It is important to ensure your website is up to scratch when running a CrossFit gym. The competition is growing rapidly and if your website isn’t cutting it, visitors will move onto the next one quicker than you can imagine. We’ve put together some essential tips (in no particular order…they’re all important!) so you can evaluate if your gym website is doing everything right.
1. Clean & User Friendly Design
Keep it simple. Overcomplicated designs are terrible for the user, so avoid building & designing your website yourself. Use a professional who understands the industry and the importance of user experience.
2. Call To Action (CTA)
A Call To Action (CTA) is an opportunity for you to offer something to the website visitor. This could be access to a free download or a free taster session. It’s important to make your CTA clear and prominent, usually on the homepage or in the menu.
Below, it’s clear what GAIN Fitness wants their visitors to do. The CTA appears in both the menu and at the top of the homepage, on both desktop and mobile screens.
3. Mobile Ready Website
Mobile views have definitely surpassed desktop views so it’s vitally important to ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Using a responsive framework for your website means it will adapt to fit all screen sizes ensuring the visitor receives the best experience.
4. Search Engine & Social Media Optimised
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a rather technical subject and it takes professionals years to master these skills, however, there are a few basic SEO rules to follow when setting up a website:
- Use short and descriptive URLs
- Set up title tags & page descriptions
- Create and submit a sitemap to Google (as well as other major search engines)
- Use one H1 tag and include your keyword
- Use the ‘alt’ tag on your images
- Install Google Analytics so you can track and monitor your traffic
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly…yes this is a ranking factor!
- Install an SSL certificate (https)…again this is a ranking factor!
- Make sure your website loads quickly, avoid budget web hosting
5. Adhere to the CrossFit HQ affiliation requirements
As explained on the Official CrossFit Website Requirements, affiliates must adhere to a few simple rules when using the CrossFit trademark. To be included on the online affiliate list & affiliate map finder, you must have a live website.
The most important things to implement are:
- Include a CrossFit Journal link on your homepage and link to the “Start Here” page. You can grab an easy to use graphic and link from https://journal.crossfit.com/badges Our advice is to include this in your footer so it appears on every page.
- If you don’t solely offer CrossFit as a service you must include a dedicated “CrossFit” page.
- Ensure your CrossFit affiliate name is in a prominent location.
- When using the word “CrossFit” remember to capitalise the “F”.
- Include the location of your CrossFit affiliate. We’d recommend certainly having this on your contact page and in your footer.
We hope you found this information helpful and if you’d like to find out more about how WEBWOD can help your CrossFit affiliate grow, please get in touch.