Website for barbershops: your style, your barbers and booking without the DMs

A barbershop website needs to do three things: show the house style, introduce every barber, and let clients book with the one they want in a couple of taps. Instagram already does a great job of showing off cuts. The website is what turns someone who's made up their mind into a booked appointment.

That holds for the two-chair neighborhood shop and for the place with four barbers, loud music and a cooler of drinks for whoever's waiting.

In a barbershop, clients choose the barber

This is what sets barbershops apart. Once someone finds their barber, they stick with them: the one who does the fade just right, who remembers how they like the beard. So the site can't present the team as a single block. Each barber needs a profile with a photo, what they're best at, and their work.

When clients book, they pick who first and then the time. If their barber is full on Saturday, they can see who else has a slot or wait until Monday. They make that call themselves, and nobody has to answer a message.

What a barbershop website needs

• A home page with personality: the look of the shop, the logo, the vibe. In one second people should know what kind of place you are.
• Services with their length: cut, cut and beard, lineup, hot towel shave, color. Knowing how long each takes keeps the schedule from overlapping.
• A profile for each barber with photos of their cuts.
• Online booking by barber, service and time.
• Location and hours, with a map and whether walk-ins are welcome.
• A link to your Instagram, so people can see your latest work.

Photos of your cuts are your catalog

In a barbershop, what you sell is visible. A gallery of good photos of real cuts (well lit, front, side and back) convinces more than anything you could write. You don't need a photographer, just a plain wall, even light and consistency. I shared tips for shooting them on a phone in photos for your business website.

One thing that helps: sort the photos by style (fades, classic cuts, beards, designs) and by barber. Someone looking for a specific cut finds it and already knows who to ask for.

Fewer DMs, more time behind the chair

Answering booking requests on Instagram while you cut is awkward. Your hands are busy, there's a client in the chair and your phone keeps buzzing. And the messages you answer at night are appointments that might have slipped away that afternoon.

With online booking, clients book themselves at any hour and get a reminder beforehand. If something comes up, they cancel from the same link and the slot opens up for someone else. I explain how it works in salon booking system. And if you're wondering whether Instagram is enough on its own, I covered that in website or Instagram.

Bring them back

A haircut lasts a few weeks. Regulars keep a barbershop going, and they're worth looking after: a message when someone hasn't been in for a while, a free cut after a number of visits, or a perk for bringing a friend. I wrote about that in customer loyalty programs.

I work on my own, remotely from Buenos Aires (UTC−3), with video calls and progress you can check through a link, in English or Spanish. I quote each project separately; you can see the rest of what I do on the services page.

Frequently asked questions