It’s no surprise that the fitness industry is growing at an incredible rate. When you look at gyms and health clubs, personal training services, Yoga studios, sports equipment sales, personal sports coaches, and other similar businesses, it’s clear that this industry virtually has a non-existent ceiling.

If you’re considering getting into the fitness industry – or already are in the industry but need help growing – then you probably want to think about building your online presence. Namely, you’ll want to begin by designing a compelling website that clearly conveys value and experience to your target market.

How to Create a Successful Fitness Website

5 Things to Think About

There’s a lot to think about when building a website. While this is by no means a comprehensive guide, you’ll definitely want to think about the following:

1. Pick a Theme

The first step is to start with a theme. Unless you plan on hiring a designer to build a website totally from scratch, this is your best option. There are a number of free template options specifically designed for businesses in the fitness niche, but you don’t think you’re limited to these. Sometimes the best templates are ones that are actually designed for a different purpose. For example, this theme is designed for business, but could easily be used for a fitness company.

2. Think About the Visuals

While choosing a theme, you need to be thinking about the color scheme and visuals. Here’s an interesting fact. Did you know that red and yellow, while incredibly warm and striking, have actually been linked to increased urgency and appetite ? Not exactly what you want on a fitness site. Keep little nuances like this in mind when you select images, colors, and other visual elements.

3. Create Valuable Content

While today’s websites are becoming increasingly visual and minimalistic, you can’t forget about the most important element – quality content. After designing the site, you must turn your attention towards crafting compelling content that draws your users in and pushes them through the conversion funnel. The design may catch a customer’s eye, but it’s the content that encourages them to stick around for more. In addition to strategic site copy, make a commitment to launching a blog and regularly populating it with relevant posts.

4. Make Contact Easy

What’s the purpose of your website? You need to have an answer to this question. For most companies – unless you’re directly selling products or services online – the goal of the website is to encourage visitors to reach out or visit the storefront. And in order to seamlessly transition users away from your site and towards your business, you need a carefully designed contact page. Specifically, you have to make contacting you easy. Providing multiple options – including phone numbers, email addresses, directions, and even live chat options – will increase your conversion rates.

5. Drive Traffic with Local SEO

A website is only as valuable as its visitors. If you put two identical websites side by side and one gets 1,000 visitors per month while the other gets 10 visitors per month, the first one is clearly more valuable. In other words, traffic is of supreme importance. Make sure you’re focusing on search engine optimization (SEO) – and local SEO in particular. While rising to the top of the search rankings is definitely an uphill battle in competitive industries, it’s something you need to do.

Make Your Website a Priority

In 2016 and beyond, one thing is clear. Websites must be a priority for businesses in the fitness industry. Whether you own a gym that sells memberships or an online sports equipment store, your website is what attracts and converts people into customers. Think about these things and get started sooner rather than later.