What a martial arts school website needs

The facts here come from primary sources: Google's Business Profile guidelines, its Maps user-generated content policy, Google Search Central's event structured data and local business structured data documentation, the schema.org type SportsActivityLocation, and the CDC's HEADS UP pages on concussion basics and returning to sports, all checked on November 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Where we give our own view, we say so.

The short answer

A martial arts school website needs a page for each program by age group, a trial class offer with its conditions next to it, a page that explains the belt ranks and how testing works, the schedule as text, every membership, testing and gear fee written out, a short page for each instructor, a safety and parent page that covers sparring and head knocks, and a name, address and hours that match your Google Business Profile.

Programs by age

Most schools teach young children, older kids, teens and adults in separate classes, and visitors look for their own group first. Our view: give each program its own page, for example 4 to 6, 7 to 12, teens and adults, plus family classes if you run them. On each page, say the age range, the style (karate, taekwondo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, judo), what students work on in a typical class, how long a class lasts, how many classes a week you suggest and what to wear on day one.

Write the goals honestly. Parents of young children often look for focus and confidence; adults often want fitness, self-defense or competition. Say which of those each program actually trains for, and whether it includes sparring or competition at all. If a program is by invitation only, such as a competition team or a leadership class, say how a student gets invited.

The trial class offer

The trial is usually the main call to action, so put it near the top of every program page with a short booking form: the student's age, the program, any experience and a time that suits. Say what happens after the trial: a talk with an instructor, a membership offer, or nothing at all if the family is not interested. Our view: say up front whether you will follow up by phone, so families are not surprised.

If you call it a "free" trial or a "free" first week, put every condition right next to the offer, such as new students only, a uniform purchase, or an obligation to sit through a sales talk. The intro offers section of our yoga studio guide quotes the FTC's guide on the word "free" and explains why an asterisk and footnote do not count.

Belt and curriculum pages

New families often do not know how ranks work, and it is one of the first things they ask. Our view: publish one page that lists the belts in order, roughly how long students usually spend at each level, what a student has to show to move up (techniques, forms, sparring, attendance, behavior at home or school for kids' programs) and who decides when a student is ready to test.

Put testing on the same page: how often tests happen, whether a test is by invitation, what a testing fee covers (the new belt, a certificate, the instructor's time) and what happens if a student does not pass. Write every amount as text. A curriculum page per belt, with the names of the techniques and forms, helps current students practice at home; whether to put it behind a member login is your choice.

Belt tests and private gradings are not public events. Google's event documentation says "Events must be bookable to the general public. Events that require a membership, or invitation prior to purchasing the ticket or attending the event are ineligible for the event experience." Open seminars, tournaments you host and self-defense workshops for the public can qualify. For those, Google says "Each event MUST have a unique URL (a leaf page) and markup on that URL", and "Don't mark business hours as events". Regular classes stay on the schedule page.

The class schedule

Our view: keep the schedule on the page as text, by day, with the program, age range, rank level where it matters (for example white to yellow belts or advanced), start and end time and instructor, and update it the same day a class moves. A schedule posted only as an image or PDF is hard to read on a phone. Our guides to the gym class schedule and the dance studio schedule cover table markup and booking widgets, which work the same way here.

Memberships and fees

Price is the question most schools avoid answering online, and visitors notice. Our view: list every option with its price, including month-to-month, longer agreements, family rates, any enrollment fee, uniform and sparring gear costs, and testing fees. For each, say how long it runs, whether it renews by itself, and how a member cancels or pauses.

The website terms should match the contract. Membership rules for gyms and schools that sell physical instruction differ by state, and our gym guide's membership section walks through one state's rules as an example, including how cancelling has to be explained. Check your own state's rules before you publish contract terms; we do not repeat them here.

Instructor pages

Parents want to know who will teach their child, and adults want to know whether the instructor knows the art. Our view: give each instructor a short page or section with a real photo, their rank and style, who awarded the rank where your art records that, the programs they teach and how long they have taught. List only ranks, titles and certifications the instructor actually holds, and say plainly which ones are from your own school or association.

On Google, one Business Profile for the school usually fits best. Google describes an individual practitioner as "a public-facing professional, typically with their own customer base", and its examples are doctors, dentists, lawyers and agents. Keep the profile name to the school's real name: Google says "Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers."

Kids' safety and parent info

A parent page answers questions before they reach the front desk. Our view: cover drop-off and pick-up, whether parents can watch class, the uniform and gear list, when sparring starts and what protective gear it needs, how instructors handle injuries during class, and how the school reaches parents.

Contact arts can mean knocks to the head, and the CDC's concussion pages are worth linking from the safety page. The CDC says a concussion can be caused by "a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body", that "A child with a concussion needs to be seen by a health care provider", and that "Exposure to repeated head impacts increases the chance for concussions and other TBIs". Its return-to-sports page says an athlete "should only return to sports practices with the approval and under the supervision of their healthcare provider." Our view: state your own policy in plain words, for example that a student who takes a hard knock stops for the day, parents are told the same day, and the student returns only with a health care provider's OK.

Children's details and photos need the same care as on a dance studio site: forms addressed to parents, written photo consent, no children's full names next to photos. Our dance studio guide covers what the FTC's COPPA FAQ says and how we handle consent, so we do not repeat it here.

Reviews, Google Business Profile and schema

Many families pick a school from Google. Ask every student or family for a review the same way, for example after a belt test or at the end of the trial month. 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". It adds that merchants "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises". So a free class, a gear discount or a stripe 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 tournament weekends, testing days and holiday breaks. Our guide to the Google Business Profile covers setting it up.

For local business markup, Google recommends "the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible". Schema.org has no martial arts school type. Its SportsActivityLocation is "A sports location, such as a playing field", and the more specific types listed under it include ExerciseGym, HealthClub and SportsClub. Our view: SportsActivityLocation is the honest fit for most schools, or SportsClub if the school is run as a club. Our guide to local business schema covers the fields.

A short checklist (our view)

• A page for each program by age, with style, goals and what to wear.
• A trial class form near the top, with every condition next to the offer.
• A belt page: ranks in order, requirements, testing dates and fees.
• The schedule as text, updated the day a class moves.
• Every membership, enrollment, gear and testing fee as text, with renewal and cancel terms.
• A page or section for each instructor, with ranks they actually hold.
• A safety and parent page with your sparring, gear and head-knock policy.
• Forms addressed to parents and written photo consent.
• Reviews asked for the same way from everyone, with no rewards.
• Event markup only on public seminars and tournaments, each on its own page.

Dance studios, gyms, yoga studios and music schools have matching guides in what a dance studio website needs, what a gym website needs, what a yoga studio website needs and what a music school website 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 martial arts school website show membership prices?

Our view: yes. List every option with its price, any enrollment, gear and testing fees, how long each agreement runs, whether it renews by itself and how a member cancels.

Can belt tests show up in Google's event results?

Usually not. Google says events must be bookable to the general public, and events that require a membership or an invitation are ineligible. Public seminars and tournaments can qualify if each has its own page with event markup.

What schema type fits a martial arts school?

Schema.org has no martial arts school type. Google recommends the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible; for most schools that is SportsActivityLocation, or SportsClub if the school is run as a club.

Should we write about concussions on our website?

Our view: yes, on a safety page for schools with sparring or throws. Link the CDC's HEADS UP pages and state your own policy, for example that a student who takes a hard knock returns only with a health care provider's OK.