Hair salon website: booking by stylist and service, without platform commission
A hair salon website is the salon's own page where a client sees prices, picks a stylist and a slot, and books. ALTAI Digital builds salon sites around that job. Bookings land on the salon's own calendar, from the web or through WhatsApp; a reminder goes out the day before to reduce no-shows. The site links to the salon's Instagram and Google Business Profile, and client records stay with the salon. Delivery takes four weeks. We work from Rotterdam and Istanbul.
Most salons in the Netherlands and the UK take bookings in one of three ways: by phone, through Instagram messages, or on a booking platform such as Treatwell or Fresha. The platforms work, but they charge a commission per booking or a monthly fee, and the client relationship is kept on the platform rather than with the salon. The client books on the platform, the reminder carries the platform's name and the review sits on the platform's page. The salon's own name comes second on every screen.
The client finds the salon on Google Maps, reads the reviews, then opens Instagram to see the work. At that point they want to book. If the Instagram bio links to a platform, the platform takes the booking and the client; if it links to nothing, the client sends a message and waits. A salon website closes that gap: the service list with prices, the stylists, the open slots and a booking button, on a page the salon owns. The booking link on the Google Business Profile points to the same page.
A salon booking has two properties that a generic contact form cannot handle. It is tied to a person: the client wants a particular stylist and books around that stylist's free slots. And it is tied to a duration: a cut and a full colour do not fit the same slot, so the service list has to carry the time each service takes. Then there are no-shows. A client who books and does not turn up leaves an empty chair for that hour. A WhatsApp reminder the day before, with a one-tap cancel, is meant to reduce that; we do not quote a percentage.
Below you will find the scope of a salon site build, the four-week process and the questions we are asked most. Prices for services are entered by the salon; ALTAI Digital builds the structure, writes the pages and takes the site live. Client records, the domain and the source code are registered in the salon's name, so the salon can answer a GDPR access or deletion request from one place. Pricing is given after the discovery call. We work from Rotterdam and Istanbul.
What goes wrong today
- 01
Platform commission on every booking
Booking platforms charge a commission per booking or a monthly fee, and the client relationship sits with the platform. The reminder, the review request and the client record all carry the platform's name. The salon pays a fee to reach clients who already know it.
- 02
Bookings depend on whoever is at the desk
Between two clients, the stylist answers the phone with foils in one hand. Instagram messages sent at night are read the next morning, by which time the slot may be gone. The salon's calendar lives in one person's head or one paper diary.
- 03
The client cannot see who is free when
The client wants a specific stylist. Without a booking page that shows each stylist's open slots, they ask, wait for a reply, and often book elsewhere while waiting.
- 04
No-shows leave an empty chair
A client who does not turn up costs the salon that hour; the stylist waits and nobody else can be booked in. Reminders sent by hand are forgotten on busy days; when no reminder goes out, the client forgets.
- 05
Instagram instead of a website
The salon's only address is an Instagram profile. The work looks good there, but there is no price list, no open slots and no booking button. The client sends a message and waits for a reply between two appointments.
- 06
Google Business Profile and the site disagree
One set of opening hours on Google, another on the site. The booking link on the profile goes to an old platform page or nowhere. The client does not know which to trust and, more often than not, does not call.
Scope of the build
Booking by stylist and service
The client picks the service first, then the stylist, then an open slot. Each service carries its own duration, entered by the salon, so the calendar blocks the right amount of time and two bookings never overlap. Each stylist has their own working days and holidays. New staff and new services are added from the admin screen.
WhatsApp booking and reminders
A button on the site opens the salon's WhatsApp Business line. A client who prefers to write gets a slot the same way; once the salon confirms, the booking lands on the same calendar. The day before the appointment a reminder goes out; a one-tap reply cancels and the slot reopens.
Service and price list
Every service sits on one page with category, duration and price; the salon enters and changes prices itself. The same list feeds the booking screen, so the client sees the price before booking and the salon stops answering price questions by message.
Instagram connection
The Instagram bio link points to the booking page, so a client who found the salon on Instagram books without sending a message. Selected posts are shown next to the service they belong to. The site's own photos are sized on upload so the page stays fast.
Google Business Profile
The site is linked to the Business Profile; address, hours, phone and reviews are maintained from one source. The booking link on the profile points to the site's booking page; a client on Google Maps reaches it in one tap. Hair salon schema is written into the page.
Speed and phone layout
Pages are coded from scratch and open in under three seconds on a phone. The booking button and the service list are on the first screen. Photos are resized on upload, so a large file from the salon does not slow the page.
Client records under GDPR
Name, phone number and booking history are stored in the salon's own admin screen, not on a third-party platform. The salon can export or delete a client's record on request, which is what a GDPR access or erasure request asks for. Consent for reminder messages is recorded at booking.
How the build runs
- 01
Discovery (1 week)
Service list, durations, staff and opening hours are collected; the current booking flow, the Instagram account and the Business Profile are measured.
- 02
Design and writing (2 weeks)
Pages are written, the booking screen and the service list are set up, the WhatsApp line and the reminder are connected. An interim preview is shared.
- 03
Corrections and launch (1 week)
Corrections are applied, domain and hosting are registered in the salon's name, staff get a half-hour walkthrough, the site goes live.
- 04
Connection and measurement
Search Console and the Business Profile are connected and the profile's booking link is switched to the site. A measurement report follows at the end of month one.
Salon site with booking
- Five pages: home, services and prices, booking, team, contact and location
- Booking by stylist and service, on the web and through WhatsApp
- WhatsApp reminder and one-tap cancellation
- Service and price list, maintained by the salon
- Instagram, Google Business Profile and Search Console connection
- Domain, hosting and client records in the salon's name; no booking commission
Pricing is given after the discovery call, once the scope is clear.
Products used in this build
Online booking and scheduling
Online booking for clinics, salons and hotels; reminders and cancellation handling close the empty slot.
WhatsApp Business integration
Notifications, order tracking and customer conversations gather in the business account; the history stays with the company.
Request handling
Requests from five channels collect in one list, the draft reply arrives ready, and the decision to send stays with you.
Terms used on this page
- Booking by stylist
- A booking screen where the client picks the service, then the stylist, then a slot from that stylist's own calendar.
- No-show
- A client who books but neither turns up nor cancels; the hour cannot be given to anyone else, so the chair stays empty.
- Booking reminder
- An automatic WhatsApp message sent the day before an appointment; the client confirms or cancels with one reply, and a cancellation reopens the slot.
- Google Business Profile
- The salon's listing on Google Maps and in search results, carrying address, hours, phone, reviews and a booking link that points to the site.
- Booking platform
- A marketplace such as Treatwell that takes salon bookings for a commission or monthly fee, with the client relationship held on the platform.
hair salon websiteFrequently asked questions
Four weeks: one for discovery, two for design and writing, one for corrections and launch. If the service list, prices, staff details and photos arrive in week one, the schedule holds. The booking screen and the WhatsApp line are built within the same four weeks.
Yes. On the booking screen the client picks the service, then the stylist, then one of that stylist's open slots. A client with no preference can pick the first available slot instead. Working days and holidays are kept per stylist, so a stylist who is away is not shown.
That is the salon's choice; the site does not require them. Bookings from the site carry no commission and the client record stays with the salon. Some salons keep a platform listing for new clients and move regulars to the site. Whether the two calendars can be connected depends on the platform and is checked during discovery.
That is what it is for; we do not quote a percentage, and the first-month report shows the salon's own count. The reminder goes out on WhatsApp the day before. A one-tap reply cancels and the slot reopens, so the hour can be offered to another client.
The salon. Services, durations and prices are entered on an admin screen; it needs no technical knowledge, and staff get a half-hour walkthrough at launch. A price change appears on the site and on the booking screen at the same time. Salons that prefer it can hand updates to us under monthly maintenance.
Yes. The WhatsApp button opens the salon's business line; the client writes the service and a preferred time, the salon checks the calendar and confirms. A confirmed WhatsApp booking goes into the same calendar as a web booking and receives the same reminder. Bookings taken by phone are added to the same calendar by the salon.
Pricing depends on page count, number of staff and the booking scope, and is given after the discovery call. The scope of the salon site with booking is listed in the package above; the WhatsApp line and the reminder are part of it. There is no commission per booking; monthly maintenance is quoted separately and is optional.
In the salon's own system, registered in the salon's name. Name, phone number and booking history sit in the admin screen of the site, not on a platform. The salon can export or delete a record when a client asks, and consent for reminder messages is recorded at booking. When the contract ends, the data and the source code stay with the salon.
The process first, the proposal after
In a short discovery call we map the process together and tell you plainly whether it is worth automating. If it is not, we say that too.
30 minutes · no preparation needed
