We'd Build Some of This Differently Today.
One thing about technology: six months can change a lot.
When we started building The Recovery Room, we looked into developing a custom booking system. But between the cost, development time, and everything the software needed to handle, it didn’t make sense. Lacie had a business to open, and we weren’t going to hold up her launch to build something that already existed.
So we went with Vagaro. And for what she needed, it was the right decision.
Would we still choose Vagaro today?
Maybe not.
We’ve since started using Claude much more heavily for development. With the tools and experience we have now, we’d seriously consider building a custom booking system instead of paying for another software subscription.
But custom doesn’t automatically mean better. Someone has to maintain it, handle updates, protect customer information, and make sure bookings and payments work every single time.
For most new businesses, we still recommend starting with established software. Vagaro is a solid, affordable option. We also work with Boulevard for another client, and we really like it, but it’s more expensive.
Start with what you need. Upgrade when there’s a business reason to. If better software helps retain customers, saves significant time, or supports higher pricing, the investment might make sense. If not, why spend the money?
The best software isn’t always the most expensive or most custom. It’s the one that makes sense for the business.
We also moved her website from WordPress to Astro.
We originally built The Recovery Room’s website on WordPress. It worked, but as the business developed, we decided to rebuild it using Astro.
Astro lets us build an extremely lightweight website with much more control over the code and fewer moving parts.
The trade-off? With the way we’ve built this site, Lacie can’t log in and edit pages herself like she could with WordPress. Changes come through us.
We wouldn’t recommend that setup for every client. But when we’re managing the website anyway, and the client doesn’t need backend access, it can be a great fit.
The early numbers look promising.
In the first week after the switch, website visits were up 79% on the week before (Google Analytics, Oct 12–18 vs. Oct 5–11).
We’re still early, and one week isn’t enough to attribute that to the website rebuild alone. We’re continuing to test, track, and optimize.
But we’re encouraged by what we’re seeing.
What we’d tell another business owner
You don’t need the most expensive software, a completely custom website, or every tool available.
You need the right setup for where your business is today, with room to make changes as it grows.
That’s how we’ve approached The Recovery Room from the beginning. And we’ll keep changing things when there’s a good reason to.