A useful tanning salon website brief explains your business, what customers need to do and which facts the designer can rely on. You do not need to write polished advertising copy before the first conversation. Begin with your current services, price list, opening hours, photographs and the way customers contact or visit you.
The brief gives the build a clear starting point. It also separates what is ready from what still needs your decision, so nobody fills the gaps with guesses.
Describe the job the website needs to do
Choose the main customer action for each part of your salon. A walk-in service may need directions and opening hours. An appointment service needs the right booking link. A new service that requires a conversation needs a clear enquiry route.
Write this in one or two sentences. For example: “Our equipment services are walk-in. We want new visitors to find the salon and see our current prices. Our appointment-based treatments use a separate booking provider.” This is an illustrative brief, not a description of a particular TSW customer’s business.
If you operate several locations, explain whether the services, equipment, prices and hours differ between them. The site structure should reflect those differences.
Gather the business information
Use one current source for each factual section. An old flyer and a recent social post may disagree; tell the designer which has been approved.
| Information | What to supply | Who should confirm it |
|---|---|---|
| Salon identity | Trading name (still choosing one?), address, phone and public email | Business owner |
| Opening hours | Normal hours and known exceptions | Salon manager |
| Services | Names, descriptions and visit arrangements | Person responsible for each service |
| Prices | Current list and applicable conditions | Person responsible for pricing |
| Equipment | Current make/model list by branch | Salon manager |
| Photographs | Original files with location notes | Owner or authorised image holder |
| Customer route | Phone, enquiry or booking destination | Person receiving the customer |
Mark anything uncertain as a question. It is better to leave a price awaiting confirmation in the working brief than to publish an estimate as a live offer.
Collect the words customers actually use
Write down the questions staff hear repeatedly. These might concern finding the entrance, whether an appointment is needed, which branch offers a service or where the current price list is.
Those questions can shape useful headings and FAQs. They do not justify inventing answers, making health claims or publishing individual suitability advice. Assign technical or specialist statements to the appropriate person for review.
Tell the designer what makes your salon different in concrete terms: a particular service, a convenient location or a facility you can demonstrate. Avoid relying on unsupported superlatives such as “the best in the area”.
Explain the visual direction with examples
Choose a few examples and say what you like about them. Our short list of tanning salon websites worth copying is one place to start. “I like the readable prices and the way the entrance is shown” is a more useful instruction than “make it modern”. Separate your preferences about colour and typography from features the site must perform.
Gather your logo, any existing colour information and the original photo files. If you do not have those materials, say so. Use our salon photography guide to prepare a practical shot list.
Browse the TSW designs as visual directions, while keeping your actual services and equipment separate from anything illustrated in a demo.
Record what already exists
Include your current website address, important page links and the business profiles or social accounts that point to it. Tell the designer which old pages still receive enquiries or are linked from printed material and adverts.
Record who controls the domain, hosting and website accounts. You can identify the account owner without putting passwords into the brief. Share access through the agreed secure process when it is needed.
If a provider change is involved, use the salon website moving guide to separate the website, domain and email decisions. Still deciding who builds it? Compare a website builder with a specialist first. A new design does not automatically require moving all three.
Agree the scope and the approval process
Before work starts, list the pages, customer actions and any additional functionality in scope. Distinguish a link to an existing booking platform from a new integration or a custom app. Ask for uncertain items to be explained before treating them as included.
Name one person who can approve the content and gather factual corrections from staff. Note any fixed dates and what must be ready for them. Confirm who writes the first draft, who checks it and how revisions will be collected.
Your final brief can be short. It should leave the builder knowing what the website needs to do, what material is available and which questions need answering. Read how the TSW build works and use the launch checklist when reviewing the finished result.