Put one page called "CPR classes" on your site. Say who the class is for, what it teaches, when and where, what it costs, what the student gets at the end, and how to sign up. Be plain about the card: say whether you give one, and from which organization. Do not promise a certification your instructor cannot issue.
Start with the words a resident types
Nobody searches for "community CPR education program." They type "CPR class" and the name of the town. So name the page "CPR classes" and open with one line a stranger can act on: what the class is, who may come, and the next date.
Say what kind of class it is
There are two very different things that get called a CPR class, and residents cannot tell them apart from a flyer. One is a short Hands-Only session for the general public. The other is a longer course for people who need a card for work.
The American Heart Association describes Hands-Only CPR as two steps for a teen or adult who suddenly collapses: call 911, then push hard and fast in the center of the chest. Its own Hands-Only CPR fact sheet is worth linking from your page, so you do not have to retype the steps and risk getting one wrong. The same material says compressions with breaths are still recommended for infants and children, so if you teach those, say that is a different class.
I am not a CPR instructor and this post is about the web page, not the technique. Teach what your certified instructor teaches, and let the page say so.
The seven parts of the page
| Part | What it answers |
|---|---|
| 1. Who it is for | Anyone in the community, or members only, or a workplace group. Say any age limit. |
| 2. What it teaches | Hands-Only for adults, or adult, child and infant. One line each, no jargon. |
| 3. Next date and place | The date, the start time, how long it runs, and the station address. Typed text, not a picture of a flyer. |
| 4. Cost | The price, or the word "Free." If there is a fee for the card, say so apart from the class. |
| 5. What you get | A completion card, a certification, or knowledge only. Name the organization that issues it. |
| 6. How to sign up | A form, an email, or a phone number, with the seat limit and the deadline. |
| 7. Who to ask | One named contact and the hours they answer. Add "If it is an emergency, call 911." |
Be careful with the card
This is the part most likely to cause a bad afternoon. A nurse or a daycare worker who needs a card for a job will read "CPR class" and assume the card counts. If your class gives a department certificate and not a recognized provider card, say so in plain words on the page. If the employer decides what counts, the honest line is "Check with your employer first."
Make the sign-up work on a phone
Most people will find the page on a phone. A sign-up that is a scanned paper form does not work there, and a screen reader cannot read it at all. Use a short online form, or an email link that opens a message with the class name already in the subject line. Label every field with words, not only a placeholder inside the box. If you post a flyer image for sharing, put the same date, time, place and cost as typed text on the page, so nothing lives only in a picture.
Link the sign-up with words that say what it is: "Sign up for the October CPR class", not "click here". Google's own link guidance asks for link text that is descriptive and relevant to the page it points to, and a screen reader user hears the same words when links are read out as a list.
After the class
Change the page the week the class is over. A page that still says "next class: March" in October tells a resident the department does not look at its own site. If the next date is not set, write "No class is scheduled. Email us and we will tell you when the next one opens," and keep the email link. Move the old date to a short list of past classes if you like, or delete it.
Do this this week
- Decide what kind of class you teach and who your instructor is.
- Find out what card or certificate, if any, the class gives, and from whom.
- Make or fix one page called "CPR classes" with the seven parts above.
- Link the AHA fact sheet instead of retyping the steps.
- Make the sign-up work on a phone, with a label on every field.
- Put the page in your main menu and link it from your Facebook posts about the class.
Why I am writing this
I build websites for fire departments, so I would like you to have a good one. A CPR class page does not need me. Any page you can edit will do. If your site is hard to edit or nobody has the login, that is the gap I fill. For a related page that answers a question residents ask, see what a smoke alarm request page should say.