What a booking website is for
For a salon, a fitness class, a tutor or a studio, the website has a clear finish line: a confirmed booking. Every page should lead towards it, and the booking step itself should be easy on a phone. Before thinking about design, write down how bookings work in your business today: who books, by what route, how far ahead, and what goes wrong.
Put that into the planner as a goal, such as "Let regular clients book and move appointments themselves, and cut phone time on bookings."
Decide the booking rules first
A booking tool needs rules, and you should decide them before you compare tools:
- the list of services, each with its length and price
- who can be booked for each service, if more than one person works with you
- how far ahead people can book, and the latest they can book before a slot
- whether you take deposits or full payment when booking
- how cancellation and moving a booking works, and any charge for late cancellation
- what a client receives after booking: a confirmation, a reminder, directions
Write these rules on one page. They become a brief for the booking tool and the text of your booking terms.
Questions clients ask
- What services do you offer, how long are they and what do they cost?
- When is the next free slot?
- Can I book, change or cancel online?
- Do I pay now or on the day?
- Where are you, and is there parking or step free access?
- What should I bring or do before my appointment?
Pages for a booking business
| Page | What it must answer |
|---|---|
| Home | What you offer and a clear route to book |
| Services and prices | Each service with its length and price |
| Book | The booking tool, or a link to it |
| Booking terms | Deposits, cancellations, late arrival and refunds |
| About | Who you are and who works with you |
| Find us | Address, access and transport |
| Contact | For questions that are not bookings |
| Privacy notice | Including what the booking tool collects |
Choosing a booking tool
Booking tools range from a simple scheduling link to systems with deposits, packages and memberships. Compare them against your rules, not against each other's feature lists. For each tool, check:
- whether it handles every rule on your list
- what it charges each month and on each payment
- where client data is stored and who can see it
- whether clients can use it easily on a phone and with a keyboard
- whether it can be embedded in your site or opens on its own pages
The monthly and per booking charges belong in the running costs line of the budget estimator.
Cookies and booking widgets
Embedded booking widgets can set cookies or similar technologies of their own. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations require consent before a site stores or reads information on a visitor's device, with some exceptions, and the ICO explains them in its storage and access technologies guidance. The exception for things strictly necessary to provide a service the visitor asked for may cover parts of a booking system, but not advertising trackers that come with it.
New exceptions for some analytics and for remembering how a visitor wants a site to look took effect on 5 February 2026, when a commencement order, SI 2026/82, switched on section 112 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. The ICO finalised its guidance on 29 April 2026. They come with conditions, including clear information and a simple, free way to object. List every cookie your booking tool sets before writing the cookie notice.
Payments taken at booking
If you take payment online, you are selling a service at a distance. GOV.UK's online selling guidance sets out information you must give before an order, such as the total price and how to pay. Consumers may also have cancellation rights for services booked online, and those rules have exceptions for services tied to a specific date. Check how they apply before writing your booking terms.
Next steps for your booking site
Write your booking rules on a single page, then use the feature selector to mark booking as a must have and record the questions to ask each tool provider.
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