What to put on a dog groomer's website

A dog groomer's website needs six things to fill the diary. A price list by size and coat type. Before-and-after photos of dogs you actually groomed. How to book, and how long the wait is. Your qualifications and insurance. Opening hours and exactly where you are, or the areas you cover if you're mobile. And your policies on matting, puppies and nervous dogs, in plain English. That's the whole list.

This is for dog groomers who don't have a site yet, or have one they're not happy with. Whoever builds it (you, us, a freelancer), the six sections below are what should be on it, in order, with the reasoning for each.

1. A price list, by size and coat type

The number-one thing owners look for. Also the number-one thing groomers hide.

You don't need a price for every breed. A short list by size and coat does the job: “Full groom: from £30 for a small smooth coat, £45 for a cocker spaniel, £60 to £75 for a cockapoo or doodle depending on coat condition. Wash, dry and tidy from £28. Nail clip £10.” Add a line saying the price is confirmed when you see the dog, because coat condition changes everything and owners understand that.

The usual worry: “but every dog is different”. True. Nobody expects a to-the-penny quote for a matted Newfoundland. They expect a rough number so they can decide whether to message you. Show a range, they message. Show “price on application”, they message the groomer who showed a range.

2. Before-and-after photos of real dogs

Four to six pairs, taken on your phone. A matted cockapoo going in and a tidy teddy clip coming out is the most persuasive thing you can put on the internet.

Owners are checking two things: the standard of your finish, and whether you've done a dog like theirs. So cover your usual breeds. A spaniel, a doodle, a shih tzu, a terrier. Caption each with the breed and the cut, nothing fancy.

Stock photos of show poodles are worse than no photos at all. They tell people you bought a template and never finished it. A slightly wonky phone photo of a real dog on your table tells them you exist and you do this every day.

3. How to book, and how long the wait is

Say how you take bookings: phone, WhatsApp, or a short form. Then say the thing most groomers won't: your actual lead time.

Being booked out three weeks isn't a problem to hide. It's the best advert you have.

“Next availability: usually two to three weeks. Regulars book their next slot at pick-up.” That one line does three jobs. It stops the “can you do tomorrow?” messages you can't say yes to. It tells new owners the dogs in your area already trust you. And it nudges them towards the six-to-eight-week repeat booking, which is where a grooming business actually lives.

4. Your qualifications and insurance

Dog grooming isn't regulated in the UK. Anyone can buy clippers on Tuesday and open on Wednesday. Owners know this, which is exactly why your City & Guilds Level 3, your iPET diploma, or your canine first aid certificate belongs near the top of the homepage, not buried on an About page.

Same goes for insurance. One line is enough: “Fully insured. Canine first aid trained.” If you belong to a professional body, add the badge with your membership number under it. Thirty seconds of work, and it separates you from everyone who opened on Wednesday.

5. Opening hours and exactly where you are

If you have a salon: the full address, a photo of the front, and a line about parking. Dropping off an excited spaniel is much easier when you know where to pull in. If you're mobile: list the postcodes you cover. “Covering YO1 to YO32” beats “York and surrounding areas” every time.

Hours matter more than you'd think. Most owners plan grooming around work: drop off at half eight, collect at lunch. If you do early drop-offs or Saturday slots, say so. Those two lines win you the customers whose current groomer doesn't offer either.

6. Your policies, in plain English

Three belong on the site.

Matted coats.Something like: “Badly matted coats are clipped short for the dog's comfort. Hours of dematting is distressing and we won't put a dog through it.” Owners respect it, and it saves the difficult conversation at pick-up.

Puppies. If you do short intro grooms, say so, with the price. A £20 wash, dry and gentle introduction to the clippers turns a nervous puppy into a customer for the next twelve years.

Nervous dogs.If you offer quiet slots or one-dog-at-a-time sessions, one sentence about it will win you every anxious rescue in the area. Their owners have usually been turned away before, and they're the most loyal customers you'll ever have.

What to leave off

Things groomers add that don't help:

“Price on application.” Stock photos of dogs you never groomed. A long page about loving dogs since childhood (every groomer loves dogs, it's not a differentiator). A booking button that goes to a calendar you stopped updating in March. A blog you'll never write.

The test

When the site is done, ask yourself: if someone with an overdue cockapoo has been on this page for 60 seconds, do they know roughly what a full groom costs, how long they'll wait for a slot, and how to book?

If yes, you've got a good site. If no, simplify until they can.

A lot of groomers run everything through a Facebook page instead. We've written about why that works right up until it doesn't - worth a read if that's currently you.

One last thing

You don't need to build this yourself. We do it for £20 a month, including all the changes you ask for afterwards. See the dedicated dog groomer page for what's included. But whoever ends up building it, the six things above are what should be on it.