01
Why the domain matters
A booking link on the vendor’s domain works until the club changes vendor. Then every saved bookmark, every printed poster, and every link in a group chat points at a page that no longer belongs to the club. A link on the club’s own domain survives the switch: the club changes where it points, and players notice nothing.
It also tells players who they are dealing with. A booking page at the club’s address, with the club’s name and colours, is the club’s page. The same page at a vendor’s address is an app the club uses.
02
How the DNS record works
The club owns a domain, usually the same one as its main website. The booking site lives on a subdomain, such as book or play. The club adds one DNS record at its domain registrar that points that subdomain at the booking vendor. The vendor verifies the record, issues a TLS certificate so the site loads over HTTPS, and the booking page answers at the club’s address.
Whoever manages the club’s website usually has the registrar login. The record takes a few minutes to add and up to a day to be visible everywhere. Nothing about the main website changes.
- Log in to the domain registrar or DNS provider
- Add one record for the chosen subdomain, with the value the vendor gives you
- Wait for the vendor to verify the record and issue the certificate
- Open the address on a phone off the club wifi to confirm it loads over HTTPS
03
What changes for emails and receipts
Once the domain is active, the confirmation emails, reminders, and receipts should carry the club’s name and link to the club’s address. A player who books at the club’s domain and receives a receipt from a vendor’s name will wonder whether the payment went to the right place. Check one full booking after the switch: confirmation, reminder, and receipt, and read each one as a player would.
04
Choosing the subdomain
Pick a subdomain that fits on a poster and is easy to say over the phone. Book and play are the common choices. Avoid anything with a hyphen or a number. Once chosen, it should not change, because every printed item carries it.
- One short word, no hyphens or numbers
- Easy to say at the desk and over the phone
- Consistent with the club’s main website address
- Chosen once, before anything is printed
05
Checks before you send the link
Before the link goes on a poster, open it on 3 devices, on mobile data rather than wifi, and complete a real booking with a real card. Check that the address bar shows the club’s domain throughout, including on the payment page and the confirmation. Then cancel the booking inside the window and confirm the refund arrives on the card. Only after that does the link go out.
06
What it does for search
A booking page on the club’s own domain builds the club’s presence in search, not the vendor’s. Over time, searches for the club’s name and its sport in its town land on a page the club controls. Keep the main website and the booking site linked in both directions so search engines and players treat them as one club.