How to Sell Websites to Hair Salons

Hair salons live on Instagram. The stylists post their color work, their cuts, their before-and-afters, and that feed is the portfolio. So the first thing a salon owner will tell you is that they don't need a website, they have Instagram.

They're half right. Instagram is great for showing the work. It's bad at the boring stuff a new client needs before booking: where exactly you are, what a balayage costs, which stylist does curly hair, what the cancellation policy is, and how to book without sending a DM and waiting a day for a reply. That boring stuff is your pitch.

How salons actually get booked

Almost every salon already uses a booking app of some kind. Clients book online, get reminders, and the salon manages the schedule from a tablet at the front desk. You do not want to replace that, and you shouldn't offer to. The owner has spent time setting it up, and the stylists are used to it.

What you can do is give the booking app a proper front door. The booking app's own page looks like every other salon's page on the same app. A website lets the salon show who they are, then sends people to book with one tap.

The preview: built around stylists

Salon clients don't really pick a salon. They pick a stylist. So the preview should reflect that.

• Header: salon name, neighborhood, a big "Book Now" button linking to their existing booking page, and a call button.
• Stylists: a photo and a short line for each person, what they specialize in (color, curly cuts, extensions, bridal), and a link to book with them directly if the booking app supports it.
• Services and price ranges: cuts, color, highlights, balayage, treatments, styling. Many salons list "starting at" prices because color varies a lot. Use their real numbers or leave placeholders.
• Photos: pull a handful from their Instagram or Google listing. Their best color work, the space itself.
• Policies: cancellation, late arrivals, deposits for long appointments. Clients respect a salon that's clear about this, and it saves the front desk a lot of awkward conversations.
• Location, hours, parking.
• Link to their Instagram, so the two work together.

A small detail that goes over well: a "New Clients" section that explains what to expect, like whether a color consultation is needed first.

Timing: when salons can talk

Lots of salons are closed Monday, and some are closed Sunday too. Saturdays are the busiest day, so skip them. Tuesday and Wednesday, mid-morning or early afternoon, tend to be calmer.

Here's the thing though: the phone at a salon is answered by whoever is at the front desk, and that person is often juggling a client checkout and a ringing line. For salons, walking in usually works better than calling. Go on a quiet weekday, ask when the owner is in, and come back to show them the preview on your phone. If you do call, ask when a good time is to reach the owner, and call back then.

Before you go in, check their current site

Some salons do have a site, often a template made years ago or something built by a booking platform. Run it through the Website Checkup. Common problems: slow mobile load, no https, an outdated copyright year, and a stylist list with people who left a long time ago. That last one is easy to spot and very relatable for owners.

What to say

Send the text only if they say yes. The guide on texting a business a website preview has the wording that works best. If someone says not to contact them again, respect that, and don't ever say you're with the booking company, Instagram, or Google.

The objections

"We have Instagram." Agree, and keep it. Then point out that people who search Google for a salon see websites and listings first, and that Instagram doesn't clearly answer price, location, and policy questions. The site and the feed help each other.

"Our booking app has a page." It does, and the site will link right to it. But that page looks like every other salon on the app. The website is where they get to look like themselves.

"Stylists come and go, it'll be out of date." Good point, and it's exactly why updates are included in the monthly. A stylist leaves, you remove them that day.

"We're booked solid." Plenty of good salons are. A site can help them fill the books for newer stylists who are still building a client base. That's often a real need, even at busy salons. There's more on these in how to handle objections.

How to price it

Salon owners watch costs closely, since rent, product, and payroll eat a lot. Keep it simple. Many freelancers quote a one-time setup and a small monthly for hosting and updates, and salons appreciate that updates (stylist changes, price changes, new services) are part of the deal.

Bigger salons with a lot of stylists and services are more work to build and maintain, so a higher setup or monthly makes sense there. Smaller one- or two-chair studios might just want a single clean page. Be flexible. Barbershops usually want something even simpler, and nail salons land somewhere in between.

Rover's list brings up the salons near you with no website or an outdated one first. One tap builds a preview with their name, colors and photos, and it writes a call script, voicemail, text and email you can use whether you call or walk in.