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How can you get creative with your salon website to revive your business in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic? Even as salons have started to reopen in many countries, people still fear certain health risks being in close contact. Adapting to the new normal just isn’t enough but you got to be creative in a lot of ways.
How to be Creative Digitally?
First, you can set up online booking appointments on your salon website.
According to NBC Boston, a local Boston salon owner is creating custom color kits and offering virtual appointments for clients on her website. The calls for kits kept coming and within days she had an updated website, and more than 50 orders to fill. She started shipping kits to other states.
Secondly, you may get your customers to make positive reviews including images of their finished results on your website and social media accounts.
Thirdly, you may offer online consultations and tutorials to provide your customers with guidelines on the products that best suited them.
According to Econsultancy in the UK, skincare brand Kiehl’s launch virtual consultations to guide users on the products. Glossier has ramped up online tutorials to immerse users in instructional content. London skincare clinic, Pfeffer Sal offers consumers an ‘online skin MOT’ with a digital therapist.
Fourthly, it is high time to rethink your business model because there could be a renaissance after the coronavirus crisis.
According to McKinsey & Company, businesses should accelerate digital adoption to enable reimagination as we have witnessed a digital transformation in the way we work, interact with others, travel, get health care, spend our leisure time, etc. at stunning scale and speed across every sector. Through the COVID-19 recovery, digital will play a defining role.
For instance, you may have features like online booking, online classes, and an eCommerce website to accept online payments. Besides, you may get an ERP system that can be integrated with your eCommerce website.
Why Do I Need A Salon Website?
First, a salon website including contacts and locations allows your potential customers to find you more easily.
Secondly, an online booking system on the website allows your customers to book salon services online 24/7.
Thirdly, folks can find customer reviews and testimonials on your salon website.
Fourthly, you can handle customer service requests via FAQs, an online chat or Facebook Messenger.
Fifthly, online consultations and tutorials allow you to engage your customers anywhere instead of just being in-person.
Sixthly, an eCommerce website allows you to sell your beauty kits online 24/7, and your customers to make online payments, change contact and payment information, and manage their online classes.
Seventhly, a salon website allows you to build credibility and brand awareness.
Eighthly, a salon website with the right content can keep your site at the top of search results pages i.e. higher SEO ranking on search engines like Google.
Additionally, you may share your posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. This can funnel your social media visitors and followers back to your website.
Lastly, a website can tell your audience a lot of information like what services you offer and contacts. It can educate, qualify, and convert leads into customers.
What Options Are Available?
Deciding which content management system (CMS) to use to create a salon website is the very first and yet the most critical step. However, there are tons of options available. Below is a summary of the most popular CMS you may use to create a salon website.
- Hosted platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and WordPress.com where you can find salon website templates
- Self-hosted platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
The World’s Top Salons Use WordPress
WordPress is the world’s leading content management system (CMS) trusted by over 35% of all the website users worldwide. The following are among The World’s Top Boutique Salons using WordPress to power their websites.
From Sydney to Stockholm, London, Berlin and back again; Barney Martin Hairdressing is infused with multi-cultural and multi-dimensional talent.
Pedro Sanchez Boutique Coiffeur in Zurich is most beautiful located directly on the river Limmat near the Muensterhof.
On a pretty street, a few steps from Ponte Vecchio in Florence, there is a place where beauty is highly valued: The salon Ciro.
diPietro Todd Salon in San Francisco first opened its doors on Post Street in 1988, and has expanded throughout the Bay Area, opening a total of 5 locations thus far.
At Kazumi salon in Dublin, the hairdressers understand what it takes to make that happen. Hair that feels glorious, looks beautiful and works as your ultimate accessory either to your personal style, your professional image or even your sense of fun.
Jochen Vanhoudt Salon offers only the most luxurious and best quality of the hair world. Jochen Vanhoudt is the Belgian Ambassador of the following brands: System Professional, Ghd and Sebastian Professional.
Véronique Beaupré of Local B has consistently basked in the limelight – as reflected in the fabulous cuts she crafts for her clients! As a portfolio artist for Pureology, she has garnered numerous awards, including the prestigious 2012 Contessas for both Canadian Hairstylist of the Year and Quebec Stylist of the Year.
Maria Dowling’s salon is known in fashion and beauty circles to be one of the best in Dubai.
Saint-Germain Salon is Washington’s official L’Oreal Paris Professional Color Center.
Wachs & Wachs & Zians, Frankfurt-Westend
W Lounge in Stockholm is a salon on the cutting edge in both cutting techniques and hair trends.
Valonz Haircutters is a mecca for the world’s leading fashion, film, television and music stars – alongside local and loyal clients.
Twiggy Tokyo is one of the top salons in Tokyo, perhaps all Japan.
Tobias Tröndle of Salon Tobias Tröndle, Frankfurt is former world champion of the hairdressers in Las Vegas and worked for the most important hairdressers in New York.
Main Features of a WordPress Salon Website
- Simplicity
- Flexibility
- Publish with Ease
- Publishing Tools
- User Management
- Media Management
- Built-in Comments
- Fully Customizable
- Browser Compatibility
- Multilingual Blogs
- Own Your Data
What Should A Salon Website Have?
First, to serve the aforesaid purposes, a salon website should include the following pages.
- Home
- A slider of high-quality images or videos
- A call-to-action button to book your service
- A brief bio with images
- A newsletter sign-up form
- Social media icons
- About
- Write your story that sets you apart from others by conveying your personality
- Emphasize your business values
- Stylists / Beauticians
- Their experiences and works
- Services
- Virtual consultations
- Call-to-action buttons like ‘Book Now’
- Reviews
- Gather reviews from your customers after their visit to share their experience
- Link them with your social media channels
- FAQs
- Contact for each location
Secondly, you may consider using content to market your services. They include blog posts, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, webinars, guides, checklists, and quizzes.
Last but not least, you should also ensure the following in your salon website.
- Good UI/UX in terms of design, colors, fonts, and navigation
- Short and concise calls-to-action that stand out with compelling words
- Website performance optimization
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
Conclusion – The Best Solution
Which is the best solution to create a salon website? If you are a startup and not ready to spend a single dime on marketing, you may try DIY hosted solutions like Wix. If you are looking to modernize your salon with a new website or revamp an existing website, you may want to scale up your website project with customizations and add-on features using a digital agency.
