Chapter 1: Best of Cosmetology Themes
Posted on November 27, 2023 | Updated on February 21, 2024
This article marks the first in a new series on WordPress themes. You’ll find tons of articles on the internet about WordPress themes for your industry along with suggestions for 20, 30 or more options. While a valuable starting point, the drawback to those articles is that they often become quickly outdated and can be overwhelming for someone just wanting a solid theme to throw up a page quickly.
We decided we would talk about what to look for in a theme and then narrow the options down so you don’t have to spend endless hours hunting for a theme. In this series, we’ll talk about different industries and offer several theme ideas, but ultimately choose the one we think is easiest to use, most flexible and will work for the majority of people in that industry. Let’s start with cosmetology themes.
If you just graduated cosmetology school, barber college or became a nail or lash technician, you’re probably ready to set up a website, find a chair to work from and start adding clients and building your business. Save the time you would have spent seeking a WordPress theme and use one of the options below. We know which one we think you’ll like best but each person is unique, so it’s okay if you don’t choose the winner for your theme.
Find the one that speaks to your beautician soul.
What to Look For in Cosmetology Themes
Cosmetologists need something that is minimalistic and easy for clients of all ages to use. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cosmetologist makes $33,400 per year. Finding something budget friendly is a must.
They might have a customer who is 16 and another who is 96. The theme should be:
- Mobile responsive
- Clean minimalistic theme
- Ability to create custom header
- Easy to plug in photos of work
Clients may have limited time to hop on your website and check out your services or book an appointment. In addition to beautiful cosmetology theme options, make sure you check out a variety of scheduling plugins and options so they can book an appointment on the spot.
Some of Our Favorites
We spent several hours browsing the internet for various WordPress cosmetology themes. Some we eliminated immediately as too expensive, too difficult to customize or too busy. We finally narrowed down the options to five. We list four of them here, as they are our favorites. The fifth is our choice for the best of cosmetology themes. Most of these come with a lite and pro version, depending on the features you wish to add to your site.
Beauty Salon Lite
Beauty Salon Lite features a hero image you can customize to make your own. Showcase someone receiving one of your services, for example. The more personal you can make the image, the more your design will stand out.
The theme uses some soft hues and pinks to give the design a feminine flair. Add a CTA to the banner and tie it to WooCommerce. The theme is optimized and mobile friendly.
CRest Beauty Spa Lite
CRest Beauty Spa Lite is a block-style theme with a slider across the top of the header. If you offer multiple services, this is a great way to showcase each and tell users a bit about them. For example, if you do hot rock massages and facials, you can add a box for each with a photo and a short description.
The pro version lets you customize the slider, tweak the footer, change the siebar, add a welcome section and other features. The theme is priced $89.99 but is often discounted to less than half.
Hair Salon Pro
Hair Salon Pro works well if you have a bit more to say or offer a wide range of treatments. A full-service salon with aestheticians, manicurists, lash technicians and stylists could do well with a theme such as this one. We like the white space between images and around text to set each item off.
The logo goes in the upper left of the header, with the right side reserved for social media, hours and address. The theme integrates nicely with scheduling options. Feature each employee or booth renter and throw up special offers happening throughout the month.
The theme runs $40. VWThemes offers a package where you can get all their themes for one low price. They often give a 10% discount.
At Beauty
At Beauty has some interesting angles and curves that give the design a more geometric look, rather than the grid pattern many other themes offer. We like the neutral background that allows the stylist to add any images they’d like and work in bright pops of color. Themes like these allow for simple customization, making it easier to switch it up without the need for technical know-how.
The theme is built on Bootstrap CSS and fully responsive to different screen sizes. Gain support by upgrading to a professional package for around $29. If you’re looking for something minimalistic, you’ll love this option.
Our Winner: Beauty Studio
We chose Beauty Studio by Acme Themes as our best of WordPress cosmetology themes. The theme has a huge hero image that gives the design a professional look. The calls to action give a pop feminine. The parallax scrolling gives it a different edge. The animated text overlay adds another element that grabs user attention.
We love the simplicity and ample white space. Note the small pink icons to mark each service that don’t take over the page or overwhelm the text.
The theme has a nice visual hierarchy to indicate what is a heading and what is body text. Everything meshes together but some text is large and bolder to indicate it is on a different level.
Beauty Studio can be installed directly from the WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Appearance, theme and search for “beauty” to locate it. You can also download it directly from the link above. Beauty Studio is free to use. You can add a pro version for $55 and gain features such as:
- 12 Widgets
- More menu options
- Customized header options
- Better slider
- Hide theme credit info
We recommend you start with the free theme and test it out. If you like it but want to include some of the paid options, you can easily upgrade.
Find the Best Cosmetology Themes for You
Setting up your website shouldn’t be a nightmare. A big part of the equation is figuring out the features your clients will find most useful. You can save a ton of time by choosing one of the themes we’ve preselected for you. They’re easy to set up and most have free versions if you’re on a shoestring budget.
