you stand out.
- Vague Pricing: Hidden fees and unclear pricing are signs of trouble ahead.
- No Booking Integration Experience: If they haven't worked with salon booking systems, expect problems.
- Ownership Restrictions: You should own your website and content. Avoid designers who retain ownership or lock you into proprietary platforms.
- No References: Reputable designers can provide references from past salon and spa clients.
- Poor Mobile Examples: If their portfolio sites don't work well on mobile, yours won't either.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring
Use these questions to evaluate potential designers:
- How many salon and spa websites have you designed?
- Can you show me 3-5 examples of beauty business sites you've created?
- What booking systems have you integrated before?
- What is your design and development process?
- How long will the project take from start to launch?
- What is included in your pricing, and what costs extra?
- Who owns the website and content after it's built?
- How do you approach SEO during the design process?
- What are your page speed benchmarks?
- How do you handle image galleries and portfolios?
- What ongoing support do you provide?
- Can I speak with references from other salons or spas?
What to Expect to Pay
Salon website design varies widely in price. Here's a general framework:
- $1,000-$3,000: Template-based designs with minimal customization. May work for solo stylists with limited budgets, but you get what you pay for. Often lacks proper booking integration.
- $4,000-$8,000: Custom designs with professional quality, booking integration, and basic SEO. Appropriate for most small to mid-size salons.
- $8,000-$15,000+: Premium custom designs with advanced features, comprehensive SEO, professional photography coordination, and content development. Appropriate for larger salons, multiple locations, or competitive markets.
Be skeptical of prices that seem too good to be true—they usually are. A $500 website will look and perform like a $500 website, and won't have the booking integration and mobile experience your clients expect.
The Decision Framework
After evaluating multiple designers, use this framework to make your decision:
- Portfolio Quality: Do their salon sites impress you and look professional?
- Industry Knowledge: Do they understand beauty business marketing and booking systems?
- Technical Excellence: Are their sites fast, secure, mobile-optimized, and modern?
- Communication: Are they responsive, professional, and easy to work with?
- Value: Does the pricing reflect the quality and features delivered?
- Chemistry: Do you feel comfortable working with them?
The right designer should score well on all six factors. Don't compromise on critical areas just because of price or convenience.
Special Considerations for Multi-Location Salons
If you have or plan to have multiple locations, ensure your designer has experience with:
- Multi-location website architecture
- Location-specific SEO strategies
- Centralized vs. individual booking systems
- Managing multiple Google Business Profiles
- Location-specific content and pages
Making Your Investment Count
Your website is an investment in your salon's future. The right designer will create an asset that generates bookings for years. The wrong one will cost you time, money, and opportunities.
Take the time to evaluate options carefully. Ask tough questions. Check references. Look at their portfolio on your phone, not just your computer. The effort you invest in selection will pay dividends in the quality of your final website and the bookings it generates for your business.
Remember: your website is often the first impression potential clients have of your salon. In a visual, experience-driven industry, that first impression matters more than almost anything else.