6 Tips to Build a Fitness Website That Can Maximize Online Traffic

Building a fitness website for your studio can be a great way to share your knowledge and passion with others—and build a community of like-minded individuals. So what are the key steps to creating a fitness website, including selecting a platform, designing your website, and publishing content?

First, building a fitness website is an exciting and rewarding way to share your expertise with others in the boutique fitness space and those interested in learning more about fitness, wellness, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Whether you are a personal trainer or studio owner, a branded website can help you reach a wider audience and connect with people, prospects, and potential and existing clients. 

A website can elevate your studio and increase conversions by streamlining the booking experience, raising brand awareness, and reducing questions (and first-timer intimidation) through relatable, intuitive education. And while building a website might seem like a big undertaking—especially if you’re new to website creation—we’re breaking down the six tips and essential steps so you can build a fitness website that is both functional, beautiful, and effective. 

Prioritize your fitness niche

The first step in building a fitness website is choosing your niche. You want visitors to know what type of fitness studio you are and what content you want to share.

• Weightlifting: If you specialize in weight training, you could create content on different lifting techniques to complement your classes and schedule, workout plans, and nutrition advice for strength training.
• Yoga: If you're a yoga studio, you could publish videos and visuals on different poses, sequences, and meditation techniques—and tease out experiences, like courses for beginners. 
• Pilates: If you’re a Pilates studio, use your site as an opportunity to illustrate and explain the type of Pilates your studio focuses on (Lagree, mat, etc.) and target industry-specific keywords to capture traffic. 

Choosing a niche will help you to create targeted content that will appeal to your target audience. It will also help you to establish yourself as a thought leader and authority in your fitness space.

Determine a domain name and hosting

The first step in building a fitness website is to choose a domain name and hosting. Your domain name is the address people will use to access your website, so choosing a name that is easy to recall and relates to your brand is advised.

Once you have chosen a domain name, you must select a hosting provider. There are many hosting providers, so do your research and find a provider that meets your needs and budget. Look for reliable uptime, fast loading speeds, and good customer support.

Select a platform

The next step in building a fitness website is to select a platform. There are many platforms to choose from, but some of the most popular options include:

• WordPress: WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that allows you to create and manage your website. It's a great option if you want full control over your website's design and functionality.
• Squarespace: Squarespace is a website builder that offers a drag-and-drop interface and a range of templates. It's a great option if you want a website that looks professional but don't have much technical experience.
• Wix: Wix is another website builder offering various templates and a drag-and-drop interface. It's a good option if you want to create a website quickly and easily.

And with studio management software like Walla, you can easily upgrade and access a branded, built-in website that syncs seamlessly with our technology and platform without using a third party. Our intuitively designed, mobile-friendly website templates will showcase your studio brand and give your clients the best booking experience. Plus, the backend is super easy to edit, so your content can be updated and stay relevant in real time, with no experience needed. 

Design the website

Once you've chosen your platform, it's time to design your website. Start by selecting a template, customizing the design, and adding your content. When looking at a template, choose one that reflects your studio niche and brand. For example, if you're creating a yoga website, you might choose a calm and serene template with a lot of white space.

When designing your website, consider the user experience and how you want to customize your online presence. Try adding your logo, changing colors, and selecting fonts. Your website should be easy to navigate, visually appealing, and optimized for mobile devices. Multimedia elements like images and videos will make your content more engaging. With Walla, we will take the guesswork out of branding and best practices with templates highlighting your brand and content, helping you maximize online exposure and stand out against your competition. 

Strategize and publish content

Creating high-quality content is the key to building a successful fitness website. Remember that your content should be informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. And that’s why it’s valuable to understand what your prospects and clients want to read. Consider building studio user personas to help guide your published content to increase engagement and encourage more bookings.

When creating content, use search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to help your website rank higher in search engine results. This includes adding keywords to your content, optimizing your website's structure and meta tags, capitalizing on a local business schema, and building high-quality backlinks to your website. Some potential types of content you might create include:

• Workout plans: Create detailed workout plans for your audience to follow, complete with exercises, sets, and reps and link out to related classes, enrollments, appointments, and courses 
• Nutrition advice: Offer advice on healthy eating habits, share recipes and create meal plans for different fitness goals.
• Blog posts: Write blog posts on different fitness topics that apply to your fitness vertical and can benefit your client's workout routine and lifestyle. 
  
  

Market your website

Once your website is up and running, you need to market it to attract visitors. You can use many marketing strategies to promote your website, such as social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine marketing. 

• Social media marketing involves promoting your website on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also use paid advertising on these platforms to reach a wider audience.
• Email marketing involves collecting email addresses from your website visitors and sending them newsletters and other promotional materials. This can be a great way to keep your audience engaged and informed about your latest content.
• Search engine marketing involves using paid advertising on search engines such as Google and Bing
  
  

​Create a community

Finally, you’ll want to build a community around your studio website to engage with your clients and keep them coming back for more. This can involve creating a forum or message board where people can share their experiences and ask questions or hosting live events such as webinars or meetups. Building a community can also involve collaborating with other fitness studios and influencers to cross-promote each other's content and expand your reach.