5 not so obvious,expert tips for your yoga website
Welcome to this mega specific to-do list for your yoga/pilates/PT/Fitness website.
It’s just not helpful for me to say “you need a website”, “tell people about your classes”, “get a booking system” etc. The big differences come in having your website work really well.
We need to get a bit more clear on what the things are that drive buying decisions - and help that potential customer pick you over another class near you. And that pals, isn’t the obvious stuff.
Let’s get started!
We want to know what is on when…
There is NOTHING on this earth more infuriating that wanting to buy a service and finding it basically impossible to find basic information so you can decide if it is even something that may be an option for you.
Just today, I was looking for a new dog groomer for With Pride Pup, Layla. I opened up Google, tapped in “Dog Groomers in Bicester” and got nowhere. 1 website was totally down for building a new site - without any useful information on costs, availability or how to get in contact. 2 more didn’t show prices, what the set up was… It was hugely frustrating not having basic answers given to me. Like I’m going to sit here phoning multiple people. Just no. A complete hour later, I finally found a groomer who had useful information on their website. So I’ve booked in with them.
This is exactly how your yoga clients feel if they land on your website and there is essentially zero information there.
So to stop this from happening you want to make sure that it’s mega easy for visitors to your site to find basic information about your classes - namely, what you teach, when, where and how much it is. They also want to know what they’re seeing is totally up to date and reflective of what you’re doing right now.
My personal checklist when I design websites for yoga teachers is this:
Always have a Booking Page that shows a weekly timetable view - so the next dates, sessions and location is all clearly displayed.
Here's a great example of getting the basics right; by me for Yoga Nic in Dunfermline.
You might even want to add a section into your Footer a summary something like this:
Class Hours
Group Classes: Monday & Wednesday evenings. Full timetable here [link to your booking page]
1:1s: By appointment on Thursdays. Enquire here [add a link]
Last Updated DD/MM
This lets people know what they’re seeing is actually up to date - as so many small business websites just aren’t. You can also expand this to having a note when you’re on holiday as well i.e. “Christmas closure is X date to Y date”.
2. Location, Location, Location (& description)
I used to teach yoga in a little village called Ambrosden, just outside Bicester. Now, you think it’d be pretty easy to find a village hall in a small village… wouldn’t you? Well, no it really wasn’t.
There were signposts on the main road pointing to where the hall was, but the hall was really sat back from the road. Plus, there were no signs on the front of it. Or lights. On a dark night it was basically impossible to find (unless you knew exactly where you were going).
That was stressful AF for clients coming to see me; and put them in a bad mood before they’d even set foot through the door. They weren’t having the A* experience I wanted them to have.
Fitness teachers run classes in venues like this all the time! So, what can we do to make things even easier for our customers?
Give them landmarks and descriptions. Always.
I added in to my session descriptions - “Opposite Post Office” and also linked to my Venues page which had a more detailed description i.e. Turn right into XYZ road, the entrance to the hall is directly opposite the Post Office and The Hair Lounge. If you go past the shops, you have gone too far.
For extra brownie points, you could even add in a specific location link from What3Words. That’s great as it gives your client a specific 2m square part of the world to aim for.
An example of the Class Locations page from Lianne Marie's Website. Built by me, of course.
3. Travel, parking & CLASS logistics
If you’re teaching sessions and hiring a venue people are going to need to get to you - so you need to consider parking and how they’re actually going to get from where they are, to your class. Plus, give them a heads up on what to expect on arrival.
It’s really helpful to add in some notes to your site that explain these basics - as it can be a huge source of stress especially for someone coming to something new for the first time.
Something like this example from my own (now defunct, sad times!) yoga website:
Travel, Parking & Class Logistics
Ambrosden Village Hall
BY CAR:
Has a car park directly at the front of the Hall for 20 cars - this is more than the capacity of our class, so you will easily find a space.
BY TRAIN:
The nearest train station is Bicester Village. This is about 25 minutes on foot.
BY BUS:
The closest bus stop is on Ploughley Road.
You can also extend this to cover accessibility information like step free access, accessible toilets, toilet premises in general and if you are able to offer accommodations like chairs for your sessions.
You could also link to this information from your Booking Confirmation emails, so people have everything they need to hand.
4. Set the scene of what to expect IN YOUR SESSIONS
It is really helpful for someone new coming into a yoga, pilates or fitness venue to know what to expect on arrival. It puts them at ease immediately, plus it gives plenty of useful information to aid that process of thinking about buying from you to actually doing that.
Here’s some ways to do that really nicely:
Take some photos of how you typically set up the space.
That’ll explain roughly how many your maximum capacity is, the space between mats/people in the session, what props or equipment you typically provide as a short description.
Have that information in a panel on one side, directly next to the image.
Something like “The maximum number of students in class is capped at 12 and you will have ample space between mats. I provide blocks, straps and blankets so you can customise your practice. I leave an area at the bottom end of the hall for shoes, coats and bags to limit trip hazards and keep clear access.”
Have an actually useful FAQs section on your Class information page.
It’s no good having this as a separate FAQ page - it needs to be there, with the information about your sessions. Your client is there scrolling, reading and a question pops into their mind… BOOM you’ve already answered it.
Good ones to start with:
”What do I need to bring to my class?”
”What should I wear to my class?”
”Do I need my own mat?”
For another Brucie bonus, you could collate all of this into a Blog article tailored for your area.
Blogs are fantastic for boosting SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and traffic to your website - and you can again direct new clients to that resource. You can do this automatically by setting up a marketing automation for when someone books for the first time, send them a welcome email - and include that article for them to read.
5. Get a question FREQUENTLY? Make it into a blog (and social posts and newsletters)
If someone is asking you a question you can bet your bottom dollar another potential customer is thinking the exact same thing. Use that opportunity to get more eyes on your expertise in an way that doesn’t date - BLOG IT and have it on your website in perpetuity.
I always think these conversations with real life customers have a huge impact and can help you shine amongst the sea of other people doing similar things. You look professional, expert and it differentiates you when you share your unique lens. Plus, gets a lot of eyes on what you’re doing.
I once wrote a blog about pain in the heel of the hand prompted by a client conversation and it got me at least 500 visitors a month to my site. Every month. For about 3 years. It works.
Plus, if someone is on your site reading for ages - it also helps you rank a lot higher on the ol’ Google. Create a collection of articles about Starting Yoga (for example) and link to other blogs within it and keep people reading for longer.
And it also makes your marketing job a lot easier. Be guided by these questions and then create different variations of that article for your newsletter, and your social channels too.
That’s all I have for today! I hope you’ve enjoyed this whistle stop tour through these less obvious website tips!
If you’d like help with your yoga or wellness website, marketing or branding or general business skills; I’m sure you’ll love my Instagram. There’s lots of great tips and chat there during the week. Follow along @withpridecreative.
