What do you look for in a gym website?

[Andrew Green]

Guys, looking for some advice.

My coaches aren't in a financial situation to pay someone for a website and tried to do it themselves. The result was a jumbled Westside MMA - Home

It irritated me because it wasn't too user friendly. I tried to make a simple page to get what was important across. What do you think? (test page) www.kickboxingandbjj.com

My biggest issues with the old one were the instructors, programs, and schedule pages. Too many people put three pages of info of a program, and people really don't want to hear that. So I tried to make it concise and informative.

The news page is giving me issues, but other wise, does it get across what you'd like to see? What's missing/too much info. Trying to think of something good for the front page, ideas?

Thanks! XOXO

Here's a few tips, part SEO, part making it work


Your home page should be:
http://www.kickboxingandbjj.com/Westside_MMA/
Fix any links too http://www.kickboxingandbjj.com/Westside_MMA/home.html

And add some content too it. That main page is the most important page on your site, and it has no content at all. A picture is good, but search engines don't make anything out of them, so you need some text (which uses your keywords & phrases)

You have no offer, and no lead capture. Throw up a free trial of some sort and a box for people to enter their contact info in.

Separate the programs into there own pages, add links to them on the main page and add that offer & lead capture to each page.

If a potential member comes to your site the first and most important questions is What do you do, and why should I do it?" News, schedules, instructors, etc. None of that matters until you can get them wanting to do one of your programs.

Not sure what your target market is, but looking at your main page I don't see any kids, or any women, chances are someone looking for a program for either of those groups is gone before clicking another link.

And finally, spend the money, it's worth it. A good website will get you a steady stream of leads, a poor one will sit and stagnate. But don't just grab a random designer, find someone that actually knows the industry. Also look at some of the common features schools that are really successful with their websites have. The way things are worded, the offers they use and the way they try and get your contact info. (hint - a box that says "join our newsletter" and asks for a email is useless)

And one more thing - keep in mind you are asking the wrong people here, pretty much everyone here already belongs to a school. Your website should be aimed at people that don't

 

[Fedorzilla]

Great improvement. The use of the table for the schedules is huge and the new page is much cleaner.

If a potential member comes to your site the first and most important questions is What do you do, and why should I do it?" News, schedules, instructors, etc. None of that matters until you can get them wanting to do one of your programs.

Not sure what your target market is, but looking at your main page I don't see any kids, or any women, chances are someone looking for a program for either of those groups is gone before clicking another link.

I think this is solid advice. Just putting links to a "Women's Program" and "Kids program" on the splash page using the pictures as your links with a header would probably help streamline their introduction to relevant offerings.

And one more thing - keep in mind you are asking the wrong people here, pretty much everyone here already belongs to a school. Your website should be aimed at people that don't

Well, I think there are also relocating people who want to have the information on the instructors, schedule, etc. and they want the place to look legit. However, per the above, guiding new and unfamiliar people so that they can immediately see what they want is definitely a smart move.

 

[MMA_Fan]

Hillary, I am a web programmer by trade, and I do have a few recommendations for you.

Given the market trends for monitors, I would recommend that you go wider. The used space is only 700px wide. You should create a site at least 960 wide which would be supported by 1024x768 monitors. That would also help you with the spacing issues for the navigation menu. That said, monitors are beginning to go wider. I use Google Analytics in my sites to track these type of trends, and currently 86% of my users are on wide screen monitors using a resolution of at least 1280 wide. This means that the content of your site is barely more than half of my screen.

Seconds is the color scheme. The site is very light. Black text on white is very good for reading, but it would be helpful to frame that information so only the center column (usually the width of the header graphic) is so light. Try a darker texture on the sides.

Lastly, I noticed that the first link you sent (westsidemma.com) is using an open source CMS. This is a good route to take for a site like this. I would HIGHLY recommend Wordpress. It takes a little work to remove some of the items that you don't want to be displayed for a more static website, but it will have some out of the box functionality which you are missing with a standard HTML site, such as the NEWS page which you mentioned is giving you trouble. If you decide to take this route, you can Google information on using Wordpress as a Website.

If you have questions, please feel free to PM me on here.

 

[Bmurph]

Well, a sense of humor is really important. Also, being confident is sexy. I won't lie and say that looks don't matter at all either because there's gotta be some attraction.

Wait, what was the question?

 

[HomerPlata]

To be honest, both sites do the job. I mean, who honestly here would look at a gym's website and not join based on the quality of the web design? As long as the info is there (details of instructors, location of gym, opening times), it's all good, right?

 

[Hillary]

Something on the front page like:

"Welcome to Westside MMA, Arkansas' first true Mixed Martial Arts gym. Whether you're looking to fight, get in shape, or find a disciplined and fun place for your child, Westside has the program for you. Stop by for a free class today and let our team of instructors introduce you to a great new sport!"

Ugh sounds cheesy but it's good for new people I guess.

 

[Cricket]

I'd say pics are super important...any time I look at another school's website and there's a ton of text and little to no pics of the gym/classes, I always wonder what they're hiding or if their school is a dump

 

[KaosX]

Hillary, I am a web programmer by trade, and I do have a few recommendations for you.

Given the market trends for monitors, I would recommend that you go wider. The used space is only 700px wide. You should create a site at least 960 wide which would be supported by 1024x768 monitors. That would also help you with the spacing issues for the navigation menu. That said, monitors are beginning to go wider. I use Google Analytics in my sites to track these type of trends, and currently 86% of my users are on wide screen monitors using a resolution of at least 1280 wide. This means that the content of your site is barely more than half of my screen.

Seconds is the color scheme. The site is very light. Black text on white is very good for reading, but it would be helpful to frame that information so only the center column (usually the width of the header graphic) is so light. Try a darker texture on the sides.

Lastly, I noticed that the first link you sent (westsidemma.com) is using an open source CMS. This is a good route to take for a site like this. I would HIGHLY recommend Wordpress. It takes a little work to remove some of the items that you don't want to be displayed for a more static website, but it will have some out of the box functionality which you are missing with a standard HTML site, such as the NEWS page which you mentioned is giving you trouble. If you decide to take this route, you can Google information on using Wordpress as a Website.

If you have questions, please feel free to PM me on here.

Good advice. While I' not a programmer I'm in IT and I chose wordpress to build my review site on and just modified a theme to fit my needs.

Drupal is another one, but not as much documentation as WP.

 

[Andrew Green]

Given the market trends for monitors, I would recommend that you go wider. The used space is only 700px wide. You should create a site at least 960 wide which would be supported by 1024x768 monitors.

Sort of, they are going up and down. Desktop monitors are getting wider, but mobile devices and netbooks are becoming more and more popular, and often have lower resolution.

For a single column going to 960 isn't necessary IMO, just makes the lines too long which effects readability.

Drupal is another one, but not as much documentation as WP.

Wordpress is good, Drupal is far too complex for a simple site and has a far steeper learning curve. Even Wordpress requires some learning, at least more then a WYSIWIG editor that I believe was used for this site.

 

[[Tycho?]]

Honestly both are fine to me. I do like to see prices listed, but I know lots of gyms don't do that. I usually just use a gym website to check the schedule.