Best Website Builder for Hair Stylists & Salons

Your salon's website is often the first impression potential clients have of your work. A beautifully designed site with easy online booking, a stunning portfolio gallery, and a clear service menu can be the difference between a fully booked calendar and empty chairs. Finding the best website builder for hair stylists means balancing aesthetics, functionality, and budget in a way that actually works for how salons operate.

In this guide, we'll compare the top website builders for hair stylists and salons, break down the features that actually matter for your business, and help you decide whether a DIY builder, industry-specific platform, or custom-built site is the right investment for where you are right now.

What Hair Stylists Actually Need From a Website

Before comparing platforms, let's establish what features genuinely drive bookings and revenue for salons. Not every feature matters equally, and many stylists waste money on platforms packed with tools they'll never use.

Nice-to-haves include gift card sales, product retail (if you sell professional products), loyalty program integration, automated appointment reminders via text, and email marketing for rebooking campaigns. Some platforms bundle these, while others require third-party add-ons.

Vagaro: Best for All-in-One Salon Management

Vagaro is built specifically for salons, spas, and fitness studios. It's not just a website builder. It's a complete business management platform that happens to include a website. If you want booking, payments, marketing, and a website all in one place, Vagaro is hard to beat.

Strengths: Vagaro's booking system is tightly integrated with everything. Clients book online, the appointment syncs to your calendar, automated reminders go out, and the payment processes after the service. Payroll, inventory management, and client management are all included. The website templates are salon-specific, so they're designed around showcasing services and portfolios rather than being generic business templates.

Weaknesses: The website designs are functional but not stunning. If visual aesthetics are a top priority (and for many stylists, they should be), Vagaro's templates can feel a bit cookie-cutter. Customization options are limited compared to general-purpose builders like Squarespace or Wix. You're also locked into Vagaro's ecosystem, which can feel limiting as your business grows.

Pricing: Starting at $30/month for a single user, scaling up with additional team members and features. The website is included in most plans.

GlossGenius: Best for Independent Stylists

GlossGenius has earned a cult following among independent stylists and small salon teams. The platform is beautifully designed, incredibly simple to use, and built specifically for beauty professionals. If you want to get up and running quickly with a polished look, GlossGenius makes it almost effortless.

Strengths: The booking page templates are gorgeous out of the box. Setup takes under 30 minutes. The payment processing is smooth, with a flat-rate credit card processing fee. Client management features include notes, formulas, and before/after photos linked to each client profile. The marketing tools, including automated text campaigns for rebooking, are surprisingly powerful for such a simple platform.

Weaknesses: GlossGenius creates a booking page, not a full website. You won't get a multi-page site with an About page, blog, or detailed portfolio gallery. For that, you'd need to pair GlossGenius with a separate website builder, which means managing two platforms. The platform also primarily targets independent stylists, so larger salons may find it limiting.

Pricing: Starting at $24/month. Payment processing is 2.6% per transaction.

Squarespace: Best for Visual Portfolios

When it comes to pure design quality, Squarespace is the gold standard among DIY website builders. Their templates are magazine-quality, and the drag-and-drop editor gives you enough customization to create a truly unique online presence. For stylists who want their website to feel like an extension of their aesthetic brand, Squarespace delivers.

Strengths: Stunning templates with excellent typography and image handling. The portfolio features are best-in-class, perfect for before/after galleries and style showcases. Built-in SEO tools help you rank in local search. The Squarespace Scheduling add-on ($27/month extra) provides online booking capability. E-commerce functionality lets you sell products and gift cards directly through your site.

Weaknesses: Squarespace isn't built for salons, so you'll need to customize generic templates and add booking functionality separately. The learning curve is steeper than Vagaro or GlossGenius. The scheduling add-on, while functional, isn't as deeply integrated as purpose-built salon booking systems. You won't get salon-specific features like formula tracking, inventory management, or payroll.

Pricing: $16-$49/month for the website. Scheduling add-on is $27/month extra. Total cost is typically higher than all-in-one salon platforms.

Wix: Best for Budget-Conscious Customization

Wix offers the most flexibility of any DIY builder at an affordable price point. With hundreds of templates (including several specifically designed for salons and beauty professionals) and a powerful drag-and-drop editor, you can build exactly the site you envision. The Wix Bookings app adds online scheduling directly into your site.

Strengths: Maximum design flexibility. You can move, resize, and style every element on the page. The salon-specific templates give you a strong starting point. Wix Bookings is included in business plans (starting at $17/month) and integrates directly into your site. The app marketplace offers hundreds of add-ons for marketing, social media, reviews, and more. Wix's AI site builder can generate a starter site in minutes.

Weaknesses: Too much flexibility can be a double-edged sword. It's easy to create a cluttered, unprofessional-looking site if you're not design-savvy. Page speed can suffer with heavy customization and lots of apps. SEO performance has historically lagged behind Squarespace, though Wix has closed this gap significantly in recent years. Customer support quality varies.

Pricing: Business plans start at $17/month (includes booking). Premium plans with e-commerce start at $27/month.

When a Custom Website Makes Sense for Your Salon

DIY builders and all-in-one platforms work great for many salons, but there are situations where a custom-built website delivers significantly more value. Consider going custom if:

You're a multi-location salon or growing brand. Template builders struggle with multi-location businesses. Custom sites handle location-specific pages, team directories, individual stylist portfolios, and location-based booking seamlessly.

You need deep integration with your existing tools. If you already use a specific POS system, booking platform, or CRM, a custom site can integrate with all of them rather than forcing you to switch to whatever the website builder offers.

Your brand demands a premium digital presence. High-end salons charging $200+ per service need a website that reflects that premium positioning. Template limitations can undermine the luxury perception you've built in person.

Tips for Building a Salon Website That Converts

Regardless of which platform you choose, these principles will help your salon website actually drive bookings rather than just looking pretty.

Put the booking button everywhere. A "Book Now" button should be visible on every single page without scrolling. In the header, in the hero section, after every service description, and in the footer. Make it impossible to miss.

Invest in professional photography. Your portfolio is your most powerful conversion tool. Hire a photographer for a half-day shoot and get 20-30 high-quality before/after images. Update quarterly with new styles. Smartphone photos with good lighting can work in a pinch, but professional images convert measurably better.

Display prices clearly. Salons that hide pricing generate more phone calls, not more bookings. Transparent pricing builds trust and reduces no-shows because clients know exactly what to expect.

Feature Google reviews prominently. Embed your Google reviews directly on your site. Social proof is especially powerful for salons because clients are trusting you with their appearance. Star ratings and real client testimonials reduce the anxiety of trying a new stylist.

For more salon-specific design strategies and examples, explore our website design services for salons to see how we build sites that keep chairs filled.

Final Thoughts

The best website builder for your salon depends on where you are in your business journey. If you're just starting out and need everything in one place, Vagaro or GlossGenius will serve you well. If your brand's visual identity is paramount, Squarespace gives you the design tools to stand out. If budget is tight and you want maximum control, Wix offers the most value per dollar.

And if you're beyond the DIY stage, running a profitable salon with a team and a reputation worth protecting, a custom-built website is often the best investment you can make. It's your 24/7 storefront, your portfolio, and your booking engine, all in one. Whichever path you choose, remember that the goal isn't just a beautiful site. It's a site that keeps your schedule full and your clients coming back.