A website for a gym: what brings newcomers in

Regular members know your timetable by heart. A gym's site works for a newcomer looking for a gym near home or work. They want to know three things: whether they will cope, what it costs and when to come for the first time.

1. A timetable with levels

Classes with days, hours and the trainer's name. The level in the name tells a newcomer where to start: "yoga for beginners" or "functional training, advanced".

Change the timetable on the site the same day it changes in the gym. A member who comes to a cancelled class stops trusting the site.

2. Membership prices

A single visit, a month, three months, unlimited. Next to each, write what it includes: the number of visits, group classes, a sauna. Say separately whether a membership can be frozen and when it expires. These are the questions asked at the front desk every day.

3. Trainers

A photo, a name, what they coach and their experience. Someone who hesitates goes to a particular trainer more easily than to a gym in general. Certificates and sporting results are worth one line.

4. Photos of the floor

Photograph your own gym at peak hour, with people of different ages. Perfect stock bodies scare newcomers off, while real members show there is room for them too. Add photos of the changing rooms and showers.

5. A trial class

A free or inexpensive first class booked right on the page removes the main reason to put it off. Write what to bring and how many minutes early to come. The booking button belongs on the first screen.

What to add later

• News about new classes, tournaments and timetable changes.
• Reviews from members, with their names.
• The address and timetable of each gym, if you have several.
• Parking and the entrance, if the gym is in a shopping centre.

Where to start

To start, a timetable, prices, the address and booking for a trial class are enough. The FastSite template for a gym or fitness studio already has these blocks. How to prepare the texts and photos in one evening is in a separate article, and the prices of a site are on the pricing page.