Joining a leisure centre online should feel easy. Familiar. Almost boring in how smooth it is.
That’s the standard people now expect. They book holidays, order food and sign up to subscriptions in a few clicks. Prices are clear. Options are easy to compare. Nothing feels hidden or complicated.
Yet many online joining journeys in leisure still feel like admin systems in disguise. Customers are asked for personal details before they even understand what they’re buying. Prices appear late. Information is scattered. Every extra step gives people a reason to leave.
If your online join process feels harder than buying something on Amazon, it’s quietly costing you members.
Most people come to your site with one goal: find the right membership and join quickly. They don’t want to hunt around for buttons or get lost in complicated menus.
Make sure your “Join Now” or “Explore Memberships” option is prominent, clear and feels safe to click from every device. The experience should invite them in, not push them through a maze.
How GladstoneGo helps
GladstoneGo puts membership options up front in a clean, search-friendly interface so customers can browse without logging in first. This reduces abandonment and makes paying feel easy.
Confusion kills sales. If someone doesn’t know what’s included in a membership—what facilities they’ll get, how classes work or what the price covers—they’ll click away.
Your online join page should clearly list:
How GladstoneGo helps
Go shows all relevant membership options with clear descriptions and prices before a customer enters any personal details. This aligns with how people shop online now and reduces hesitation.
Today’s consumers are used to paying quickly with cards or mobile wallets. Forcing them to register before they even see price breakdowns or payment options creates friction.
How GladstoneGo helps
GladstoneGo lets users see and select memberships without needing to log in or create an account first. That consumer-friendly approach mirrors modern booking and buying habits and lowers abandonment rates.
Hiding prices until someone logs in or fills in forms is like hiding the price tag until they’re halfway to the till. It makes people distrustful and creates unnecessary bounce.
Good practice is to show all pricing clearly with the membership information so visitors can choose with confidence.
How GladstoneGo helps
Go displays pricing early in the journey, making it easy for people to compare and select memberships without barriers.
Once someone hits “Join”, they want reassurance. No blank screens. No waiting. No uncertainty about what happens next.
Make sure your join flow leads to:
How GladstoneGo helps
Go wraps up the joining process with clear confirmation messaging and lets members see their status instantly. This builds trust and gets them interacting with your centre quickly.
Modern e-commerce is all about choice, clarity and control. Your join experience should be exactly that, not a form-filling checklist for your admin team.
Here’s what members expect today:
GladstoneGo is built for this kind of experience by putting the consumer first in the join journey, not admin friction.
This shift towards clarity and simplicity isn’t just about better conversion. It’s also where regulation is heading.
From spring 2026, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) will strengthen consumer rights around digital and subscription services, including memberships.
In simple terms, it expects organisations to:
In other words, the law is catching up with what consumers already expect.
Online joining experiences that hide information, collect admin data too early, or make it hard to understand commitments are heading in the wrong direction.
GladstoneGo was built around the idea that joining should be clear before it’s convenient.
It supports a modern, consumer-first join journey by:
This approach improves conversion and helps operators move towards a joining experience that is clearer, fairer, and better aligned with future regulation.
Better user experience and better compliance are pointing in the same direction.
Missed the webinar on DMCCA - catch up here
People don’t abandon online joining because they don’t want to join. They abandon it because the experience feels like hard work.
If your current join journey prioritises internal processes over customer clarity, it’s holding you back.
Modern online joining should feel:
GladstoneGo delivers that experience, helping you convert more visitors into members while future-proofing your approach as expectations and regulations evolve.
If your goal is to move away from clunky join journeys and towards a smoother, shopper-style experience, GladstoneGo is the natural next step.