How to create a fitness membership application: the complete guide

In many gyms, memberships are still tracked in a register or a spreadsheet, group classes are booked by message and coaches’ programmes circulate as photos. It all works while the gym stays small; then forgotten renewals, missed due dates and overcrowded classes pile up.

A fitness app brings these uses together. Members renew their membership, book their place and follow their progress; coaches publish their programmes; the manager sees who is enrolled, who comes in and what sells. Here is what to plan to build it.

01Who a fitness app is for

Each profile has its own space and rights. Separating them from the start prevents a member from seeing another member’s data, or a coach from changing prices.

• The member: they manage their membership, book classes, enter the gym and follow their programme from their phone.
• The coach: they run classes, prepare their members’ programmes and follow their progress.
• The gym manager: they set plans and prices, organise the schedule, and follow attendance and sales.
• The front desk team, if the gym has one: they check entries, sign up new members and take payments on site.

02The essential features

1. 01
   Membership and renewal. Monthly, quarterly or annual plans, single sessions or class packs: members see their due date and renew from the app. A freeze option covers long absences.
2. 02
   Class schedule and booking. Each class has a capacity. When it is full, a waiting list takes over, and a cancellation rule frees places in time.
3. 03
   Entry control. As an option, a QR code shown on the phone is scanned at the door. It is only valid if the membership is.
4. 04
   Coach programmes. Sessions made of exercises, with sets, reps, rest times and demonstration videos.
5. 05
   Progress tracking. Weight, measurements, loads and attendance: members measure their progress, coaches adjust the programme.
6. 06
   Shop. Supplements, accessories and clothing, to collect at the front desk or have delivered.
7. 07
   Notifications. Class reminder, cancelled class, membership about to expire, new items in the shop.
8. 08
   Payments. Online or at the front desk, with history and receipts in the member’s area.

03Member area and coach area

The same product serves two very different audiences. Members want speed: their next class, their QR code, today’s session. Coaches need a working tool: the list of their members, each person’s history and a programme editor quick enough to use between two classes.

Both areas can live in the same app, with different screens depending on the account, or in two separate apps. The first option is simpler to maintain; the second makes sense once the coaches’ work becomes richer.

04The gym manager’s back office

This is the gym’s control tool. It replaces the register and the spreadsheet, and gives a reliable view of activity:

• members: profiles, current memberships, due dates and attendance;
• plans: prices, durations, promotions and freeze conditions;
• the schedule: classes, rooms, capacities and assigned coaches;
• coaches: accounts, classes run and members followed;
• the shop: products, stock and orders;
• statistics: attendance by time slot, renewals and sales.

For the shop side, Codex built the LEVVA GYM app, with an integrated shop, collections and product highlights.

05Payment and local specifics

Payment habits weigh on the design, especially for renewals.

• in Algeria, cash at the front desk remains common, as does cash on delivery for the shop; online payment by CIB or Edahabia goes through an approved provider;
• elsewhere, an approved local payment provider handles cards and, if needed, automatic renewal;
• when a member pays at the front desk, the membership is activated in the back office and the app updates immediately;
• the interface comes in French and Arabic, with a right-to-left layout, and in English depending on the clientele.

06Native or cross-platform?

Members use Android as well as iOS: a cross-platform approach such as Flutter or React Native covers both from a shared code base, while the back office stays a web application. The article native or cross-platform app details the criteria, and the Codex mobile development service explains the approach.

07A useful first version, then improvements

Memberships and a schedule that work perfectly are better than an app that does everything halfway. A reasonable first version includes:

• memberships, their due dates and renewal;
• the schedule and class booking with capacity;
• the coach area for programmes;
• the back office for members, plans and the schedule.

Then come the QR code at the door, the shop, finer progress tracking, challenges between members or the management of several gyms.

08Mistakes to avoid

• launching booking without a cancellation rule: places blocked by no-shows discourage everyone else;
• installing entry control without planning for a connection failure at the door;
• giving coaches a tool that is slower than paper;
• forgetting, in the renewal journey, the members who pay at the front desk;
• publishing the app on a store account that is not in the gym’s name.

09What changes the budget

The cost follows the scope, not a standard rate. The deciding factors:

• the number of plans and how complex the membership rules are;
• booking with capacity, waiting lists and penalties;
• entry control and the equipment at the door;
• the shop, its stock and its delivery;
• the number of gyms and languages.

Codex draws up a detailed quote after the scoping workshop. To arrive with your plans and rules already written down, rely on the article writing a project brief.

10The steps with Codex

1. 01
   Discovery. A workshop on your plans, your schedule and your coaches. You leave with a clear scope, a delivery schedule and a detailed quote.
2. 02
   Design. The member journey, the coach’s tool and the back-office screens. Every screen is approved before any code.
3. 03
   Development. Short sprints with a demo at each step, and tests on the sensitive cases: full classes, expired memberships, payments.
4. 04
   Launch and support. Publication on the stores in the gym’s name, training for the front desk and the coaches, then maintenance and new features.

Read next: how to create an e-learning platform, useful for offering video sessions too, and how to create a services app in France.

11Building it with Codex

Codex is a software studio founded in Algiers in 2014. More than 15 engineers and designers build products in French, Arabic and English, and the team has built more than 20 products in-house. The source code, the accounts and the data stay in your name. See the published projects and the certificates of completion.

No office is added locally. The work starts from Algiers (Cité 440 Logements, Ain Malha, Djasr Kasentina), Doha (Building No. 157, Street No. 301, Zone 69, PO Box 8388) and Marseille (Rue de la République, 13002).