Overview
Murielle Hair Braids is a live production website and digital operations platform for a professional braiding business in Colorado. It presents the full service catalog — knotless braids, box braids, cornrows, twists, and kids' styles — supports online appointment booking, and runs a small product shop for braiding hair and accessories.
Problem
The business had loyal clients but no digital presence. Discovery happened only by word of mouth, every booking required back-and-forth messages, and pricing questions consumed the owner's time. Prospective clients had no way to see the quality of the work before committing.
Users
- Prospective clients researching styles and prices
- Returning clients booking appointments
- The business owner managing services, bookings, and products
Goals
- Make the business discoverable in local search
- Let clients browse styles with transparent pricing
- Move booking online for weekend and evening slots
- Add a product shop as a second revenue stream
My role
Designer and developer — brand presentation, information architecture, full site build, booking and shop functionality, SEO, and deployment.
Product strategy
For a service business, the website's one job is converting a visitor into a booked appointment. Every page pushes toward booking: transparent pricing removes the biggest hesitation, the gallery and testimonials build trust, and the mobile-first layout meets clients where they actually browse.
Key features
- Service catalog with transparent pricing
- Every style is listed with clear pricing and duration expectations, eliminating the pricing back-and-forth.
- Online appointment booking
- Clients reserve weekend and weekday-evening slots online instead of negotiating times over the phone.
- Product shop
- Pre-stretched braiding hair, beads, and edge control sold online, with pickup coordinated around appointments.
- Portfolio gallery & testimonials
- Completed work and client reviews provide the social proof that converts first-time visitors.
- Social integration
- Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp links connect the site to where the audience already lives.
Technical architecture
- Mobile-first responsive front end
- Service and product catalog structured for easy owner updates
- Online booking workflow with email notifications
- Local-business SEO: structured metadata and service-focused pages
- Cloud deployment with HTTPS
Security & privacy
- Client contact details handled only through the booking flow — no unnecessary data collection
- Payment handling kept inside established processors rather than custom code
- HTTPS everywhere and safe external-link handling
Engineering challenges & decisions
Presenting a premium brand for a small business without a design budget.
A restrained visual identity built around the work itself — photography-forward layout, consistent typography, and disciplined color use.
Designing booking around real availability — evenings and weekends — rather than a generic calendar.
The booking flow reflects the owner's actual schedule, which keeps expectations accurate and no-shows down.
Lessons learned
- For small businesses, the metric that matters is booked appointments, not page views.
- Transparent pricing is a feature: it filters inquiries and builds trust before the first message.
- The owner's ability to update content without a developer is part of the product.
Future improvements
- Deeper booking automation (reminders, deposits)
- Expanded product catalog and inventory handling
- Ongoing local-SEO refinement