Personal trainer website: what a UK PT site needs

Before someone books, they're usually asking themselves:

• Is this trainer for someone like me? A beginner, a new mum, someone over 60, a runner with a dodgy knee.
• Where do we train? Which gym, a studio, outdoors, or at my home?
• How much is it? Per session, in blocks, or monthly.
• When are you free? Early mornings, lunchtimes, evenings, weekends.
• Can I try it first? A consultation or first session.
• Are you qualified and insured?

If your website answers these, you'll get fewer "how much do you charge?" messages that go nowhere.

A new trainer can fit this on one page. What matters most is the first screen: who it's for, where, and the button.

"I help everyone get fit" is hard to remember. "Strength training for women over 40 in Truro" is easy to remember and easy to recommend. You don't have to turn other people away. Being specific on your website just helps the right people recognise themselves.

Name the places, too: the gym, the park, the towns you travel to for home sessions. If you train people at their homes, set up your Google Business Profile as a service area business (Google) and list the same areas on your website.

Many trainers hide prices to get people talking. In practice, plenty of people won't message to ask. Show at least a starting price, such as "Sessions from £X, or £Y a month for weekly training". If prices vary, say what they depend on.

Put your qualifications on your About page, with the full name of each one (for example, your Level 3 personal training certificate and any specialist courses). Say that you're insured. If you're on a professional register, link to your entry so people can check it.

Online booking saves you hours of back-and-forth messages. For a PT, look for:

• Bookable consultations for new clients, with a short form.
• Session packs and memberships, so clients can book against a block they've paid for.
• Your real availability, including time at different gyms.
• Reminders by email or text, so fewer sessions are missed.
• A cancellation rule you're happy to enforce, shown before people book.

"Personal trainer software" usually means coaching apps for programmes, check-ins and nutrition. Some include booking. If you mainly train people in person, you may only need a booking system and a simple way to share programmes.

Most trainers ask new clients to fill in a health questionnaire, such as a PAR-Q. That information is health data, which the ICO treats as "special category data" (ICO).

The ICO says that to use special category data you need a lawful basis, plus one of the conditions in Article 9 of the UK GDPR. Explicit consent is one of those conditions (ICO).

In practice:

• Use a secure form or booking system for the questionnaire, not a plain email.
• Explain in your privacy notice what you collect and why.
• Only ask what you need to train someone safely.
• Don't keep it forever. Delete it when you no longer need it.

This is a summary, not legal advice. The ICO's guidance has the detail.

Transformation photos are powerful, and the advertising rules apply to them. The ASA treats before-and-after photos in the same way as testimonials, and says marketers should have "signed and dated proof that the photos are genuine and have not been manipulated" (ASA). For testimonials, you need evidence that each one is genuine and contact details for the person who gave it (ASA).

So:

• Get written permission from each client, with the date.
• Don't edit the photos beyond basic cropping.
• Keep the client's contact details on file.
• Don't promise results such as a set amount of weight lost in a set time. If you quote a client's weight loss, the CAP Code says to state the period and not to use untypical results (CAP Code rule 13.10).

Ask clients for a Google review after their first block. A review that says "I'd never been to a gym and my trainer made it easy" does more for a nervous beginner than any claim you make yourself. Our Google review link guide shows how to get your link.

We design and set up websites for personal trainers and other small businesses, and we set up online booking with your rules, confirmations and reminders, starting with the system you already use.

• Website design for small businesses
• Online booking systems