Websites · 6 min read
Someone decides to join your gym at 9pm. Can they actually do it?
Why a JPEG timetable and 'call during opening hours' lose signups you already won.
The short answer
A website for gyms and fitness studios needs prices on the page, a live timetable that updates in seconds, and online joining or class booking available any time. Membership decisions happen in the evening on a phone, so a JPEG timetable and a 'call during opening hours' message simply lose the signup to a gym that makes joining instant.
By Raja Wahab, Co-founder, Fixby Studios · Published · 6 min read
Why gyms lose signups they already won
Someone decides to join a gym in the evening, on their phone, often after a class or a bad week. If the timetable is a static JPEG and joining means calling during opening hours, that decision cools off before they can act on it.
- "gym near me prices"
- "personal trainer [town]"
- "24 hour gym [town]"
- "class timetable [gym name]"
What a website for gyms and fitness studios needs
- Prices on the page — every membership search carries price intent, and hiding it just adds a step before the enquiry.
- A live timetable that can be updated in seconds and reads properly on a phone.
- Online joining and class booking, plus a free trial or day pass offer.
- Coach profiles and real member results, shown with permission.
- A page per class type — these rank separately and bring in different kinds of member.
Static JPEG timetable
- — Can't be updated quickly
- — Hard to read on a phone
- — Joining means calling in hours
Live timetable and online joining
- — Updated in seconds
- — Reads properly on mobile
- — Join or book any time
Where retention automation beats another round of ads
Direct debit joining, class booking, waitlists and win-back messages to lapsed members typically do more for revenue than spending further on ads to attract new ones. Keeping an existing member is cheaper than winning a new one.
“Publish prices — every membership search carries price intent.”
Cost
A gym or studio site with live timetable and online joining is available on our monthly plans with no upfront build fee (see our monthly plans at /plans).
Why class-type pages outperform one timetable page
Someone searching for a specific class — spin, boxing, yoga — is a different kind of lead to someone searching for a general gym membership. A page for each class type, with its own description and booking link, catches both kinds of search instead of relying on one busy timetable page to do everything.
It also gives you somewhere to show instructor profiles and class-specific results, which carry more weight for that particular class than general gym marketing.
Win-back messaging is cheaper than new member ads
A short automated message to a member who hasn't checked in for a few weeks, offering a free session or a quick check-in, often brings people back at a fraction of the cost of running ads to recruit someone new.
Your questions
- Can people join and pay online outside opening hours?
- Yes, that's the main point — direct debit joining and class booking should work at any time, not just when staff are on site.
- How often can the timetable be updated?
- As often as you like. It's built to be edited in seconds by staff, not sent to a designer to redo a graphic.
- Can we run a free trial or day pass through the site?
- Yes, this can be set up as a simple booking flow that captures the lead even if they don't convert to a full membership straight away.
Raja Wahab is co-founder of Fixby Studios, a Huddersfield studio building websites, SEO, social media and business software for small, owner-managed businesses across West Yorkshire.
Next step
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Fixby Studios builds websites, runs SEO and manages social media for small businesses across Huddersfield and West Yorkshire. Web design in Huddersfield
Prefer to talk it through? Contact Fixby Studios, email info@fixbystudios.co.uk or call 07737 067552.
