Mindbody websites now come with every plan: the fine print
2026-10-02 · 6 min read
It's Tuesday morning at a small med spa. Someone at the front desk notices that the website still shows last spring's filler pricing, the booking button opens Mindbody in a cramped box, and the "contact us" form sends messages to an inbox that nobody has checked since Friday. Then an email from Mindbody arrives saying they'll build you a new website for free. Is that worth taking?
For most small shops already on Mindbody, probably yes. Read the terms first, though, because they decide what happens to the site if you ever leave.
What Mindbody changed on September 25
On its product updates page, Mindbody announced that Customized Websites are "now included in every plan," and listed Starter, Accelerate and Ultimate. The same batch of updates added a pricing widget and a Google Tag Manager connection for the booking widgets. I read all three entries on October 2, 2026.
| Update (Sept 25, 2026) | Plans listed | What Mindbody says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Customized Websites included | Starter, Accelerate, Ultimate | Mindbody builds you "your own branded site" from your existing content, with booking, payments and scheduling embedded |
| Pricing widget | Starter, Accelerate, Ultimate | A pricing page on your site where clients "browse and buy passes, intro offers, packages, gift cards, and memberships" |
| Google Tag Manager integration | Starter, Accelerate, Ultimate | Connects the booking widgets to Tag Manager to track lead activity, conversions and revenue |
| Daily lead activity digest | Ultimate only | A daily summary of new leads, stale contacts and recent actions worth following up on |
The announcement doesn't mention any price change. When I checked the pricing page on October 2, it still listed Starter at "Starting at $79 USD/month per location," and Accelerate and Ultimate were still quote-only. My Mindbody pricing breakdown covers the plans in more detail.
What the Customized Website includes
The Customized Websites page says the service covers "design, hosting, maintenance, and booking optimization," and that the site is built from your existing logo, colors and content. Mindbody says a site can go live in as little as three to five business days from intake, and that the average is two to three weeks. If you don't already have a domain, Mindbody buys one for you at no charge, or you can use the one you have. Basic SEO setup, such as meta tags and structured data, is included, and the page notes that this "doesn't guarantee rankings."
The part a busy shop will like: staff and schedule changes made in Mindbody show up on the site automatically. When a new esthetician starts, you don't have to update anything.
The page also calls the service available to "eligible" customers. It doesn't spell out who qualifies, so ask.
The fine print: edits, ownership, and leaving
The details are in Mindbody's Professional Services Supplemental Terms, which I read on October 2, 2026. Here is what they say, in plain terms:
| Question | What the terms say |
|---|---|
| Can I edit the site myself? | No. You get one design revision per calendar quarter after launch, plus updates "for time sensitive business related changes upon request." Anything more needs a change order |
| Who owns the domain? | You do. Mindbody buys it "on your behalf and name[s] you as the registrant" |
| Can I change the domain settings? | Not in any way that "could interfere with Mindbody's ability to host, maintain, publish, or update" the site |
| Who owns the design and code? | Mindbody. You get a revocable license to use them, and the code and work product "will remain the sole property of Mindbody" |
| What happens if I cancel Mindbody? | Mindbody stops hosting and maintaining the site. If you ask for help within 30 days, it will take "commercially reasonable steps" to help you move the materials to a new site |
| What if I miss the 30 days? | Mindbody may "permanently delete the Customized Website and all associated content and data" |
None of this is unusual for a site bundled with software, but it ties the site to your subscription. You keep the domain. The site itself, the one your bookings run through, belongs to Mindbody.
Who should take it, and who should think twice
Take it if you have no website, or one you're embarrassed by, and Mindbody already runs your booking and payments. A free site that updates itself when the schedule changes beats a stale one. And if you were going to stay on Mindbody anyway, the ownership terms cost you very little.
Think twice if your current site already brings in calls from Google, especially for pages like a treatment or a town that took a while to rank. Replacing those pages without redirects can lose ground you worked for. Also think twice if you change offers often enough that one design revision a quarter feels tight, or if there's a real chance you'll move to different booking software in the next year or two. If you go ahead anyway, keep a copy of every page's text and photos somewhere you control, and put the 30-day window on your calendar the day you cancel.
What the website still won't do for you
A better site helps people book. It doesn't fix what happens to the people who don't book right away, which for a lot of salons and med spas is where the week leaks out.
Look at three spots. The first is the consultation inquiry. Someone asking whether they're a candidate for a treatment usually isn't ready to pick a time slot, and that message needs to reach a person quickly with the right details attached. The second is the missed call. On Mindbody's pricing page, the automated front desk for missed calls is part of Ultimate and an add-on on the lower plans. The third is the follow-up: the person who looked at the pricing page, started booking and stopped. The lead digest that surfaces those people is Ultimate only.
You can handle all three around whatever plan you're on. A missed call gets a text back within a minute with your booking link. A consultation request from the site lands on your phone with the client's answers already sorted, so you aren't digging through a shared inbox. A booking someone started and didn't finish gets one friendly nudge the next day. That's the work I do for salons and med spas. Builds start at $500 one-time, then a flat monthly from $99 after an included run-in period, and you can cancel. I also build websites, so weigh my opinion with that in mind: for a shop staying on Mindbody, I'd usually take the free site and spend money on the follow-up instead.
What stays human
Mindbody can build the site and embed the booking widget, and a system can send the texts. Someone still has to decide what the site says. Your prices, your candidacy rules, how you describe a treatment, and which photos represent your work are all calls the owner has to make. The same goes for the consultation itself. A client asking whether a treatment is right for their skin should hear back from someone qualified. Automation can get the question to you fast. The answer should come from you.
If you'd like a second opinion before you sign the website statement of work, or on where inquiries slip through in your week, book the free 20 minute process audit. I'll look at how people find you, book and follow up today, and tell you plainly what's worth changing.