Doris’s Barber Shop

The Story

Doris’s Barber Shop is at 950 Route 12 in Greene, NY. Doris opened the shop in 1996 — one chair, a simple idea: give people in Greene a place to get a good haircut without driving to Binghamton. She ran it for nearly three decades.

Jenna runs it now. She started as a client, became Doris’s right hand, and eventually took over the chair. Same walk-in policy, same no-nonsense approach.

The custom domain — dorisbarbershop.com — was purchased and configured the same day the site went live.

The Challenge

The only photo I had to work with was a basset hound in a shark bandana. That’s the shop dog. It’s a great photo — but it’s not a hero image for a barber shop website.

So the entire hero section is CSS-only. No photo. Just bold typography: “Your Cut. Your Way.” in large type with a warm off-white background. It works because it’s clean and confident. The shop dog photo shows up later on the homepage in the “Who We Are” section where it actually fits — next to the story about the shop’s personality.

It’s a good example of working with what you have instead of faking it. I could have used a stock photo of some random barber shop. But that would be a lie. The CSS hero is honest and it looks better than a generic stock image ever would.

What I Built

5 pages. Straightforward, just like the shop.

Homepage. The CSS-only hero with “Your Cut. Your Way.” and a subtitle: “Haircuts, beard trims, and clean shaves in Greene, NY since 1996. Walk-ins welcome.” Below the hero: a stats bar showing “Since 1996,” “4.9 Stars on Google,” “Locally Owned & Operated,” and “Walk-Ins Welcome.” Then a services preview with four cards — men’s haircut, beard trim, head shave, kids’ cut. The shop dog photo with the story about Doris and Jenna. A reviews section with real Google reviews (4.9 stars, 26 reviews). A “Meet Your Barber” profile for Jenna. And a CTA to call or walk in.

About page. The full history — Doris opening in 1996, Jenna taking over, the shop dog, what the place feels like when you walk in.

Services page. The full service list with descriptions. Walk-in pricing — call for current rates.

FAQ page. Do I need an appointment? (No — walk-ins welcome.) Where are you? (950 Route 12, Greene.) When are you open? (Tue-Fri 8-5, Sat 8-12, closed Sun-Mon.)

Contact page. Hours laid out by day, address, phone, email, a Google Maps embed, and a “What to Expect” section that walks first-timers through the process: walk in, tell your barber what you want, walk out looking good.

Design Decisions

Color palette. Warm, muted tones. Cream and off-white backgrounds. A rust/terracotta accent for buttons and labels. It feels like a neighborhood shop — warm, approachable, not trying too hard.

Typography. “Your Way” in the hero is set in italic serif — it adds personality without being flashy. The rest of the site uses clean sans-serif body text for readability.

Real reviews. 5 actual Google reviews displayed on the homepage. 4.9 stars across 26 reviews. Real quotes from real customers: “We love Jenna, she’s so good with the kids.” No made-up testimonials.

Same-day domain. dorisbarbershop.com was registered, configured, and live within hours of Jenna paying. Most clients in this market have never had a real domain name. Seeing “dorisbarbershop.com” in the browser bar instead of some pages.dev URL — that’s a moment.

What Makes This Site Work

• CSS-only hero — no hero photo needed. Bold typography carries the entire top of the page. Proof that you don’t need a perfect photo to have a great-looking site.
• Real Google reviews (4.9 stars, 26 reviews) — actual customer quotes with attribution. Social proof that’s real.
• Walk-in focused design — no booking system, no appointment form. The CTA is “call” or “walk in.” That’s how the shop actually works, so the site matches.
• Custom domain live same day — dorisbarbershop.com was registered and deployed the evening Jenna paid.
• Shop dog — the basset hound in a shark bandana shows up in the right context: the “Who We Are” section. It adds personality without pretending to be something it’s not.
• Hours displayed clearly — Tue-Fri 8-5, Sat 8-12, closed Sun-Mon. Visible on the homepage, contact page, and footer. The most common reason someone visits a local business website.
• “What to Expect” section — three-step walkthrough for first-timers: walk in, tell us what you want, walk out looking good. Removes friction for new customers.
• Schema markup — structured data for local search visibility.
• Responsive design — clean on phone, tablet, and desktop.