A nail salon website clients can book from
People choosing a nail salon look at three things before anything else: the designs you can do, what each treatment costs and how long it takes, and when they can come in. A good nail salon website answers those in that order, then makes booking a slot the obvious next step.
What a client checks before booking
Most nail clients arrive with a picture in mind, often a screenshot from social media. Their first question is whether you can do that look, so the gallery does more selling than any headline. The second is time: a gel removal and new set takes far longer than a polish change, and someone squeezing an appointment into a lunch break needs to know before they book. Only after those do they care about your story or the room.
That order should shape the homepage. Put a strip of recent work and a short treatment summary near the top, with the booking button beside them, and move the about section further down.
A treatment menu that answers the time question
A menu that lists only names and prices leaves clients guessing. Give every line the same four facts, and say what's included so nobody is surprised by an extra charge for removal or nail art.
| Field | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Gel manicure, BIAB infill, acrylic full set, pedicure | Clients search for the system by name |
| Time | The real appointment length, including removal if it's part of it | Stops overruns and missed lunches |
| Includes | Shaping, cuticle work, one colour, simple art or none | Avoids disputes at the till |
| Price | A fixed price or a clear starting price | A starting price needs a note on what raises it |
Group the menu by hands, feet, extensions and add-ons rather than one long list. Mark removal of another salon's work as its own line, because it takes longer and clients often forget to mention it.
The gallery: show your own work
Use photos of nails you've done, in your own light, with the treatment named under each one. Clients trust a slightly imperfect phone photo of a real set more than a polished stock image, and stock images of nails are easy to spot. Sort the gallery by style (French, chrome, ombré, hand-painted art, natural overlays) so a visitor can find what they came for. If several technicians work with you, credit each set to whoever did it.
Policies that protect the diary
Late arrivals and no-shows cost a nail salon a whole slot. State the rules plainly on the booking page, not only in the terms:
- Lateness. How many minutes you can absorb before the treatment is shortened or moved.
- Cancellation. How much notice you need and what happens if it isn't given.
- Repairs. How long after an appointment a lifted or broken nail is fixed free, and what isn't covered.
- Health. That you can't work over broken skin or a suspected nail infection, and will rebook instead.
Aftercare as a page of its own
Aftercare is the content clients come back for: how to look after gel or acrylic, why they shouldn't pick off product, when to book an infill, how to remove a set safely at home if they can't get back in. A short page per system answers the messages you'd otherwise reply to one by one, and gives you a link to send after each appointment.
Mistakes generic sites make for nail salons
- A spa-style hero with candles and towels that says nothing about nails.
- Prices with no times, so clients book a short slot for a long treatment.
- A gallery of other people's work, which clients notice when they arrive.
- Invented reviews or a star rating with no source. Use real reviews with permission, or none.
Building it with Anticode
Describe the salon in a sentence, for example "a nail studio in Leeds with gel, BIAB and nail art, and online booking". The Architect asks up to three questions where the answer changes the build, such as whether you want separate pages for the menu and gallery. Choose the booking calendar, pricing and FAQ as must-haves and the site can carry a Services page, a Work page for the gallery and a Book page.
For the look, Playful (Fredoka) suits a bright, colourful studio, Luxury (Jost) a quieter one, and Organic (Figtree) a natural-nails focus. The design engine's own sections use the curated library, which can't show your work, so keep your sets in a CMS collection whose image field holds hosted photo addresses; uploads are used only by app builds. If you change the menu often, keep it in a CMS collection with fields for treatment, time, includes and price, and edit it from the dashboard. The booking calendar shows the coming days, refuses dates in the past or more than 120 days ahead, and won't let two clients take the same slot. Booking forms are saved and can be emailed to you.
Where Anticode stops
- No deposits. The calendar can't take a deposit when someone books. If you want one for long sets, send a payment link from Stripe, PayPal or another provider after the booking.
- No staff rotas. There's no per-technician schedule or automatic split of bookings between technicians. A single chair fits well; a busy salon with several technicians may prefer a salon booking system and a link to it.
- No calendar sync and no reminders. Bookings don't appear in Google Calendar automatically, and Anticode doesn't text or email clients.
For other parts of the salon world, see the guides for beauty salons and lash and brow studios.
Questions people ask
Should a nail salon website show prices?
Yes. Clients compare salons on price and time together, and a missing price makes many of them message you instead of booking. A starting price is fine if you say what changes it.
Can clients choose a technician when they book?
Not as a built-in option. The booking calendar works as one diary where each slot takes one booking. Clients can name a preferred technician through the contact form, or you can ask when you confirm the booking.
Do I need my own domain for a salon site?
No. You can publish to a free anticode.dev address. Your own domain needs a paid plan; see the pricing page for what each plan includes.
How do I stop people booking the wrong length of appointment?
Put the time next to every treatment on the menu and in the booking page text, and list removal of another salon's work as a separate line.