What a dance studio website needs

The facts here come from primary sources: the FTC's COPPA frequently asked questions and its questions and answers on the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, Google Search Central's event structured data documentation, Google's Business Profile guidelines, its help on bookings through a provider, the Maps user-generated content policy and the W3C's tables tutorial, all checked on November 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Where we give our own view, we say so.

The short answer

A dance studio website needs a class list sorted by age and level, a schedule on the page rather than in a PDF, registration and every tuition and fee written as text, a clear trial class offer, a season calendar with recital and costume dates, a short page for each teacher, a parent page that covers drop-off, dress code and photo consent, forms that collect information from parents rather than children, and a name, address and hours that match your Google Business Profile.

Classes by age and level

Parents look for their child's age first and the style second. Our view: sort classes by age group (for example 3 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 12, teens, adults), then list the styles inside each group (ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, acro). For each class, say the age range, the level, what a student learns in a season, how long a class lasts and what to wear.

Levels confuse new families. Say in plain words what "beginner", "level 2" or "advanced" means at your studio, and how a student moves up: by age, by a teacher's placement, or by an assessment class. If students need a teacher's OK to join a class, say so on the class page and give a way to ask for a placement. Keep adult classes on their own page, since adults rarely want to read through a list of preschool classes.

The class schedule as text

A schedule posted as an image or a PDF is hard to read on a phone and has to be replaced every time a class moves. Our view: keep the schedule on the page as text, by day, with the class name, age range, level, room, start and end time and teacher, and mark full classes. If your studio software has a schedule widget, check that it works on a phone and that a class can be booked from it.

If you build the schedule as a table, mark it up properly. The W3C's tutorial says "Header cells must be marked up with <th>, and data cells with <td> to make tables accessible", and explains that "People using screen readers can have the row and column headers read aloud as they navigate through the table." Our guides to the yoga studio schedule and the gym class schedule cover the same ground for adult classes.

Registration, tuition and fees

Price questions take up a lot of front desk time, so put every number on the site. Our view: list the registration fee, tuition per month or per season for each number of classes a week, family or multi-class discounts, the costume fee per recital class, any recital fee, and late payment or withdrawal rules. Write them as text, not as a picture of a price sheet, and say when tuition is charged and how a family withdraws.

Registration works best online, with the parent's details, the student's name and age, the classes chosen, emergency contacts and the studio's policies in one form. Our guides to form design, online booking and accepting payments online cover the form, the booking tool and taking card payments safely. Google's help says that once a supported booking provider is set up, "Your booking providers will show up on your Business Profile within a week", and "You can also add your own link to your Business Profile."

Trial classes

A trial class is often how a family decides. Say how to book one, which classes it covers, whether it is free or paid, and what happens after: a placement suggestion, a registration link, a discount on registration if you offer one. Our view: ask the parent for the child's age and experience when they book, so the teacher can place them well.

If you call it a "free" trial, put every condition right next to the offer, such as new students only or one trial per child. The intro offers section of our yoga studio guide quotes the FTC's guide on the word "free", including why an asterisk and footnote do not count.

Recitals, costumes and the season calendar

Recital season raises most of the questions. Our view: publish a season calendar with the first and last day of classes, holiday breaks, costume order and payment dates, picture day, dress rehearsal, recital dates and times, and the date tickets go on sale. Add a recital page that says which classes perform, what to bring, where to drop dancers off, how long the show runs and whether filming is allowed.

If you sell recital tickets online, read the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees. Its guide says the rule covers "live-event tickets", which "are for concerts, sporting events, music, theater, and other live performances that audiences watch as they occur", and that a business must "tell people upfront the total price they will pay". If your ticket seller adds a fee nobody can avoid, the FTC's examples show it belongs in the price people see first. Check with your ticket platform how it shows fees.

The recital can also appear on Google. Google's event documentation says "Each event MUST have a unique URL (a leaf page) and markup on that URL", and recommends "adding markup to your event posting pages instead of pages that list schedules or multiple events". If you run several shows, "add a separate Event element for each performance". Do not mark up regular classes or your opening hours as events: Google says "Don't mark business hours as events". If a show is canceled, Google asks you to keep the details and change the status: "update the eventStatus to EventCancelled". Our guide to local business schema covers the markup for the studio itself.

Teacher pages

Parents want to know who teaches their child. Our view: give each teacher a short page or section with a real photo, the styles and ages they teach, their training and performing background in their own words, and the classes on the schedule they lead. Get each teacher's OK for their photo and bio, and update the page when a teacher leaves. If you list training or certifications, list only ones the teacher actually holds.

Parent info, children's data and photo consent

A parent page saves your front desk a lot of calls. Our view: cover drop-off and pick-up rules, whether parents can watch class, the dress code and hair rules for each style, where to buy shoes and dancewear, what happens when a class is canceled for weather, and how the studio reaches parents (email, text, an app).

Children's privacy online is covered by COPPA. The FTC's FAQ says the rule applies to commercial websites "directed to children under 13 that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children", and to general audience sites "with actual knowledge that they are collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13". It also says a site "will not be considered 'directed to children' just because some children visit your site". A studio site written for parents, with forms that parents fill in, is the simpler setup. Our view: address the forms to the parent, do not add a kids' area, quiz or upload feature that collects anything from children, and if you are unsure, follow the FTC's own advice and consider "contacting an attorney or consulting one of the COPPA Safe Harbor programs".

Photos of dancers need more care than photos of adults. Our view, not a legal rule: ask parents for written consent at registration, with separate choices for the website, social media and ads, let them change their answer later, and do not put a child's full name next to a photo. Take a photo down when a parent asks. Who owns a photo is a separate question; our guide to website photos and image licensing covers that, and website privacy basics explains what your privacy notice should say about what you collect.

Reviews and your Google Business Profile

Many families pick a studio from Google. Ask every family for a review the same way, for example at the end of a session. Google's Maps content policy says merchants may not "Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review", or "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers", and "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises". So a free class or a costume discount for a review is against the policy. Our guide to reviews and testimonials on websites covers showing reviews on your own site.

Keep your hours the same on the site and the profile. Google's guidelines say "You may set special hours for holidays, temporary closures, or other events", which suits summer breaks, recital weekends and weather closures. Our guide to the Google Business Profile covers setting it up.

A short checklist (our view)

• Classes sorted by age group, then style, with level, length and dress code.
• A plain explanation of levels and how students move up.
• The schedule as text on the page, with full classes marked.
• Registration fee, tuition, discounts, costume and recital fees as text.
• A trial class offer with every condition next to it.
• A season calendar with breaks, costume, picture day, rehearsal and recital dates.
• Recital ticket prices that show the total, and one page per show if you use event markup.
• A page or section for each teacher, with their OK.
• A parent page, forms addressed to parents and written photo consent.
• Reviews asked for the same way from every family, with no rewards.

Yoga studios, gyms, martial arts schools, music schools and photographers have matching guides in what a yoga studio website needs, what a gym website needs, what a martial arts school website needs, what a music school website needs and what a photography website needs, and the website content checklist covers the pages every site needs. If you would rather have it built for you, our website development service builds custom WordPress and static websites made to load fast, rank well and be easy for your team to edit. See all our services.

Frequently asked questions

Should a dance studio website show tuition prices?

Our view: yes. List the registration fee, tuition for each number of classes a week, discounts, costume and recital fees as text, and say when each is charged and how a family withdraws.

Does COPPA apply to a dance studio website?

The FTC says COPPA applies to sites directed to children under 13 that collect personal information from them, and to general audience sites that knowingly collect it from children under 13. A site written for parents is not directed to children just because some children visit. If you are unsure, the FTC suggests an attorney or a COPPA Safe Harbor program.

Can we post photos of students on our website?

Our view: only with written consent from a parent, given at registration with separate choices for the website, social media and ads. Leave out children's full names and take a photo down when a parent asks.

Can our recital show up in Google's event results?

It can be eligible if it has its own page with event structured data. Google wants a separate page for each event, a separate Event element for each performance, and no markup on regular classes or opening hours.