How to Create an App like Booksy? A Complete Guide

Are you looking to Create an App like Booksy? You are at the right place!

As expected, innovations and trends are totally pushing the salon market. And, soon it is going to touch $2768.53 million by 2032.

People now prioritize convenience over everything; this is why they take the help of apps for their work, be it ordering food or booking salon appointments.

This doesn’t only benefit users but also businesses. Just through an app, you can target a huge number of audience and ensure that your brand is seen.

A similar thing is done by one such app, Booksy. This is why businesses look at it as an inspiration to create an app like Booksy.

Explore further through this blog about how to make an app like Booksy, from process, and benefits to cost to make an app like Booksy.

What is the Booksy App?

First, get through the basic “What exactly is Booksy App? “

Booksy is a well-known calendar and appointment management app that allows salon businesses to connect with users.

Launched in 2015 in Poland, Booksy is currently operational in different countries including USA, UK, France etc.

In 2024, Booksy hit $65.9M in revenue and currently catering to 13 Million. And, currently, it is considered the number 1 salon booking appointment app.

So, what makes it so special?

Features like online appointment booking, service listing, payment processing, and most importantly user-friendly interface.

It’s understandable to see why so many businesses are looking to enter this market and develop a salon app.

Need More Reasons to Develop An App Like Booksy

We guess you want more promising reasons to ensure that your decision to make a salon booking app like Booksy is right.

Well, it’s understandable; after all, you are going to make a huge investment. And, being confident is important before doing so.

Let’s find out some benefits of the salon app:

1. Trend, Trend & Trend

The market is full of apps, of every type; from food delivery apps to salon booking apps.

And, the number is currently at 8.93 million apps globally. With such a high number, it is obvious that people love this where they can just use an app and order anything from the comfort of their homes.

2. Best Marketing Tool

A salon app can be a great marketing tool if developed right.

You can share promotional updates, send your users personalized messages, and even target a wider audience which is not possible through traditional methods.

3. Brand Visibility Gets Better

One of the strongest reasons to get a salon app is a strong online presence and better brand recognition through a user-friendly mobile app.

Traditionally, you can’t reach as many people as you want, but through an app, you can reach a huge audience.

4. Convenience

Salon booking apps are convenient for users and businesses as well.

This way, you can get to know about your service, understand your users well, assist them at any hour & present them with your app whenever they want to make a booking.

It is definitely a great reason to create a salon booking app like Booksy.

But, to go on this path, you need amazing features that spark interest in users. Let’s find them:

Features to Integrate into Your Salon App Like Booksy

Features have the potential to change how users perceive your brand.

To be their favorite, you need to have amazing features for your app. Let’s find out what is convenient for them and how it helps:

► Booksy For Clients

Let’s first find out the features of Booksy for clients:

• Easy User Registration

First things first, easy user registration has become a necessity.

Through this, you can offer users a hassle-free registration process & intuitive navigation to quickly find and book appointments at the salon.

Having such a feature will allow users to onboard quickly & let them enjoy your app.

• Search & Filtering

Features like search & filter are something that people look forward to.

Utilize advanced search & filtering options to discover salons & services customized to specific needs & preferences.

• Easy Salon Booking

Booking a salon appointment should be as easy as possible.

Features like this are what make your app amazing. Through this, users can easily go to your app and book their appointment. As a salon business owner, you can stay organized with a convenient calendar view, appointment reminders & ability to manage salon booking on the go.

• Loyalty Programs & Rewards

Loyalty programs are very important to separate you from your competitors.

Participate in loyalty programs & earn points for every service, unlocking exclusive rewards & discounts.

• Payment Gateway Integration

To win users over & confirm booking, you should offer users with secure payment gateway integration.

To make secure they can make online payments through different payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards, wallets, etc, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free transaction.

• Review & Ratings

Review & Ratings are necessary elements.

Allow your users to rate the services and experts through your app. This way, other users can read about it and get to know about your services.

As well as make informed and better decisions.

► Booksy for Owners

Now, get to know about the features of Booksy for owners:

• Staff Management

Managing your staff can be a tedious task, but not with a salon app by your side.

These apps can help you efficiently manage staff schedules, track performance, and streamline communication to optimize operations.

• Robust Appointment Management

Appointment management can be of lot of help.

One can simplify appointment scheduling, reduce no-shows, and maximize appointment capacity.

Overall, makes your whole process more streamlined and efficient.

• Effective Marketing Tools

For a salon owner, marketing their app is a necessary step that should be taken as soon as possible.

Leverage powerful marketing tools to attract new clients, promote special offers, and build a loyal customer base.

• Intelligent Inventory Management

Managing Inventory is not as easy as it seems.

But, with a salon app, track inventory levels, set reorder points & optimize stock management to minimize waste and maximize profits.

• Data-Driven Decision Making

As a business owner, you will need user data to know about their preferences better.

Gain valuable insights into business performance through detailed analytics and reporting through a salon app.

With these features out of the way, let’s find out how to create an app like Booksy.

How to Create an App like Booksy?

Creating an app like Booksy consists of a step-by-step development process, knowing them will help you plan better.

What do you say? Let’s get right into it:

Step 1: Market Research

The process of how to create an app like Booksy starts with proper market research.

This is where you know about the pain points of users. It will help you to know whether your app will survive in the market or not.

You need to carry out an intense marketplace is important to identify your competitors. This will let you know the gap in the market.

And, then you can refine your app development as per that.

Step 2: Selecting the Right Features

Features truly play an important role in your app’s success.

The features you choose to have in your app will ensure the long-term viability of the app. Basic features such as user profiles, ratings & reviews, and booking salon appointments are necessary again.

But, then again, it will not be enough, so make sure to integrate some advanced features as well such as payment gateway integration, personalized recommendations & data-driven insights.

Once you are done with this, time to design your app

Step 3: Focus on UI/UX design

To make sure you enhance the user interaction, your focus should be on UI/UX design.

With so many salon apps in the market, if your app isn’t visually appealing then users will immediately go to your competitors.

When you want to develop a salon booking app like Booksy that users adore, make sure to work on making it user-friendly and engaging.

Step 4: Develop Your App

Now, once the design step is complete.

With the design in place, now is the time to start building! The technical part begins here.

You may also need to choose between native, building separate apps for iOS and Android, or a cross-platform approach, using one code base for both.

There are pros and cons for each, but cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter or React Native would save time and resources without sacrificing a great user experience.

Here's a quick breakdown of what you'll need:

• Frontend (What users see and interact with):

You are going to build the app's interface using Swift for an iOS version, or for an Android app, you will be required to use Kotlin. Or even Flutter or React Native for both versions.

The front end should be made as easy as possible to show how a booking can be done with clear search options for services, dates, and payment options.

• Backend (The invisible engine running in the background):

Select a backend framework to be either Node.js, Django, or even Ruby on Rails.

This includes the logic of managing bookings, payment, and the sending of notifications.

In addition, you will require a database that may be PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or even Firebase to store users' data, bookings, and reviews.

Step 5: Testing of the App

Once development is done, now it’s time to test the app.

It is an important part of making an app like Booksy.

To launch an app with an amazing user experience, you need to ensure to make it is free from issues like bugs, errors, and more.

For this, your app needs to go through different types of testing such as functional, performance & security issues.

As soon as it is done, you are app is now ready to be deployed.

Step 6: Launching the App

After the app is ready, it’s time to deploy.

You’ll either submit the app to the app’s store or to the Play Store. Either way, it’s important to fill out forms & submit the app for review.

Remember, once it’s done, you will need to wait for some days to a few weeks. Till then, you can make some amazing marketing strategies that upsurge your app downloads.

Step 7: Post-Launch Maintenance

Once your app is launched, the work is not over.

Now, it is time to work on maintenance and support services. In this, you are going to timely check and maintain the app.

It is important to ensure that your app is bug-free & technical issues-free. You can also release new updates or features; this will keep you ahead of the competition.

We believe you got the idea about how to develop an app like Booksy. Now, we are going to talk about the cost part which is important for you to know.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App like Booksy?

Making an app like Booksy is no small feat.

When it comes to the cost part, the cost can be somewhere between $10,000 to $30,000+. But, here it gets interesting as this cost can be low or can be more all based on your requirements.

To get a clear overview of the salon app development cost, gather all your requirements and connect with an experienced mobile app development company.

However, here is a small breakdown of your cost to make an app like Booksy: 

► Breakdown of Cost to Build an App like Booksy

We already have mentioned that several factors affect the app development cost & process.

To analyze the true cost of creating an app like b, you need to know about these factors and understand how they affect the cost.

Without any delay, let’s get to know:

♦ Complexity

One of the basic factors that affect the cost is complexity. The more complex your app idea is, the more it will cost.

Make sure to keep your app idea as simple as possible, so that it requires less effort from developers and can be built within less time.

♦ Development Team Location

It is necessary to hire mobile app developers.

However, the region from where you are going to outsource your developers can affect the cost.

Wondering how? Well, if you hire developers from regions with higher costs of living, then their hourly costs will be higher. You can keep the cost in control by hiring developers from lower hourly cost regions such as the Philippines or India

♦ Features & Functionality

We have mentioned features & functionalities quite a few times in the whole blog. It’s because it has a lot of emphasis on cost.

In case, you are wondering how? It’s simple, if you choose to go for basic features; it will not take much time & resources to incorporate. Whereas, customization and advanced features can increase the cost,

We suggest, you first start with basic features and then incorporate features as per user feedback. 

♦ Platform (iOS, Android, or Both)

Do you want your app to run on both iOS and Android? In which case the cost will increase.

Developing separate native applications for both platforms will need two separate code bases, more time, and resources.

For expert help, we suggest you connect with an expert android app development company or iOS app development company.

You can choose a cross-platform app (React Native or Flutter), by which you can develop an app for both platforms.

This may be a more cost-effective method, though with some slight limitations in terms of performance and customization.

♦ Robust Backend Development & Database

A robust backend is the backbone of your app-it stores everything ranging from booking data to profiles and payment processing.

For an app like Booksy, you will require a safe and highly scalable backend system. It's costly, though.

The backend complexity is determined by how much data you intend to store, how safe you wish it to be, and how you want to control user interactions.

A database such as PostgreSQL or Firebase could be used to hold and manage all your app data, though the right choice of setup that will support the expected traffic increases your costs.

With factors out of the way, you might be curious to know about an expert team that can be of help, our next section is just about that:

JPLoft- Your Development Partner for Salon App like Booksy

If you want to build an app like Booksy, we are here to guide you in having the best.

JPLoft is a top salon app development company that can transform your vision into reality.

We have experienced developers & designers with years of experience who build apps that not only offer great ROI but exceed your expectations.

To take steps ahead, connect with us.

Conclusion

Creating an app like Booksy is a very wise decision for salon businesses.

It will save time, increase brand awareness, and increase customer interaction.

By adding the right set of features, user experience, and robust backend, you can create a successful salon booking app.

It goes through detailed planning, starting with market research up to app deployment.

At JPLoft, we strive to build better salon apps that yield results. Ready to turn your idea into reality? Connect with us.