How to Make a Nail Salon Website for Free (or Cheap), Step by Step
What a nail salon website needs, the free and low-cost ways to make one, what each leaves out, and the steps from your menu to a site clients can book on.
You can make a nail salon website yourself in an afternoon. What you need is a short list of details, some good photos, and a tool that puts them on a page clients can find and book from. This guide walks through what goes on the site, the free and cheap ways to make one, what each way leaves out, and the steps from start to publish.
We make BeautyDesk, one of the tools below, so we tell you plainly where it fits and where a free option is enough.
What a nail salon website needs
Clients who land on your site want to know four things fast: what you do, what it costs, where you are, and how to book. Everything else is extra. Before you pick a tool, write down:
- Your salon name, phone number and address, exactly as they appear on your sign and your Google profile.
- Your opening hours, including the days you're closed.
- Your service menu with prices. Manicure, pedicure, gel, acrylic full set, fill, dip powder, nail art: whatever you offer, with a price or a "from" price.
- Photos. Your best nail sets, the inside of the salon, and the front of the building so people recognise it from the street.
- A way to book. A phone number at least. Online booking is better, because clients book at night when you're closed.
- Your Instagram or Facebook link, if you post your work there.
If you have these, the hard part is done. The rest is putting them somewhere.
The free options, and their catch
An Instagram or Facebook page
Many nail salons start here, and it's free. It's a good place to show your work. The catch: it isn't a website. Clients can't see your full menu and prices in one place, and they have to message you to book. When someone searches your salon's name, your own website is more likely to answer the question "how much and when?" than a feed of photos.
Your Google Business Profile
Your free Google profile is the most important listing a nail salon has (we cover it in how to show up on Google Maps). It shows your hours, photos, reviews and a link to your website. But Google no longer makes websites from it: since March 5, 2024, websites made with Google Business Profiles are no longer available (Search Engine Land, quoting Google's help page). You still need a site to link to.
A free plan on a website builder
Website builders such as Wix have a free plan. You can build a nice-looking site with it, but free plans come with limits. Wix, for example, says its free plan uses an address like siteprefix.wixsite.com/siteaddress, shows Wix branding and sometimes ads, can't connect your own domain, and has no way to take payments (Wix). For a salon, that usually means no online booking with deposits until you pay for a plan or add a booking tool.
The honest summary: you can get a page online for free, but a site with your own menu, online booking and deposits costs something every month, whichever tool you use.
Step by step: make your nail salon website
- Gather your details. The list above. Type your menu into your phone's notes if it only exists on the wall.
- Take five to ten good photos. Daylight, close-ups of finished nails, a tidy station, the front of the salon. No stock photos of nails you didn't do.
- Pick your tool. A free builder if you only need a page with your info; a salon tool if you want clients to book and pay a deposit online.
- Choose your look. One clean style is better than many colors. Make sure the text is easy to read on a phone, because most clients will open your site on one.
- Add your menu and prices. Group services (hands, feet, enhancements, extras) so clients find theirs quickly.
- Set up booking. Decide which services clients can book online, how long each takes, and whether you want a deposit (see how to take deposits to stop no-shows).
- Check it on your phone. Tap every button. Book a test appointment.
- Publish, then share the link everywhere: your Google profile, your Instagram and Facebook bio, and a QR code at the front desk.
Making it on your iPhone with BeautyDesk
BeautyDesk is an iPhone app that builds a nail salon website from your own details, with online booking, deposits and gift cards built in. Here is how the steps above work in it:
- Scan your price list. Point your camera at your menu and the services and prices fill in by themselves.
- Pick a look. Classic Light, Luxury Gold or Eyelash Studio.
- No logo yet? Pick one of six designs made from your salon's name.
- Preview the whole site free. You only pay when you publish.
Your site lives at yourname.beautysite.app, with a page for every service, a photo gallery, and online booking where clients pick a service, a technician and a time within your opening hours. You choose whether clients pay a deposit, the full price or nothing when they book, and you can sell gift cards on the site. You get an alert on your iPhone for every new booking.
You can open a demo salon made with BeautyDesk to see what clients see: demo-salon.beautysite.app. More about the nail salon website with online booking, or download BeautyDesk on the App Store.
What BeautyDesk is not: it's not free to publish, it's for iPhone only (your clients can book from any phone or computer), and the app and your website are in English.
What it really costs
| Way | Monthly cost | Online booking | Deposits | Your own address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram or Facebook page | Free | No (clients message you) | No | No |
| Website builder, free plan | Free | Depends on the builder; usually a paid add-on | No on Wix's free plan | No on Wix's free plan |
| Website builder, paid plan | Check the builder's pricing page | Often with an add-on | Varies | Yes |
| BeautyDesk | Basic $29.99 or Growth $49.99 a month, billed by Apple | Yes | Yes | yourname.beautysite.app |
With BeautyDesk there's no setup fee and no contract. Card payments at checkout and gift cards cost Stripe's standard US rate of 2.9% + 30¢ plus our 0.5%; deposits and payments at booking cost only Stripe's rate, with no BeautyDesk fee. The salon pays, and nothing is added to your client's bill. Cash is free. Growth adds 30 AI social posts and 12 AI blog posts a month. If you'd rather not build it yourself, we set up your site, service menu and booking with you for $350 once.
Whichever way you choose, the biggest cost isn't the subscription: it's the clients who can't find your prices or book at 10 pm and go somewhere else.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a nail salon website for free?
Yes, a basic one. A free website builder plan or a social media page costs nothing. Free plans usually put the builder's name in your address and leave out payments, so online booking with deposits normally means a paid plan or a paid booking tool.
How long does it take to make a nail salon website?
An afternoon if you have your menu, hours and photos ready. With BeautyDesk, scanning your price list fills in your services, and setup takes about ten minutes.
Do I need a website if I have Instagram?
Instagram shows your work; a website answers the questions clients ask before they book: price, hours, address, and an open time. Put your website link in your Instagram bio so one leads to the other.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Website builders and salon apps like BeautyDesk let you make a site by filling in your details and picking a look.
Can clients pay a deposit on my website?
With a tool that supports it. On BeautyDesk you choose a deposit, the full price or nothing, and the money goes to your own Stripe account, which pays out to your bank.