The salon owner's practical guides
Tanning salon guides for owners
We run three tanning salons, so we wrote these for the jobs that land on an owner's desk somewhere between the towels and the till. Pick one, have a brew, and skip the bits you already know.
Choosing what you need
- Booking systems compared
Fresha, Phorest and Timely on price, fees and how well they fit a sunbed salon.
- Tanning salon software explained
What it does, what it doesn't, and how it differs from your website.
- Fresha vs Treatwell vs Booksy
Monthly fees, new-client charges and how each copes with tanning.
- Your own website vs Fresha
What each one does, and why most salons end up keeping both.
- Wix or Squarespace vs a specialist
What each route gets you, and how to choose.
- Website vs Instagram
Do you need a website if your Instagram is busy?
- Web app or App Store app
What each involves, and Apple's rules on template apps.
- What a salon website costs
UK prices, and what changes them.
- A salon app for Salon Tracker salons
How an app and loyalty sit around the sunbed software you already run.
Growing your salon
- Get more tanning customers
What to do first, in the order we'd do it.
- Google Business Profile
Set it up properly, then keep it right in ten minutes a month.
- Getting more Google reviews
What to say, how to reply, and what you can't do.
- Loyalty ideas
Rewards worth the cost, and a few to leave on the shelf.
- Tanning salon memberships
How to build a monthly plan, do the sums and collect the money.
- How our loyalty scheme works
Points on the sales you choose, spent as salon credit at reception.
- The reception workflow
How customers join on their own phone while your staff carry on.
Planning your website
- Choosing a salon name
Five UK checks before you pay for a sign.
- 4 salon websites worth copying
A small hand-picked set, and what to borrow from each.
- Prepare your website brief
What to gather before you speak to a designer.
- Showing your prices
Minutes, courses and memberships, set out so customers can follow them.
- Photography shot list
The pictures worth taking, and where they go.
- Websites for walk-in salons
Built around visits, calls and directions, with no pointless booking button.
Launching or moving
- Website launch checklist
Seven checks to run before a new site goes live.
- Moving your salon website
How to change provider without losing your domain, pages or customers.
Research
- The state of UK tanning salon websites 2026
Six website basics tested in a sample of 303 trading UK tanning salons.