Your Website Made Simple

In today’s tech-reliant world, it’s vitally important to have a website for current and future clients to access. An Internet presence legitimizes your business and provides easy access for your clients to important information – like contact info, pricing and how to book an appointment. And since most consumers search for information on the Internet before they ever visit a brick and mortar salon, a website is your first chance to make a great impression!

YOUR SOLA WEBSITE PAGE

Sola provides a basic platform for you to set up a website page. These pages are a great way for your clients to book appointments and read information about you. Phone calls, Facebook messages and emails come in daily from people in the area looking for a recommended stylist - these calls are always referred to the Sola website directories! Don't miss out on an opportunity to reach a new stylist by not setting up your Sola page and/or keeping it up-to-date. Check out Katina Eisenbeis’ Sola page for a great example of a page that’s fully built out. Katina utilizes all of the following features available on the Sola platform:

Your Name and Your Salon Name

This one’s self-explanatory. You want potential clients to know your name!

Book Now Button

This links to an online booking site. Click here if you don’t currently use an online booking site, but are interested in learning more. Sola offers special rates with several booking applications, like Schedulicity, Vagaro and StyleSeat.

Link to an External Business Website

Read below to learn more about creating an external website.

Email Address

It’s important to list a working email address that you check regularly, so clients will have a reliable way to contact you. This is also the email address that Sola uses to communicate exciting news within the Sola community.

Phone Number

Offering multiple ways to get in touch with you is good customer service, plain and simple. Some clients will want to use a booking site, and some will prefer picking up the phone to discuss their needs with you directly.

Services Offered

It’s important to list all the services you offer, so a potential new client knows if you can do what he or she is looking for.

Hours

Scheduling isn’t easy. If you have strict hours, make sure to clearly state that. If your hours are flexible, you accept walk-ins, or you require appointments, that information is very important in helping a potential client determine if you are the right fit for them.

“About Me”

This is a great place for you to inject some personality into your page. Talk about your education, your passion, your specialties and your salon mission. Click here to read more about writing a mission statement.

Photos

Sola allows you to upload as many as 10 pictures. Choose photos that highlight you and your salon as a friendly and professional environment.

Testimonials

Client testimonials are a fantastic way to gain confidence with potential new clients. A testimonial shows that your clients are happy with your work, and are willing to give you their personal stamp of approval. Want to get your Sola website page updated? Contact your local manager to update your page!

EXTERNAL WEBSITE

An external website is a great way to expand upon your Sola page. You’ll have the freedom (and space) to write more about your salon and your experience, include a detailed price list, upload photo albums that highlight your work, and link to your social media pages.

There are many different companies that can provide you the framework, design templates and hosting services to put together a professional-looking site. Wix is a great option for non-web designers. They offer many different templates that utilize a drag and drop design method. You can get a free wix.com web address, or pay to buy a unique URL. Buying a unique URL for your business is one investment you should definitely make. It’ll add another layer of professionalism to your web presence.

Another great option is Squarespace – allow the developers of these platforms to worry about the design and development so you can focus on your content. You don’t need a graphic design degree to put together a good-looking site. Just keep a few basic principles in mind.

Keep It Simple

A clean site is a professional site.

Stick to a Basic Color Palate

Dark text on a light background is a foolproof combination for web-design novices. If you have a logo, use your logo color as an accent against a basic color palette.

Don’t Go Overboard on Fonts

Choose one for headlines, and one for body text. Too many different fonts makes your website confusing and hard to process. Pick a modern, streamlined san serif font like Arial or Helvetica for your website. San serif fonts are the ones without the little tails, and they’re easier to read on screen.

Make It Easy to Navigate

Have a clear navigation bar at the top of your site for each of your pages. At the very least, include “Home,” “Services,” “Hours,” About Me,” “Testimonials,” and “Contact.” You can also add tabs for photo albums, a mission statement, your online booking site, and more.

Spell Check

This one’s a biggie. Use your spell check! Keep your writing short and sweet, and ask a friend to read through your content before you post it. It’s easy to overlook an error in something you wrote yourself.