A tattoo studio website built around artists and enquiries
Tattoo clients choose an artist before they choose a studio, so the site's main job is to show each artist's style clearly and turn interest into a usable brief. Most studios also take a deposit to hold a session. Anticode handles portfolios, enquiries and consultation slots well; deposits need a separate payment link.
How people pick a tattoo artist
Someone who wants fine-line botanicals isn't going to book a traditional artist, however good the studio is. Visitors scroll through work looking for a match with the idea in their head, then check whether that artist's books are open. The studio's own story, hygiene and location matter, but they come second. A tattoo studio website that leads with a generic gallery of everyone's work mixed together makes that search harder than it needs to be.
Portfolios by artist and by style
Give each artist a page of their own with the styles they're known for, the styles they don't take on, whether their books are open, and a selection of healed work as well as fresh pieces. Healed photos answer a question experienced clients always have. A CMS collection works well here: one entry per artist with fields for name, styles, books open or closed, and a short note, so the front desk can update availability from the dashboard without a rebuild. Grouping the studio's gallery by style, a section or page per style, helps first-time visitors who don't know artists' names yet; published pages run no scripts, so there's no live filter.
An enquiry form that produces a real brief
Most tattoo enquiries arrive as a one-line message and need three replies before anyone can quote. Ask for what the artist needs up front:
- Which artist, or "not sure".
- The idea, in the client's own words, and the style they want.
- Placement on the body and approximate size in centimetres or inches.
- Colour or black and grey.
- Whether it covers or sits next to an existing tattoo.
- Rough dates they're available, and a contact email or phone number.
Anticode's standard contact form has a name, an email and one message box, so the simplest version prints these questions just above the message box as a checklist. If you'd rather have a separate field for each, a custom form tied to a site function takes up to 30 plain-text fields, or an app build can include a form with exactly those fields; both reach you through the same form pipeline. Either way, ask clients to describe reference images and send them by email when you reply. Submissions are saved to your project, sealed at rest and can be emailed to the studio; a connector can route them into a Slack or Discord channel the artists already read.
Consultations and the deposit step
Many studios offer a short consultation for larger pieces before booking the session. That consultation fits Anticode's booking calendar well: it offers six fixed times a day over the coming days (Mondays skipped), refuses dates more than 120 days ahead and doesn't let two people take the same slot. You confirm each consultation yourself.
The tattoo session itself is usually held with a deposit, and that's where Anticode stops. The booking calendar can't take money. The practical pattern is to agree the date by email after the consultation, then send a payment link from your own Stripe, PayPal or other provider account for the deposit, and confirm the session once it's paid. Put the deposit rules on the site in plain words: how much notice is needed to move a date, when a deposit is lost, and whether it comes off the final price.
Age, health and aftercare
- Age. The minimum age for a tattoo is set by law where you work, and many studios set their own higher limit. State it and say photo ID is checked.
- Health and conduct. Say you won't tattoo anyone who's been drinking, and ask clients to mention skin conditions or medication when they book.
- Licensing. Where your council or local authority registers tattoo premises, show the registration. The studio is responsible for meeting local rules.
- Aftercare. A page per stage (first days, first weeks, healed) that you link to after every session.
Design direction
Tattoo work is visual and loud; the site around it should step back. Brutalist (Archivo) suits a studio with a raw, flash-wall identity, Editorial (Geist) a fine-line or custom studio, and a Dark theme lets black-and-grey work stand out. One action colour, such as red or black, keeps the enquiry button easy to find. Use your own photos, since stock tattoo photos are easy for clients to spot: on a designed site, keep pieces in a CMS collection whose image field holds each hosted photo's address, or ask for an app build, where the model sees uploaded images and places them.
What Anticode doesn't do for studios
- No deposits at booking. Deposits go through a separate payment link and you match them to bookings yourself.
- No per-artist calendars or rotas. The booking calendar is one diary, so consultations for several artists share it. Studios that book long sessions directly often use dedicated studio software and link to it.
- No consent forms or waivers. Collect signed consent in the studio.
- No uploads in the enquiry form, so reference images arrive by email.
Questions people ask
Should a tattoo studio website show prices?
Most custom work can't be priced without a brief, so a minimum charge and an hourly or day rate guide are common. Saying how pricing works stops people sending enquiries just to ask.
Can clients pay a tattoo deposit on the site?
Not through the booking calendar. Put a payment link from your own provider on the deposit page or send it by email after the consultation.
Can each artist manage their own page?
If artists are kept in a CMS collection, whoever has access to the dashboard can update an entry, such as marking books open or closed. Team workspaces let several people work on one project.
What should a tattoo enquiry form ask?
Artist, idea, style, placement, size, colour, any existing tattoos nearby and availability. Those let an artist quote from the first message.