Alright, in the last part of this series we talked about the fundamentals of digital marketing in theory.
In this article, I’m going to walk you through the process of setting up your website in a way that will ensure your visitor knows how to take action and knows what service you’re offering.
P.S. If you already have a website keep reading – this article serves as a great tool for cross checking your work and self-auditing. You can also request a free audit by reaching out through our contact form.
Alright, here’s what we’ll be looking at:
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Introduction
As we mentioned in the last part of the series, your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential customers. Whether you already have a website or are planning to create one, it’s crucial to ensure that it’s well-structured and optimized for success.
Side Note: A lot of and gym owners have asked us which website platform to use. Our self-serving answer is our own platform but we’ve also written an article on that topic if you’re interested. For the sake of this article we’re going to be focusing on WordPress, so if you’re using another platform your process will differ slightly.
The Basics
Select A Domain Name
Your domain name is just your online address – like yourcompany.com. You buy a domain name through a domain registrar (we recommend Godaddy).
The domain costs an annual fee, usually in the neighborhood of $20, which ensures that nobody else can use that domain.
Once you have purchased the domain, it’s time to get a hosting plan.
Selecting a Hosting Provider
Picking a hosting provider can lead you deep into a price shopping nightmare without any real clear standard or idea of which option is better.
If you’re doing it yourself and not using our platform, here are two options that should make for an easy choice.
- WordPress.com ($25-40/month) – WordPress.com offers a hosting plan that’s rock solid if you’re not overly concerned with rock bottom pricing. We recommend getting the Business plan, though, so you can install the plugins / add-ons you’re going to need.
- Siteground ($17.99/mo) – Siteground is a reliable host with a good user experience if price is your main concern. They also usually offer steep discounts for first year pricing as well.
Install WordPress
If you’ve chosen WordPress as your platform, install it on your hosting server. Both WordPress.com and Siteground offer one-click WordPress installations for your convenience.
Once you’ve installed WordPress, you’ll be asked to set up a username and password, which you can then use to log in and administer your WordPress website.
Choose a Theme
Once you’ve logged in, it’s time to select a WordPress theme that aligns with your website’s purpose and aesthetics.
Themes can significantly impact your site’s look and feel and they vary widely in functionality and ease of use.
We recommend using a premium, paid theme like Avada ($69) or Kadence ($129 paid version), but you can also choose the Kadence free version with limited features, or any theme in the WordPress Theme Library by going to Appearance -> Themes in your WordPress Dashboard.
Install And Activate Theme
Once you’ve downloaded your theme, it’s time to install and activate it.
Pro Tip: Premium themes come with dummy content or dummy websites that you can one click install. If you want a really great looking website, I recommend finding one of the demo websites in these themes via the theme options and installing it. Then you just replace the images and content without having to figure out how things work too too much.
Then the theme will allow you to customize it to match your brand colors, fonts, and style, adjust settings, add your logo, and set up your homepage and navigation menus.
Further Reading
On of the great things about WordPress is that it’s supported by a huge community and there’s tons of information freely available online.
If you run into any road blocks, here are four options.
- Google It – Seriously, someone has probably had the same problem. P.S. Include your theme name in your google query if you’re working on a theme.
- ChatGPT It – If you haven’t used ChatGPT yet, here’s a great use case. Since WordPress is so well documented, ChatGPT can easily help with basic WordPress questions by searching the web for you and synthesizing an answer.
- Upwork – Hire a WordPress developer through Upwork.com. Not highly recommended, but if you’re willing to wade through some swings and misses, you can definitely find some knowledgeable and helpful freelancers there.
- Hire Us – Buy a done for you package or just pay for a consultation or two to get you off to the races. Reach out through our contact form for more info.
Alright, what’s next?
What Pages Do I Need?
Every martial arts gym website should have some fundamental pages:
- Homepage
- The homepage should introduce your business and provide an overview of what you offer
- It should also provide a clear call to action (what you want people to do – sign up for a free trial, join an email newsletter, call now, etc)
- Finally it should help users easily navigate to the part of the site that’s relevant to them
- About Us
- The about us page is an opportunity to share your gym/studio’s story, mission, and values.
- You’ll probably also want to list your instructors here!
- Programs / Classes
- What classes do you offer? What’s the class schedule?
- Contact Us
- Make it easy for visitors to reach out to you with a simple contact page. If you’re using Avada, you can use the built in form builder. Otherwise you can use a plugin like Contact Form 7 or WP Forms to build a simple contact form.
- Blog: If relevant, start a blog to share valuable content and engage your audience.
Copywriting
How to think like your customer
When creating content, it’s important that you put yourself in your customers’ shoes.
This is especially true on the home page, which is the first thing your customers on your site.
Instead of using language like “I’ve been teaching Yoga for 15 years”, use language like “I help women find inner peace through practicing Ashtanga Yoga” (your about page is the one exception to this rule).
Here’s a helpful formula for writing the home page headline:
I/We help __ do __ so that they can __ (optionally) without _.
Some Examples
- I help women learn jiujitsu so that they can defend themselves and feel more confidence.
- We help busy people get in a killer workout so they can stay in shape without wasting time.
Alright, you get the idea.
Instead of talking about yourself and how great you are, think about how you can address their pain points, needs, and desires. Use language that resonates with them and provides solutions to the problems they’re coming to you for.
How to think like Google
Thinking like Google probably isn’t a good thing in general, but when it comes to your website you need to think like Google to make sure your content gets found in the search engines.
In general you can optimize your content for search engines by conducting keyword research and incorporating relevant keywords naturally into your content, titles, and meta descriptions.
For martial arts studio owners that just means figuring out what customers are looking for in google – phrases like “martial arts in Springfield, Missouri”, “Crossfit gyms in Allen, Tx”, etc, are being searched all the time… and if you want your gym to show up you have to use that exact language in your website copy, and ideally in your heading tags (h1s, h2s, etc).
For more information about how to get more traffic to your gym site via SEO checkout this article.
Imagery
High-quality images can make a significant impact on your website’s visual appeal.
We highly recommend using professional photographs and graphics that enhance your content instead of stock imagery.
Paying a local photographer to come out and take pictures of a couple classes and having professional photos for your studio can definitely be a differentiator for someone who’s deciding between you and your competitors.
Calls To Action
Effective Calls to Action (CTAs) encourage visitors to take specific actions on your site. Include both primary and secondary CTAs strategically throughout your pages. For instance, if you’re selling products, your primary CTA might be “Buy Now,” while a secondary CTA could be “Learn More.”
Third-Party Tools
1. Google Analytics Integrate Google Analytics to track and analyze your website’s traffic. Gain insights into your audience, their behavior, and the performance of your content.
2. Facebook Pixel If you plan to run Facebook ads, implement the Facebook Pixel. It tracks user interactions on your website, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your ad campaigns.
Recommended Plugins
Form Plugins
Install a form plugin like Contact Form 7 or WPForms to create contact forms, subscription forms, or feedback forms. These plugins make it easy for visitors to get in touch with you.
Site Backups
Ensure the safety of your website’s data by setting up regular backups. Popular backup plugins include UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy.
Security Plugins
Protect your website from threats with security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri Security. These plugins offer features like firewall protection, malware scanning, and login security.
Conclusion
This concludes part 2 of our series on How To Convert Your Gym Website Into A Lead Generating Machine.
In part 3, we’ll talk about the most important tool in your digital marketing arsenal once your website is up and running – email marketing.
