Anticode Open builder

A barbershop website with the price list, the cuts and a chair to book

A barbershop website gets checked for three things: what a cut costs, whether you can walk in or need to book, and whether the barbers can do the fade, the scissor cut or the beard you have in mind. Answer those with a straight price list, a plain walk-in policy and photos of real cuts. For booking, Anticode's one-slot-one-customer calendar fits a barber's chair naturally, with a few limits.

Updated · By the Anticode team

A price list a customer can read at a glance

Barbering is one of the few trades where fixed prices are normal, so publish them. List each service with its price and roughly how long it takes: haircut, skin fade, scissor cut, beard trim, hot towel shave, cut and beard, kids' cut, senior's cut, line-up. If prices differ by barber (a senior barber or the owner charges more), show both columns rather than "from".

Keep extras honest: say if a fade with a design costs more, or if long hair is priced separately. A customer who sees one price on the site and pays another at the chair won't book online again.

Walk-ins, bookings or both

Many shops mix the two, and that's exactly what confuses people. Say it plainly, on the first screen:

  • Walk-in hours: "Walk-ins welcome Monday to Wednesday, 10 to 4."
  • Booked hours: "Evenings and Saturdays by appointment only."
  • Busy times: when the wait is usually longest, so people can plan.
  • Late or missed bookings: how many minutes' grace you give and what happens after.

Booking a chair with Anticode

Anticode's booking calendar is a good match for a barber's diary at its simplest: it shows the coming days, each slot takes one customer, nobody can grab a slot someone else already has, and dates in the past or more than 120 days out are refused. The times are fixed: six a day from 09:00 to 17:30, with Mondays skipped, and you confirm each booking yourself, since Anticode doesn't email the customer. For a one- or two-chair shop where the owner keeps the book, that's often all you need.

The limits matter once a shop grows. The calendar has no staff rota, so it won't show each barber's own availability or assign the cut to whoever's free; it doesn't take deposits or no-show fees; and it doesn't sync with another calendar. A shop with four barbers who each keep their own book will usually be better off with a barber booking app, linked from a Book button on the site. A shop in between can take a short booking request as a custom form (tied to a site function) with a preferred-barber field and confirm by message. The booking form design guide covers keeping that form short.

Customers choose a barber from photos more than from words. Post your own work, side and back views, in good light, with the cut named ("mid skin fade, textured crop"). Group photos by barber if customers book a particular person; it also helps newer barbers build a following. Ask permission before posting a customer's face.

Upload the photos to your build and Anticode places them; the design gate requires alt text on every image, so describe each cut in a few words, which also helps search. Generic generated barber sites reach for stock vintage razors and moustached models; a gallery of your actual Saturday cuts says much more about the shop.

The shop itself: location, parking, atmosphere

Give the address as a map link, nearby parking or the bus stop outside, and a photo of the shopfront so people recognise it. Mention what makes the place itself worth visiting: the chairs, the music, coffee while you wait, a kids' booster seat, card payments. These small facts are what generic sites leave out.

For the look, Brutalist (Archivo) with a black or red action colour suits a modern shop with attitude; Editorial (Geist) fits a classic gentlemen's barber; Playful (Fredoka) can work for a family barbershop. Regulars who book every three weeks can add the site to their home screen, so rebooking takes a tap.

Mistakes to skip

  • No prices online. It's the first thing people check.
  • A booking button that leads to a full calendar on walk-in days. Make the walk-in policy visible before the button.
  • Booking times that don't match your hours. The calendar's six times are fixed and only Mondays are skipped, so if your hours differ, say so beside it or link the Book button to a barber booking app.
  • Invented reviews. Quote real customers with permission, or link to your review profiles.

Limits for a barbershop

  • No per-barber calendars or rotas. One set of slots per calendar, one customer per slot.
  • No deposits, cancellation fees or calendar sync.
  • No product shop with stock. Sell a couple of products through payment links, or link to your online shop.
  • No live queue. The site can't show how many people are waiting right now.

Questions people ask

Can customers book a specific barber?

Not as separate calendars: Anticode's calendar has no staff rota. A preferred-barber field on a booking request form, or a barber booking app linked from the site, handles it.

Can I stop people booking a slot that's already taken?

Yes. Two visitors can never book the same slot on Anticode's calendar.

Do I need a barbershop website if I'm busy from walk-ins?

Even a busy shop benefits from a page with prices, hours and the walk-in policy. It answers the questions people would otherwise ring about mid-cut.