Website checklist for barbers and hair salons

Most people choosing a barber or a salon are on a phone, often standing in the street, comparing two or three places. They look at the photos, the prices and the reviews, then book or message the one that makes it easiest. A good website makes your place the easy choice, in any city: Manchester, Austin, Dubai or Riyadh.

The first screen

Everything here should be visible without scrolling on a phone.

• Your name, what you do and where. "Harbour Barbers, cuts and beard trims in Leeds" tells a visitor and a search engine more than a logo alone.
• A booking button or a message button. Use the tool you already have: a booking link, a WhatsApp chat or a phone number that dials with one tap.
• Today's opening hours. Plain text, with closing days and public holiday hours shown clearly.
• Your area or address, linked to a map so directions open on the visitor's phone.

Services and prices

• List your main services with prices. Visitors skip places that make them ask. If prices vary, write "from" and say what changes them.
• Write it as text, not a photo of a price list. Text loads fast, reads well on a small screen and can be found by search engines.
• Say how long things take. A client planning a lunch break wants to know if a skin fade is 30 minutes or an hour.
• Say whether you take walk-ins or appointments only. It is one of the most common questions barbers get.
• For salons, explain colour and treatment consultations. Many colour services need a conversation first, so say how to arrange one.

Photos of your work

• Show real work. Cuts, colours, finished styles and the shop itself. Stock photos tell a visitor nothing about you.
• Ask permission before you post a client's photo, especially if their face is clear. A photo from the back or side often works as well.
• Show a variety. Different hair types, lengths and styles, so more people can picture themselves in the chair.
• Compress your images. Large photos are the most common reason a barber or salon site is slow on mobile data.
• Add short descriptions (alt text) such as "Skin fade with a textured top". It helps screen reader users and search engines.

Booking and contact

• Connect your existing booking system. If you already use a booking platform, the website should send people straight to it with a booking button or an embedded booking page. Do not run a second diary that can clash with the first.
• Add a WhatsApp button. Many clients prefer to message rather than call, particularly outside opening hours. It is a link in the form https://wa.me/<number>, with the number in international format; see the WhatsApp Help Center.
• Give your cancellation and late policy in a sentence or two, so it is not a surprise.
• Show your full address and parking or transport tips as text, not only inside a map picture.
• Add an accessibility note if you have step-free access, or say plainly if you do not.

Connect it to Google

Your Google Business Profile can hold up to ten booking links, and you can mark one as your preferred link, according to Google's help page on business links. Point the booking link at the page where a client can actually book, not at your homepage. Keep your hours, address and phone number identical on the profile, the website and Instagram. If you have not set the profile up yet, start with Google Business Profile and your website.

Trust

• Show real reviews. A few genuine quotes, or a link to your Google reviews. Do not invent or edit them.
• Put the team on the page if you have more than one barber or stylist, with what each one specialises in.
• Add your business details in the footer. Name, email and phone make you look established.
• Link a privacy page if you collect any details through a form.

Speed and search

• Test it on a real phone on mobile data, not just wifi. If it takes more than a few seconds to show your prices and booking button, simplify the page.
• Write a clear page title and description. For example: "Harbour Barbers | Cuts and beard trims in Leeds, walk-ins welcome".
• Use Google's local markup if you can. Google recommends the most specific type available, and documents Local Business structured data for address, opening hours and phone. It helps Google read the page; it does not guarantee a special display.
• Keep Instagram as a bonus, not the only place. A website works alongside Instagram and does not depend on an algorithm.

Common mistakes we see

• The price list is a screenshot that is too small to read.
• The booking link goes to a page that does not work on a phone.
• Opening hours differ between the website, Google and Instagram.
• The only way to get in touch is a phone number nobody answers during working hours.
• Photos are years old and show a different shop.

How much of this do you need, and what does it cost?

All of it fits on one page. A clear single page with services and prices, a gallery, hours, a map and a booking button is enough for most barbers and small salons. Larger salons with several stylists, courses or a shop may want a few more pages.

That one-page site is our Launch package: $179 in the US, £149 in the UK and AED or SAR 599 in the UAE and KSA, one-off, with the first year of your domain included. We build a free demo from your business name first, and you pay only if you want it live. For how that compares with other options, see website prices in Dubai and Riyadh and what a small business website costs in the UK.