5 Components Your Fitness Website Must Have

The 5 Components Your Fitness Website Design MUST HAVE

Written by on August 30, 2017. Posted in Fitness Articles, Marketing Blog.

I’ve built quite a few fitness brands over the years, including one that I sold to another company. After working with gyms, fitness equipment manufacturers, coaches, and personal trainers, here are the five essential components I believe every fitness website needs.

The following are my recommendations and examples of the work I’ve done over the last few years.

#1: Call(s) to Action

The NUMBER ONE thing you need is a Call to Action. Without this, most of your effort is going COMPLETELY to waste. Why do you want people are your website? Even if you like giving away stuff for free, the real reason is because you have a service or product that will benefit them that you are willing to exchange for monetary gains (otherwise known as “to make money”).

Your call to action should be clear, consistent, and repetitive. There should be no confusion by the visitor about what you want them to do. Here are some simple and effective calls to action.

Sign Up for a Free Workout
Sign Up for a Product Discount
Schedule a Free Assessment
Join My Online Community (EXAMPLE)
Join My Kick-Ass Challenge (EXAMPLE)

#2: Contact Form and Information

This may seem obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many companies FORGET TO PUT THEIR CONTACT INFO. You’ve probably seen them yourself and been incredibly annoyed, especially when you want to give someone business and you can’t figure out how.

You should have multiple ways to let people get in touch with you, an obvious “Contact Us” page that is linked throughout the website, and if you’re a local business (meaning that you have a brick & mortar location or focus on local customers), your address and phone number should probably be listed on every page (preferably in the header for your phone number).

Here is a list of the contact information that should be displayed:

Telephone (both an 800 # and local phone)
Email Address
Physical Address (if you don’t have a location, at least put the city/state)
All Social Media Links
Contact Forms

#3: Downloadable Content

Do you ever wonder why people offer free ebooks? It’s to get your contact information (specifically your email address). If you offer a download that relates to the products/services you’re selling and someone is interested enough to give you their email address, chances are that you have a potential customer.

Setting up downloadable content doesn’t have to be complicated! It could be as simple as a contact form that redirects them to a page to download the document (I’ll show you how to do this on any WordPress website for free soon). Here are a few landing pages I’ve designed for my clients:

The ReHumaning Guide eBook by Alexander & Paige Dent
A Need for Speed Sprinting eBook by Franz Snideman
Move Your Mountain eBook by Donica Storino
The Next Level of Rolling eBook by Dermot McArdle
The Mystery of the 6-Pack eBook by Ben Higgins
Unlock Your Inner Superhuman eBook by Justin Tafoya
The Secret to Forever-Fit eBook by TJ Houske
10 Essential Tips for Your First Triathlon eBook by Jack Nunn
The Terrible 10 Workout eBook by Colin McGarty
Hardstyle Kettlebell Pro eBooks by Louka Kurcer
Natural Movement eBook by Rafe Kelley

#4: What You Offer (Specifically)

No one has time to “figure out” what you do. The reason that the internet is the future of business is because it allows consumers to browse as much information as they need to with zero commitment. The consumer is king, and they don’t have the time or attention span to research your company to figure out what you want them to buy.

So, how do you convey exactly what you offer and what you want the consumer to buy from you. You tell them, again and again and again. Make it loud and clear what you’re offering. There are a variety of ways to do this on your website. Here are a few options (all of which you should probably do):

Include links on your primary navigation bar (duh)
Include 3-5 links within your homepage
Include side banners whenever it makes sense
Include pop-up banners throughout the website (they’re not annoying, they’re effective)
Constantly post content that relates to what you’re selling (this is called Content Marketing)
Create dedicated landing pages for your core offerings

#5: What Your Focus Is (Specifically)

This is one of the hardest decisions you need to make when it comes to your website, especially when you get started. You need to be the “best” at something. Sure your methods can get ANYONE into ANY shape they want, but no one will believe that (and ultimately, that isn’t true).

The truth is that there is a specific service/product you offer that is the perfect fit for a specific group of people. Now, offline you can sell individuals on whatever you want, but online you can’t. Here is how I describe the situation to my clients:

My offline revenue comes from multiple services because I can customize my message to the small amount of people I am in direct contact with, while my online revenue comes from a single service because I have to focus a single message to an expanded audience.

For me, it’s online fitness brands. I’ve built lots of them (checkout my Fitness Industry Portfolio), I have direct experience building them (I own Mad Fit Magazine), and I understand fitness business owners, as well as the methods they use to get people in shape.

Here are a few examples of potential “focuses” that you can work with:

This product is perfect for physical therapists (EXAMPLE)
This product is perfect for group training outdoors (EXAMPLE)
This brand will teach you how to sprint properly (EXAMPLE)
This brand will show you how to use hardstyle kettlebell training (EXAMPLE)
This brand will show you how to move more naturally (EXAMPLE)
This brand will prepare you for triathlons (EXAMPLE)

Where Should You Start?

These features should be available on most website platforms, however, I do have a solution that I’ve customized specifically for the fitness industry, it’s called Mega Fitness Websites.

Alternatively, I wrote a book called Unconventional Training for Fitness Professionals that will show you how to implement most of these elements.