A bowling centre site should show when lanes are actually open to the public, what an hour costs, how to book or whether to walk in, party packages in full, leagues, and food.

What the site is actually for

A bowling centre website serves three very different visitors. A parent on a wet Saturday wants to know whether the family can bowl this afternoon and what it will cost.

A league bowler wants the schedule and the standings. A parent planning a birthday, or an office organising a team night, wants to know what a party includes and whether the date is free.

Most of them arrive on a phone, often in the car or on the couch, and most want a yes or no within a minute.

The site's work is to settle those questions without a phone call, and to keep families from driving over on a night when every lane is taken.

Who visits, and what each needs

The first group is the largest and the most often let down, because open bowling hours on most sites describe when the doors are open rather than when a lane is free.

Open bowling hours, honestly

On league nights, leagues can fill most of the lanes from early evening until late. A family arriving at seven on a Tuesday finds the doors open and nowhere to bowl.

Publish a weekly grid showing when lanes are open to the public and when leagues have them. It is the single most useful page a bowling centre can have.

Add holiday hours well ahead, especially for spring break later this month, when the afternoons are busiest.

Put the hours in text, not in a picture of the price board. Text can be read on any phone and found in search.

Prices people can work out

Bowling prices come in several shapes: per game per person, per lane per hour, shoe rental on top, different rates for children and seniors, and different prices at different times.

Show them as text, with an example: what an hour costs a family of four with shoes on a Saturday afternoon. That one line answers most phone calls before they happen.

Mention the extras people worry about: bumpers for small children, lighter balls, and a ramp that lets a child or a wheelchair user roll the ball.

Five-pin, ten-pin or both

Many Canadian centres, particularly in BC, offer five-pin bowling, a Canadian game played with a small ball that has no finger holes. Others offer ten-pin, with the heavier ball most visitors from elsewhere expect.

Say plainly which you have, and if you have both, which lanes and at what times.

A sentence explaining five-pin helps newcomers and visitors from other countries, and it reassures parents: the ball fits a child's hand.

Booking a lane, or walking in

Some centres take lane bookings online, with real availability and a deposit. Others take them by phone. Either works if the site says which.

If you take phone bookings, give the hours when the phone is answered, since calls on a busy Saturday often go unanswered.

If walk-ins are welcome, say when waits are likely: league nights, Friday and Saturday evenings, rainy weekends. A line saying call ahead on busy nights saves a wasted drive.

A worked example

A five-pin centre with twenty-four lanes in a suburban plaza had a website with a home page, a price list in a PDF from two summers ago, and a contact form.

Leagues filled most lanes from Monday to Thursday evenings. The site did not say so, and families kept arriving at seven to find an hour's wait.

The front desk took the complaints. It also took the party calls: parents phoning to ask what a package included, then again to book, then again to change the number of children.

The rebuilt site has an open bowling page with a weekly grid of public and league times, prices in text with a family example, and three party packages listed in full.

Party enquiries now arrive through a short form: date, time, number of children and package. On busy nights the home page says call ahead.

Parties without phone tag

A birthday party page should answer everything a parent asks before booking: what each package includes, how long it lasts, the price per child, and the minimum number.

Then the details that cause last-minute calls: when to arrive, whether there is a party room, whether outside cake is allowed, the deposit, and what happens if numbers change.

Corporate and group bookings need the same treatment with different facts: capacity, food and drink options, private space and a contact who answers.

Leagues and how to join

League bowlers are the centre's regulars, and new ones are always needed. List each league by night, level and type: youth, seniors, adult mixed, daytime.

Give the season dates, the weekly cost and how to join, including mid-season as a spare. A short form suits people who decide in the evening, when the desk is busy.

If standings are kept elsewhere, link to them from this page.

Food, drink and the lounge

If you serve food, put the menu on the site as text, with prices. Party parents want to know what the children will eat; league bowlers want to know whether they can eat at the lanes.

If there is a licensed lounge, say who can use it and when, so families know whether children are welcome there.

The counter-case

A small centre with eight lanes, no leagues and steady walk-in trade does not need an online booking system or a page of party packages to start with.

It still needs the basics on a phone: hours when lanes are open, prices in text, the phone number and whether to call ahead.

Larger centres can add online booking and party forms over time, as the phone calls show where the questions are.

Whatever the size, the site should answer the family's question first: can we bowl when we want, and what will it cost.

What to build first

  1. Publish a weekly grid of public and league times.
  2. Put prices in text with a family example.
  3. Say five-pin, ten-pin or both clearly.
  4. List party packages with everything included.
  5. Add a party request form with date and numbers.
  6. Give each league its night, cost and sign-up.
  7. Post holiday and spring break hours early.

Step one is the one that saves the most disappointment. It turns hours that describe the building into hours that describe the lanes, which is what a family needs to know.

Booking for groups who decide late in the evening is covered in what an escape room website needs.

Frequently asked questions

What should a bowling centre website show first?

When lanes are actually open to the public, what an hour costs, and whether to book or walk in, all readable on a phone in under a minute.

Why publish league times on the website?

Leagues can fill most lanes on weeknight evenings. A weekly grid of public and league times stops families driving over when nowhere is free.

How should bowling prices be shown?

As text, not a picture of the price board, with an example such as an hour for a family of four with shoes on a Saturday afternoon.

Should the site explain five-pin bowling?

Yes. Say whether you offer five-pin, ten-pin or both. A sentence on five-pin, with its small ball and no finger holes, helps newcomers and reassures parents.

What does a party page need?

What each package includes, length, price per child, minimum numbers, arrival time, the party room, cake rules, the deposit, and what happens when numbers change.

Does a small centre need online booking?

Not to start with. A small centre with steady walk-in trade needs hours, prices, the phone number and whether to call ahead, all clear on a phone.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Families arriving on league night?

Send us your league schedule and price list. We will turn them into pages a parent can read on a phone.

Start a Conversation