The search is usually a parent on a Sunday evening: “kids karate near me”, “taekwondo for 5 year olds”, “boxing club” and the name of the area. What they want to know is the age the children’s class starts at, the days and times, whether the first class is free, what the child needs to wear, how much it costs a month, and whether the coaches are Garda vetted. A separate search comes from an adult who has not exercised since school and wants to know if a beginners class exists and whether they will be thrown in with the competitors. Websites for martial arts clubs in Dublin have to talk to both.
Parents decide on safety and times
A parent reads the page looking for reasons to trust you with their child. Put the coaches’ names and grades, their Garda vetting and safeguarding training, and the club’s child protection policy where they can be found. Put the children’s classes by age band, with the days and the times, and say what happens on the first night: arrive ten minutes early, wear tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt, the coach will talk to you after.
Photographs of children in class only go up with written consent from each parent. The mats, the hall, the coaches, the trophies and the adult sessions carry the page without them.
Adults need the first night explained
The adult beginner is nervous and will not ring. Tell them nobody spars in the first month unless they want to, that they do not need a gi or gloves yet, that fitness comes with training, and that there is a women’s class on Wednesday if you run one. One honest paragraph here fills a beginners class better than any offer.
Fees, gradings and the gi
List the monthly fee, the family rate, the pay-as-you-go option if you allow it, the cost of the gi or uniform and the gloves, the grading fee, and the annual licence or insurance paid to your governing body. Nobody likes discovering a grading fee in month three. If fees are paid by standing order, say so and give the details after enquiry, not on the page.
The hall is half the problem
Most clubs train in a community centre, a school hall, a GAA club or an industrial unit with a side door. Google often has the pin on the wrong building or on the centre’s own listing. We set up the club’s own Google Business Profile with the right pin, the right hours for the nights you train, and a line about which entrance to use. The guide to getting on Google Maps covers why clubs so often do not appear.
The club year
September and January are the intakes, when the parents’ search happens and the beginners class fills. Gradings fall at the end of each term. Summer camps in July take a week of planning and a page of their own. Bank holiday Mondays and the Christmas break need a line on the page, because the WhatsApp group announcement reaches only the parents who did not mute it. The edit page lets you post “no training Monday, back Wednesday” from your phone in under a minute.
Bring us these
The timetable by age group and level, the fees and what they cover, the trial class policy, each coach’s name, grade and vetting status, the hall address and which door, your style and governing body, and a dozen photos of the mats and the adults training. If you cannot send photos we will come to a session and take them. A short checklist of the basics any club page needs is in what a small business website should include.
What a club pays
A club mostly needs to be found, understood and contacted, which is Essentials at €499 to set up and €50 a month: the site, the .ie domain in the club’s name, the Google listing, the enquiry form and the edit page. Complete at €1,499 and €100 a month makes sense when you want fees paid online, trial classes booked rather than emailed about, and review requests after gradings. Both plans are on the pricing page. Outside Dublin the first chat is a phone call and the rest works the same. A commercial gym has a different shape, which we cover on websites for gyms.