A Website and Booking Brief Checklist for Salon Owners

Start with your salon and its customers

A useful website and booking brief explains who your salon serves, how the business operates and what customers and staff need to do. It should describe the outcomes you want, rather than assume a particular platform or custom solution is needed. Give suppliers enough context to recommend an approach and explain any trade-offs.

Start with the basics: salon name, location or locations, opening hours, and whether the brief covers one salon or a small group. If different branches have different hours, services or booking arrangements, note those differences. Describe the areas you serve if customers may book services away from the salon premises.

Next, describe your customers in practical terms. For example, note who typically books, what information they need before choosing a service, and whether they are new or returning customers. Include any different customer groups whose needs affect the website or booking journey. Avoid relying on broad descriptions alone: explain what each group needs to find or do.

Write down what you want the website and booking journey to help with. This might include presenting services clearly, helping customers choose an appointment, or making it easier for staff to manage requests. Say how you would recognise that the experience is working, such as customers finding the right service or staff being able to deal with booking information. You do not need to set targets at this stage.

Before discussing technology, separate the needs of customers from those of staff. Customers may need to view relevant information and request or make an appointment; staff may need to handle bookings and changes in a way that fits the salon’s routine. Describe the tasks and decisions involved, then ask suppliers whether an existing booking tool or website platform can meet them, or whether a tailored solution is worth considering.

Brief prompt: For each requirement, mark it essential or desirable. Add a real example of a customer trying to book, and leave space for any question you still need to resolve. For instance, note what should happen when a customer is unsure which service to choose, and record who in the salon can confirm the right process.

List the website information customers need

Turn your customer and business context into a list of the information the website must provide and the actions it should support. For each item, mark it essential or desirable, note what material already exists and record any question the supplier needs to resolve.

• Pages and practical details: List the pages you expect, such as services, team, location and contact. Note the salon name and address, opening hours, phone number, email address, directions or parking information, and any differences between branches. Mark each detail essential or desirable and say who will check it is correct.
• Service information: For every service, provide the name customers will recognise, a plain-language description, the price set by the salon, appointment duration and any preparation, consultation or booking information customers need. Note whether a service has options, such as different lengths or add-ons, and whether customers need an explanation before choosing.
• Staff profiles: List which team members should appear, their roles or specialisms, and any profile text or photographs you already have. Say who will confirm the information and whether profiles need to reflect staff availability or changes in the team.
• Customer actions: Specify what someone should be able to do from each relevant page: view service details, choose an appointment, find the salon or contact you. Explain what should happen if they cannot find the information or appointment they need, such as being shown contact details.
• Brand and content assets: Inventory existing logos, colours, fonts, service descriptions, photographs and other brand materials. Identify anything that needs updating or creating, and state whether you expect the supplier to help write or prepare it. Note who can approve the final material.
• Mobile use and accessibility: Describe the tasks customers should be able to complete on a phone, such as comparing services and finding contact information. Include any accessibility needs you have identified, and ask the supplier how these will be considered in the design and content.
• Information you want to understand: If you want to review how people use the website, describe the questions you want answered, such as which service pages customers visit or where they leave before contacting or booking. Mark this as essential or desirable; you do not need to prescribe how it is measured.
• Real example and open questions: Write down one customer scenario, such as a new customer comparing two services before deciding how to enquire. Add what information they need at each step, plus any unresolved content or wording question for the supplier.

Set out services, booking rules and exceptions

Write down the rules behind an appointment, including what happens when a booking does not follow the usual pattern. A supplier should be able to see what customers can choose, what the salon needs to manage and which decisions are still yours to make. Mark every requirement as essential or desirable.

• Describe each service. List the service name customers will see, its duration and whether it can be booked on its own or combined with another service. Note any preparation, cleaning or changeover time staff need between appointments, and whether the time shown to customers includes that gap. If timings vary by service, stylist or appointment type, explain how.
• Explain what customers choose. Say whether a customer selects a service first, then a stylist, or can choose either order. State whether customers may select a salon location, room or piece of equipment, and whether those choices apply to every service. Identify services that need a particular stylist, consultation or other step before an appointment can be confirmed.
• Set out availability. Record the salon’s opening and appointment hours, staff working patterns, breaks and regular days off. Explain how far ahead customers may book and how soon before an appointment they can make a booking. Include closures, holidays, training periods or other times when appointments should not be offered. If availability differs by location, staff member or service, show what changes and who keeps the information up to date.
• State your appointment policies. Describe the salon’s own rules for changing or cancelling an appointment, deposits and payment arrangements. Say when a booking is provisional, when it becomes confirmed and whether staff need to approve it manually. Explain who handles a request that falls outside the stated policy, and what the customer should be told while it is being resolved. Do not leave a supplier to infer or invent these policies.
• Specify customer messages. List the messages customers need when they book, change or cancel, and any reminders the salon wants to send. For each, note the preferred channel and timing, what information it should include, and who is responsible for checking its wording. For example, identify whether the customer should receive the appointment details and the salon’s instructions for getting in touch about a change. Mark any preferences that are not firm requirements.
• Capture exceptions. Note the situations where the ordinary rules do not apply: a service that can only be carried out by a particular stylist, a combined appointment that needs a specific sequence, or a request staff must review before confirming. Explain what staff should do and what the customer sees in each case. If staff sometimes arrange bookings by phone or in person, include how those appointments should be recorded so availability is not accidentally offered to someone else.

Use two or three real examples to check that your rules make sense together. For each one, write down the starting point, the choices the customer makes, the expected result and anything staff must do. Mark the example essential or desirable, and record any unresolved policy question rather than guessing.

• Combined service: A customer wants two services in one visit. Can they choose the sequence and a preferred stylist? What appointment time should be offered if the services need different staff or a gap between them?
• Change request: A customer asks to move an existing appointment. What alternatives may they choose, and what should happen if none fit the salon’s rules?
• Specific stylist: A customer selects a stylist whose availability is limited. Should the customer see only suitable times, or should staff review the request before it is final?

Finish this part of the brief with a short list of open questions, such as who sets the lead time or which services require manual approval. These are decisions for the salon to settle with the relevant staff before a supplier builds them into the booking process.

Explain how customers and staff will use booking

Describe the booking process from both sides: what a customer should be able to do, and what owners, managers and staff need to do to keep the diary accurate. For each item, mark it as essential or desirable, then add a real example or an unresolved question for suppliers.

• Customer journey — Essential / desirable: Note how customers find a service, choose a suitable appointment and provide any information the salon needs before the visit. Describe what they should receive after booking, such as confirmation details, and how they can ask to change or cancel an appointment. Record any points where a customer may need help rather than being able to complete the step online.
• Staff diary — Essential / desirable: Explain how staff need to see their own appointments and how a manager needs to view the salon’s wider diary. Say who should be able to add or amend bookings, block out availability, respond to customer requests and correct mistakes. Clarify which changes should be visible to other staff so that the diary remains reliable.
• Walk-ins — Essential / desirable / not applicable: If the salon takes walk-ins, describe who records them, what information is captured and how staff should see them alongside appointments. Explain what should happen if a walk-in request overlaps with a booked appointment or staff availability.
• Access by role — Essential / desirable: List the tasks required by each role, such as an owner managing access, a manager adjusting availability or a staff member viewing and updating their appointments. Note whether any tasks should be restricted, and ask the supplier how permissions can be managed when someone changes role or leaves.
• Exceptions — Essential / desirable: Write down a real situation staff deal with, how they handle it now and what outcome they need from the new process. For example, describe what happens when a customer asks to move an appointment but the requested time is not available. Ask the supplier to explain how the proposed booking setup would handle your actual example, including any step that would still need staff intervention.
• Training — Essential / desirable: Identify who will need to learn the system, which tasks each person must be able to complete and whether owners, managers and staff need different guidance. Include how new starters will be shown the booking process and who will handle questions when the salon is busy.

Scenario to include: Describe one typical booking from the customer’s first visit to the website through to the appointment appearing in the staff diary. Add one real exception and explain who resolves it.

Unresolved question: Record anything you cannot yet specify, such as who should be allowed to change availability, and ask each supplier how their proposed approach would work in practice.

List existing systems, data and access needs

Give suppliers a clear picture of the tools the salon already relies on, what information must move between them and who needs access. For each requirement, mark it essential or desirable, then record a real example or an unanswered question.

• List the systems in use. Note the current website, online booking tool, staff calendars, payment arrangements and any other systems relevant to appointments or customer records. Say what each one is used for and who manages it. Mark whether it must be kept, replaced or reviewed.
• Describe the connections you need. For each pair of systems that should work together, explain what information should pass between them and why. For example, specify whether a customer’s appointment details need to appear in a staff calendar, or whether staff availability needs to be reflected in online booking. Ask suppliers which connections they propose and what happens if information does not transfer as expected.
• Identify information to retain or move. List the customer, service, staff and appointment information the salon needs in the new setup. Separate information that must be transferred from information that can remain in an existing system, and ask how the supplier would handle each. Include any records staff need to refer to when a customer calls to change an appointment.
• Set out access by role. Name the people who need to use the website or booking tools, such as the owner, a salon manager and reception staff. Describe what each role needs to view or change, including who should manage staff availability and service details. Ask the supplier what access controls are available and how access can be changed when staff responsibilities change.
• Ask how data will be handled. Ask who will be able to access customer information, how it will be protected, how backups are managed and what the salon would need to do to retrieve or transfer its data. Ask the supplier and an appropriate adviser to clarify the salon’s data-processing responsibilities and what the supplier would do with personal data. Record any points that need checking with the supplier before choosing one.
• Clarify ongoing maintenance. Ask what the supplier includes in maintenance, what tasks remain the salon’s responsibility and how the salon should report a problem. Keep this distinct from new functionality or changes to the booking rules, and ask how those requests would be handled.
• Test the requirements with a real example. Write down one ordinary booking scenario using the salon’s current systems: for instance, a customer books online, a staff member checks the appointment, and the salon later needs to amend it. Note what information should appear in each system, who needs to see it and what could go wrong. Add any unresolved data access or transfer question for suppliers to answer.

If the current booking platform already supports the salon’s essential workflow, ask suppliers whether it can be retained alongside an improved website rather than replaced. Compare the practical consequences of keeping it, connecting it to other tools or commissioning a new solution.

Specify brand, content and customer communications

For each item, mark it essential or desirable, note what is ready to share and record any question for suppliers. This helps them distinguish the salon’s requirements from material or features that can wait.

• Brand: List the logo, colours, photography and tone of voice you want represented. For each asset, note whether it is ready, needs updating or still needs to be created.
• Website content: List the service descriptions, staff details, prices, opening hours and location information you expect to provide. Note who will write or check each item, and whether you need supplier help preparing it.
• Mobile and accessibility: Describe what customers need to be able to do on a mobile device, such as find a service and complete a booking. Tell suppliers about any accessibility requirements or concerns you want to discuss, and ask how these will be considered in the design and testing.
• Booking messages: Specify which messages customers should receive, such as booking confirmations, reminders or updates when an appointment changes or is cancelled. Say which should be essential and which, if any, are optional promotions.
• Staff communications: Explain who needs to see booking messages and where staff should manage them. Note who handles customer replies, changes and missed messages, including when the usual person is unavailable.
• Contact preferences: If you plan to use booking details for unsolicited electronic marketing to individual subscribers, check the consent requirements with an appropriate adviser. Ask suppliers how customer contact preferences and consent will be recorded and made visible to staff.
• Real example and open question: Describe a message-related scenario, such as a customer changing an appointment and asking not to receive promotional texts. Note what should happen, who handles it and what you still need the supplier to clarify.

Agree how the work will be tested and supported

Use this checklist to define what a satisfactory result looks like and who will check it. For each requirement, mark it essential or desirable; note a real booking scenario and any question still to resolve.

• Agree observable outcomes. Describe what customers should be able to do on the website and during booking, and what salon staff need to see or manage. Replace broad preferences such as “easy to use” with a specific action and expected result.
• Write acceptance checks. Choose representative journeys from the earlier booking rules. For example, record what should happen when a customer selects a service, chooses a staff member and then changes the appointment. Include exceptions that matter to your salon, and state what result would count as working correctly.
• Assign decisions and checks. Name the person who will supply content, review it and approve changes. Identify who will test customer and staff journeys, who can decide when a requirement is unclear, and how that decision will be recorded.
• Ask about training and updates. List the tasks you expect staff to handle themselves, such as updating website information or managing booking details. Ask what training is included, who needs it and what the supplier will need from the salon.
• Clarify ownership and access. Ask who controls the website content and relevant accounts, which people at the salon can access them, and how you can retrieve the information you may need if you change supplier. Record any access or handover questions.
• Define support after launch. Ask what ongoing maintenance covers, how to request help, what is outside the support arrangement and how any changes are agreed. Note which parts the salon expects to manage itself.
• Keep a question log. Record unresolved points about testing, training, access or support beside the relevant requirement. Ask suppliers to answer these in their proposals so you can compare what is included and identify gaps before making a decision.

Compare supplier responses against the same brief

Send each supplier the same prioritised brief and the same real booking scenarios. This makes it easier to see whether a proposal fits the salon’s day-to-day work, rather than comparing different assumptions or feature lists.

• Requirements: Ask each supplier to show how they would meet every essential requirement, then note how they would handle desirable ones. Record anything not addressed.
• Scope and assumptions: Ask what is included in the proposal, what needs further discussion, and what assumptions it makes about services, staff, booking rules, existing systems, content and your team’s responsibilities.
• Operational fit: Check how the proposed customer and staff journeys handle your scenarios, including exceptions. Ask what would happen when a booking does not follow the usual process, and whether staff would need a workaround.
• Existing platform or tailored option: Compare whether an existing website or booking platform can meet your services, staff arrangements and booking rules, and identify any operational compromises. Investigate a tailored solution if important rules, resource arrangements or system connections do not appear to fit. Keep the choice open until you have assessed the operational fit.
• Unanswered questions: For each proposal, write down what you still need to confirm, who will answer it and whether the answer could change your decision. Compare responses against your essential requirements, not just presentation or terminology.

Use the comparison to identify the best-fitting next step, not to assume that custom software is necessary. If your requirements point towards a tailored booking system, consider sector software.