Add online booking to your salon website: Kitomba, Timely, Fresha

How do I add online booking to my salon website?

You don't build booking into your website. You connect the booking system you already use. Kitomba, Timely and Fresha each give you a booking link, and your website's Book buttons point to it. Timely also offers a widget that runs the booking inside your own page. Either way, your calendar, services, staff and payment rules stay in the booking system, and the website's job is to get people to that booking screen in one tap.

The rest is where the buttons go, linking the same booking system to Instagram, Facebook and Google, and setting deposits and no-show rules in the right place.

Link-out button or embedded widget: which is better?

There are two ways to connect a booking system to a website.

• Link-out button. A Book button opens your booking page, hosted by Kitomba, Timely or Fresha. Every provider supports it, it's quick to set up, and the booking page stays up to date whenever you change services or rosters.
• Embedded widget. The booking screen loads inside a page on your own site, so clients finish the booking without leaving it. Not every provider offers one, and the result depends on how well the widget works on a phone.

	Link-out button	Embedded widget
Set-up	Paste one link into each button	Add the provider's code to a page
Works with	Kitomba, Timely and Fresha	Only providers that offer a widget (Timely does)
Look	The provider's booking page, with your branding where the provider allows it	Sits inside your site, styled mostly by the provider
Mobile	Usually solid, as providers design their booking pages for phones	Test it on a real phone, as some widgets feel cramped inside a page

For most salons a clear link-out button is the right call. Clients don't mind a new screen if the button is easy to find and the booking page loads fast. A widget is worth it when you want a dedicated "Book" page that feels part of the site and your provider's widget works well on a phone.

What do Kitomba, Timely and Fresha offer?

This is what each provider says on its own site at the time of writing (November 2026). Features depend on your plan, so check your account before you plan around one.

Kitomba

Kitomba describes its online booking as a platform you link to from your website, social media and marketing, and says clients can book from your website, Google Business Profile, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. You can add your logo, colours and imagery to the booking page. Kitomba also lists Book Now buttons for your Facebook business page and Instagram profile. We couldn't find an embedded widget in Kitomba's own material, so plan on a link-out button and ask Kitomba if you want something different.

Timely

Timely's help centre covers three ways to connect Timely to your website: a book now button, a direct booking link, or a booking widget that lets clients finish the whole booking without leaving your site. Timely also offers Book Now buttons for Facebook and Instagram, and Reserve with Google for eligible NZ businesses.

Fresha

Fresha uses direct links. Standard links go to the main areas of your business, and custom links can go straight to an individual service or package, limited to the team members you choose. You paste the link into your website buttons, social media or a QR code. One catch: a Fresha link only works when at least one location is listed on the Fresha Marketplace.

Where should Book buttons go on a salon website?

Put a Book button anywhere someone might decide to book. In practice that means:

• The header, on every page. On a phone, keep it visible in the top bar instead of hiding it inside the menu. Timely's own guidance suggests a clear call to action at the top of your site.
• The first screen of the home page. One main button, not three competing ones.
• Each service section. Someone reading about balayage should be able to book balayage from there, ideally with a link that opens that service.
• Each stylist's profile. Clients often choose the person first. A link that opens that stylist's availability saves them a step.
• The contact page and footer. Some people scroll to the bottom looking for it.

Use the same label everywhere ("Book now" or "Book online") and the same colour, so people learn it once. Keep the phone number tap-to-call next to it for clients who'd rather ring. Our guide to salon website design covers the rest of the page layout.

Should each service or stylist have its own booking link?

If your booking system can do it, yes. A deep link that opens a specific service or team member removes the step where a client scrolls a long menu looking for the right thing. Fresha's custom links can be set to particular services and team members. With other providers, check your booking settings for service or staff links before you plan the site around them.

Keep a list of every booking link and where it's used. If a link changes, for example after a rename or a move to a different booking system, you'll know every button that needs updating.

How do I add a Book button to Instagram and Facebook?

All three providers connect to Meta so a Book button shows on your Instagram profile and Facebook page and books straight into your calendar. The set-up runs from inside the booking system, and the requirements are similar:

• A Facebook business page and an Instagram business account. Timely notes a personal or creator account won't work, and Kitomba asks you to convert a personal Instagram profile to a business one.
• Your Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to each other first.
• Admin access to the page you're connecting.
• For Fresha, a Meta business account and a listing on the Fresha Marketplace.

Put your website link in your Instagram bio too, so people who want to see your work and prices before booking can find them. The Book button handles people who've already decided.

How do I get a Book button on Google?

Many clients find a salon through Google Search or Maps, so this one matters. There are two routes.

• Reserve with Google. The booking system connects to Google and a Book button shows on your listing. Timely says it's available to NZ businesses with online booking turned on, as long as your Timely address matches your Google Business Profile exactly. Fresha's version needs a Marketplace listing, a matching business name and address, and real prices on your services. Fresha says the button can take up to 48 hours to appear once you enable it.
• A booking link on your profile. Timely's help centre explains how to paste your booking link into the appointment URL field of your Google Business Profile. Kitomba also lists Google Business Profile as a place clients can book from.

Either way, your Google Business Profile needs to be accurate first: name, address, hours, category and photos. Our local SEO guide for NZ businesses covers getting the profile right.

Where do deposits and no-show fees get set up?

In the booking system, not on the website. The website just sends people to book. Deposits, saved cards and cancellation fees are set and charged by your booking provider, and every booking channel follows them, whether the client came from your site, Instagram or Google.

• Kitomba lets you take a deposit or full payment online, keep a client's card on file, and charge it for last-minute cancellations. Kitomba notes fees apply.
• Timely handles deposits and cancellation fees through TimelyPay. With card capture turned on, clients save a card and agree to your cancellation policy before they can book online. Timely won't let you set both deposits and cancellation fees as the default, so you set cancellation fees as the default and add deposits to individual services.
• Fresha payment policies need Fresha Payments. Clients confirm either by paying a deposit or saving their card, and you can charge no-show or late cancellation fees up to the limit in your policy.

Do put a short version of your cancellation policy on the website, on the booking or services page, so nobody is surprised at checkout. Make sure it matches what's set in the booking system word for word, and that refunds and fees line up with your obligations under NZ consumer law.

What should I check before the buttons go live?

• Every Book button opens the right booking page, on a phone and a laptop.
• Service and stylist links open the right service and the right person.
• Booking a real test appointment works from start to finish, then cancel it.
• The deposit or card step shows your cancellation policy clearly.
• Instagram, Facebook and Google all point to the same booking system.
• Your old booking links, if you've changed systems, are gone from every page, bio and profile.

What's included when FOUNDR builds a salon website?

Book buttons linked to your booking system are part of our $990 website base, built on Shopify with Home, About, Services and Contact pages, a mobile-first build and SEO set-up. If you want your service menu and prices laid out on the site, that's a $190 add-on, and Google Business Profile setup is $249. You can see everything on the build your website page, or read more about how we work with salons.

Next step

Open your booking system, find your booking link, and test it on your phone. If it works well, the job is mostly putting it in the right places on your site, your Instagram and your Google profile. If you'd like us to do that as part of a new site, start at build your website. For anything bigger, such as a custom design or a move from another platform, price your project and we'll send a free, fixed-price proposal.