The 5 Biggest Website Mistakes That Are Costing You Clients

As a fitness enthusiast, I’ve frequented many fitness professional and boutique studio websites. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve wanted to drop everything mid-search to redesign that site. 

It makes sense. Entrepreneurs in this industry are scrappy. You’re figuring out how to do so many things on your own or even creating something nobody’s done before. 

But if you’re going to run a professional business, you need a professional looking website. Which is why I want to help you recognize the biggest website mistakes I see that could be costing you clients so you don’t make the same mistakes. 

 

Poor quality photos

If we’re listing the quickest ways for someone to leave your website, this one comes first. Professional photography is an absolute must. Nothing says you don’t take your business seriously, like photography that is pixelated, poorly lit, or badly edited. It’s the first thing people see when they come to your website, so while I of course think the layout, design, and copy is important, they’re not even going to get to that if they see your photos and click away. 

 

Not Listing Your Services

It’s actually shocking that this is ever happening, but if you want people to work with you, you have to tell them the EXACT ways in which they can. I’ve often realized much too late that a favorite group class instructor taught 1:1 sessions because it wasn’t listed on their website. You can’t expect people just to think of ways they want to work with you. You have to tell them what you offer. 

 

Too Much Copy (With No Hierarchy)

Designers often push for less copy. We think people don’t have the attention span to read it all and too much can clutter up a clean space. This is true, IF the copy is poorly written, has no hierarchy, or the layout has no white space. As long as the copy is written well, I don’t mind a long form sales page. But if the user doesn’t have space to breathe between paragraphs or there’s no clear distinction of sections they’ll feel overwhelmed and leave. 

 

Testimonials On A Single Page Or Carousel

I’ve talked about this in a previous post, but testimonials are one of the best elements of a website when used strategically. Proof from a past client could be exactly what a potential client needs to decide to work with you. But if they have to actively look for testimonials or click through to see them all, they might miss them. We want to make it easy for people to learn just how great you are, right when they’re thinking about clicking that “book now” button or filling out your contact form. That placement is key.

 

No Strategic Flow

The main goal of most websites is to sign up/contact you for your services, right? It’s probably NOT to have someone read one page and leave. In order to get someone to the stage of signing up they’ll need to consume your website content- things like learning more about you, what your services are, maybe some blog posts to see what kind of knowledge you’re sharing. In order to absorb all this content they need to be encouraged to move from one page to another. If they get to the bottom of a page and a new piece of content isn’t suggested to click over to, they might just leave. Or they might not get everything they need to know to be persuaded to book your services. 

 

Are you doing any of these things? No shame. We all have to start somewhere, but take this opportunity to make sure you’re showing up properly for the business you want. Have big goals and dreams? Let’s get your website to reflect that. 

If you’re looking for some help in fixing any of these mistakes, check out my site shop (coming September 2020), with website templates designed specifically for fitness professionals. Or reach out to me to chat about a custom site.

 

 

 

You might also like:

• Features To Include On Your Website As A Fitness Pro
• Action Steps For Moving Up No Matter Where You’re At In Your Fitness Career
• Why I Use Showit With All Of My Clients