Your own website vs Fresha
Fresha or your own website — or both?
Fresha is a booking platform, and a good one. But it's a listing on someone else's platform, not a website that ranks on Google for your town. We run three tanning salons, so here's our take: keep your booking system, and put your own website in front of it.
First, what Fresha is
A booking platform, not a website
Fresha is a booking and marketplace platform. As of October 2026,Fresha's UK pricingstarts at £14.95 a month for one bookable team member, or £9.95 per team member on its Team plan, before VAT. Card payments carry their own fees, and each new client it finds you through its marketplace costs a one-off 20%, with a £4 minimum. Returning clients carry no such fee. For taking bookings and managing appointments, it does the job well. It's just worth being clear about what it is, and what it isn't.
- It's great at booking
Appointments, calendars, reminders and card payments in one place. If your customers already book through it, there's no reason to move them off it.
- It's a page on their platform
Your listing lives on Fresha's system, not on a domain you own. Branding is limited to what the platform allows, so it looks like a Fresha page, not yours.
- You can appear beside rivals
On a marketplace, customers browsing can see other salons alongside you. That's fine for discovery, but it's not your own space the way a website is.
- It doesn't rank for your town
A booking page isn't built to compete for "tanning salon [town]" or "sunbeds near me""spray tan near me" on Google — the searches that bring in new local customers.
What your own website adds
Your brand, your prices, your local SEO
In a sample of 303 trading UK tanning salons, about 1 in 9 let customers book online from their own site. We sell salon websites, so read our study with that in mind.
- You own the page
Your domain, your design, your words — an asset that's yours, not rented space that can change under you or sit you next to a competitor.
- Found on Google locally
Built to rank for the searches that fill a tanning diary — "spray tan [town]", "sunbeds near me""booth spray tan near me" — and tied to your Google Business Profile.
- Prices your way
A clear, current price list and opening hours, laid out exactly how you want them, with nothing competing for the customer's attention.
- It links to your booking
We link straight into Fresha, Booksy or Treatwell from the site, so booking stays one tap — the platform you already use, behind your own front door.
Side by side
Fresha vs your own website
Choosing between platforms instead? See Fresha vs Treatwell vs Booksy for a tanning salon.
| What matters | Fresha (booking platform) | Your own website |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the page | The platform — you have a listing on it. | You do — your domain and pages. |
| Gets found on Google | Not built to rank for your town. | Yes — built for local tanning searches. |
| Branding | Limited to what the platform allows. | Fully yours — design, tone, layout. |
| Shown beside competitors | Possible on the marketplace. | No — your own space, your customer only. |
| Takes bookings | Yes — that's its core strength. | Yes — through one-tap links into your booking system. |
| Prices & hours | Shown in the platform's format. | Laid out exactly how you want. |
| Cost model | From £14.95 a month, plus card fees and a one-off 20% on marketplace new clients (as of October 2026). | A one-off build from £595 with the first 12 months' hosting included, then yearly hosting or take your site with you. |
The honest reading: keep your booking system. Fresha, Booksy or Treatwell handle the appointment well, and there's no need to move your customers off something that works. What most tanning salons are missing is the bit in front — a website they own that gets them found on Google and takes the booking straight into that system. It's "and", not "or".
Still choosing a system? We've comparedFresha, Phorest and Timely for tanning salons.
Questions salon owners actually ask
Website vs Fresha, answered
Is Fresha a website?
Not in the sense that matters for getting found. Fresha is a booking platform — you get a listing or booking page on their system, which is great for taking appointments. But it's a page on someone else's platform, not your own website ranking on Google for "tanning salon [town]", so it does a different job.
If I already pay for Fresha, why pay for a website?
Because they solve different problems. A booking platform handles the appointment; a website is the branded page you own that gets you found on Google, shows your prices and hours the way you want, and isn't shown alongside competing salons. Most salons keep the booking system and add their own website in front of it.
Would a website replace my Fresha booking?
No — it works alongside it. Keep the booking system your customers and team already know, and we link straight into it from your own website. So it's "and", not "or": your brand and local SEO out front, your existing booking flow doing the booking.
Which booking systems can you work with?
The common ones salons use — Fresha, Booksy, Treatwell and similar. We build the site so booking is one obvious tap into whatever system you're on, rather than asking you to switch. If you're not set up yet, we'll advise on what fits a tanning salon your size.
Get started
Want your own tanning salon website?
Two-minute form or a straight phone call — either way you get an honest read on what your salon’s site and local searches need, before you spend anything.