Gym & Fitness Website Brief Template
Gym and fitness websites are member-acquisition machines. This brief template covers class booking, membership plans, trial offers, and the booking platform integrations that determine whether the site is a sales tool or a brochure.
Best for: Agencies scoping a website for a boutique studio, big-box gym, personal trainer, online coach, or fitness franchise.
Why this brief matters
- Trial offer conversion (free week, $10 intro) is the single biggest lever — the funnel must surface it relentlessly.
- Class booking through MindBody, Glofox, ABC Trainerize, or PushPress each behave differently.
- Most gym leads happen at 10pm on a phone — mobile flow is non-negotiable.
- Per-location pages drive 'gym near me' rankings; brand-only homepages do not.
What every fitness & gym brief must cover
1. Booking & class management
MindBody, Glofox, PushPress, Wodify, ABC, Trainerize, or custom — and how schedule, instructor and room data sync to the website.
2. Memberships & pricing
Membership tiers, class packs, drop-ins, founding-member pricing, freeze rules, and what to show publicly vs. behind a lead form.
3. Trial offer & lead funnel
The intro offer (free week, $10 first class, no-sweat intro) is the conversion event — its CTA placement and the post-signup flow are the whole funnel.
4. Instructors & community
Trainer/instructor profiles, member stories, community feel, and how the site reflects the in-room energy.
5. Multi-location & local SEO
Per-location pages with class schedules, Google Business per site, schema markup for SportsActivityLocation, and review aggregation.
Sample questions to ask the client
Drop these straight into your discovery call or intake form.
- Q1.Which booking system do you use today, and do members already have logins?
- Q2.What is your intro offer, and how should it appear across the site?
- Q3.Which membership types are public vs. behind a lead form?
- Q4.How many locations need their own page, and how do schedules differ?
- Q5.Do you sell apparel, supplements, or programming separately from membership?
- Q6.What's your monthly new-member target, and what's your current cost per acquisition?
- Q7.Who are your top 3 competitors locally, and what do they do better than you?
- Q8.Do you need an online coaching / on-demand video product?
- Q9.Which integrations are non-negotiable (CRM, email, SMS, paid ads pixels)?
- Q10.What does the post-signup nurture look like — and does the website own any of it?
Common pitfalls
- ×Hiding membership pricing — most fitness shoppers will bounce rather than fill a form for it.
- ×Embedding the MindBody widget unstyled — feels like a different website mid-funnel.
- ×Forgetting trainer bios — they're the #1 trust signal for boutique studios.
- ×One-page sites for multi-location gyms — kills 'gym near me' rankings.
KPIs to align on
- ✓Intro-offer signups
- ✓Cost per lead
- ✓Class booking conversion
- ✓Member LTV
- ✓Local 'gym near me' rankings
Frequently asked questions
What should a gym or fitness website brief include?
Booking platform integration, membership and pricing strategy, trial-offer funnel, instructor profiles, multi-location and local SEO plan, plus the lead-acquisition cost target the site is being judged against.
MindBody, Glofox, PushPress — which is best for the website?
MindBody has the largest ecosystem but the least flexible widgets. Glofox is friendlier for boutique studios. PushPress and Wodify dominate functional/CrossFit. Pick based on what the gym already uses and confirm widget customisation before quoting.
Should we show membership pricing on the website?
Yes, in nearly every case. Hiding pricing increases form fills but tanks lead quality. The exception is high-end personal training (£500+/mo) where pricing belongs behind a consultation.
What's the most important conversion event on a gym site?
Intro-offer claim or trial-class booking. Everything else — about page, instructor bios, schedule — should funnel toward it. If a visitor leaves without claiming the intro offer, they almost never come back.
Run this brief for your next fitness & gym client
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