Here’s something I notice a lot. A hair salon or beauty therapist will spend serious money on their fit-out — gorgeous interior, lovely lighting, premium products on the shelves — and then send customers to a website that looks like it was built in 2011 and hasn’t been touched since. The in-person experience is five stars. The online one, not so much.
If that sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Health and beauty is one of the industries where I see the biggest gap between how professional the business actually is and how well the website reflects that. The good news is it’s also one of the easiest gaps to close — because the bar, honestly, isn’t that high.
Your website is your shopfront — and people are looking before they book
Think about how your customers find you. Word of mouth is brilliant, but even a personal recommendation will send someone to Google before they pick up the phone. They’ll search your name, find your website, and make a snap judgement about whether you’re the kind of place they want to spend their time and money.
If your website is slow, hard to navigate on a phone, or just doesn’t reflect the quality of what you offer — some of those people will quietly go elsewhere. Not because you’re not good enough, but because first impressions count and your website is often the very first one they get.
What a good salon or beauty website actually needs
Online booking — front and centre
This is the big one. The beauty and wellness industry has shifted dramatically toward online booking, and customers now expect it as standard. Whether you use a system like Fresha, Timely, Treatwell, or something else entirely, your booking link needs to be unmissable — in the navigation, on the homepage, and ideally as a sticky button that follows the customer as they scroll.
If the only way to book is to send a Facebook message or call during business hours, you’re losing bookings from people who are ready to commit but just can’t be bothered with the friction. That’s not their fault — it’s just how people work now.
A clear, well-organised services menu with prices
People want to know what you offer and what it costs before they enquire. A vague “contact us for pricing” approach might feel premium, but in reality it puts people off — particularly for routine treatments where price comparison is part of the decision.
List your services clearly, group them logically (hair, nails, facials, massage, whatever applies), and include at least a price range even if exact costs vary. This also helps you rank well on Google for specific searches like “gel nails Middlesbrough” or “balayage Redcar.”
Photos that show off your work
Before and after photos, pictures of your space, shots of your team — these all do enormous work for a beauty business website. Customers want to see evidence that you’re good at what you do before they trust you with their hair or their skin.
You don’t need a professional photographer for every image (though it does make a difference). A phone with a decent camera, good natural light, and a few minutes of effort will produce photos that are miles better than most salon websites I see. And if you’re already posting results to Instagram, there’s no reason those same images can’t be on your website.
A team page — people want to know who they’re booking with
This matters more in health and beauty than almost any other industry. Clients often have a preferred therapist or stylist, and new customers want to feel like they know who they’re going to before they arrive. A simple team page with a photo, a few lines about each person’s specialisms, and how long they’ve been with you builds trust and makes the business feel human rather than faceless.
Reviews, prominently displayed
Word of mouth in beauty is powerful, but it scales online. If you’ve got 50 glowing Google reviews — and a lot of you have, because clients are loyal and vocal — those should be visible on your website, not just sitting on your Google profile where people might not think to look.
A simple reviews section on the homepage, pulling in your best testimonials, does more to convert a new visitor than almost anything else on the page.
A note on Instagram versus a website
A lot of beauty businesses lean heavily on Instagram, and fair enough — it’s a brilliant platform for showcasing visual work and building a following. But it’s not a substitute for a website, for a few reasons.
Instagram doesn’t rank in Google the way a website does. When someone searches “nail technician Stockton” or “beauty therapist near Hartlepool,” Google is looking for websites — not social profiles. A website is also where you control the full experience, from booking to pricing to first impressions. Think of Instagram as the place people discover you, and your website as the place they decide to book you.
The North East beauty scene is strong — your website should be too
From the independent salons along the high streets of Redcar and Saltburn to the spas and wellness studios across Teesside and County Durham, there is no shortage of talented people doing brilliant work in this industry across the region. But talent alone doesn’t fill your appointment book — people need to be able to find you, trust you, and book you easily.
That’s where a well-built website comes in. Not flashy for the sake of it, not overloaded with features you don’t need — just clean, fast, easy to use on a phone, and genuinely reflective of the quality of what you do.
Let’s talk
I work with small businesses across the North East and I understand that budget matters, especially in an industry where margins can be tight. If your website isn’t doing justice to your business — or you haven’t got one at all — I’d love to have a chat about what we could put together.
Get in touch at hello@michaelwalsh.design or call 01642 942932. I’m based in Redcar and work with businesses right across the region, from Newcastle down to North Yorkshire.
