How Often Do You Need to Redesign Your Fitness Website?
Depending on how long your website has been up and running, there comes a time when a website redesign is in order.
In fact, one of the most commonly asked questions I get from clients or potential clients is asking how often they need to redesign their fitness studio website.
The short answer: You need to redesign your fitness website every three to five years.
Now, you might be thinking, wow, didn’t I just spend a bunch of money on my website a few years ago?
Yes, you would have made an investment when you initially had your website built. But that initial investment doesn’t mean your website will function well and do what your business needs it to for time immemorial.
So, how do you know if it’s time for a website redesign?
Let’s break it down.
Quick fixes can cost more in the long run
Over time, things on your website will need to be updated. And while adjustments and updates are necessary as your business grows (this is why I recommend an easy-to-manage platform like Squarespace)— when those updates turn into band-aids covering up real problems & old technology it’s time to consider a different approach. The truth is, it’ll often cost more in the long run to keep patching an old website than if you had just embarked on a website redesign project.
Things like outdated software can greatly affect the performance of your website, so sometimes it makes far more sense to hire a professional to do a good clean-out and restructure. Ensuring your SEO is optimized properly is another thing that needs to be revisited over time, which isn’t something that simply creating a fresh new look on your website will sort out.
How can you tell if it’s time for a website redesign or if your website just needs some clean-up maintenance and TLC?
First, let’s break down the elements of a good website. Once you identify the thing that’s feeling off, that will help you determine how to fix it.
Here are the key elements:
Platform technology: Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, etc.
Content: Text, images, videos.
Design: Colors, photos, fonts, texture, layout.
Functionality: How people book, buy and engage with you.
SEO: Does it get found for core services + location search queries?
Fitness website design vs website maintenance
Like so many things, the world of website design has trends that come and go. What looked cool five years ago may look dated now.
On top of that, businesses evolve, so what you needed in a website a few years ago may have changed.
A great website will achieve a balance of strong design and functionality, so that should be the goal at all times.
If you have a significant amount of digital clutter and starting fresh feels easier and less time-consuming than sorting through it all, then it’s definitely time to consider a website redesign.
Think about it like cleaning out your closet. It’s far more effective to pull everything out of the closet and make intentional decisions about what will go back in versus trying to move things around piece by piece. The end result is a much more tastefully curated wardrobe that serves your needs!
Other things to consider when thinking about a website redesign:
Has the technology has changed significantly since your site was built? (see the section below if you use Squarespace)
Have your services or clientele changed significantly, and your content hasn’t kept up?
Has your brand changed significantly? This can be either your visual brand or brand messaging.
Does your website look dated and/ or are things broken on it that you don’t know how or cannot fix?
Has your business accumulated a great about of digital clutter and it’s time to purge, re-evaluate and start fresh?
Sometimes, a tuneup or refresh will be more appropriate than a full fitness website redesign. Some indications of this may include:
You’re on the latest version of your website platform already.
You’re switching scheduling software but otherwise your site is good.
You’re adding or refining services
Your brand messaging has evolved and you need to update the copy on your site.
You’ve added new content but haven’t been diligent about keeping with brand standards.
Still not sure whether you need a redesign or a refresh? Consulting a web designer can help you make a plan. Book a digital strategy call so we can chat!
Is it time to move your website to Squarespace 7.1?
In 2020, Squarespace released the current version (v 7.1). While I’m all in favor of letting early adopters work the bugs with any new platform, it’s time to be on the newest version of the platform and redesign that website!
Here are just a few reasons:
It’ll save you time adding new pages OR money if you’re hiring a designer.
It’ll force you to ‘clean out that closet’ and deal with the digital clutter that’s built up over the years. (there’s no direct migration path, so you’ll need to intentionally decide what goes and what gets ditched). A good web design process will guide you through re-evaluating what’s working and what’s not working on your current site as well as how your site performs in search results.
It’ll automatically give your business a modern update. There’s something to be said about upgrading and updating your customer-facing assets. It shows you care, and your studio is forward-looking.
Squarespace 7.1 also has plenty of improvements worth noting including:
Index pages are replaced by single URLs. The massive web of index page URLs is a headache not only for you to manage but is hard for Google to see and rank your best content. 7.1 removes index pages in favor of a cleaner page structure that allows for long-format page designs to all happen with one URL.
Auto-layouts make it easier to display and update content collections. You can display testimonials in carousels, create service previews in neat, orderly grid layouts, etc. The auto-layout feature makes the design much less fussy.
More built-in design options let you change color schemes and background colors with the click of a button. In v7.0 this used to take A LOT of extra CSS code. The more custom code we use on sites, the slower it gets and the harder it is to make adjustments. With the new version, none of that is needed!
Your fitness studio website redesign: get the support you need
When people come to me to talk about doing a fitness website redesign, there’s a quote from Paul Scrivens that always comes to mind —
“Don’t redesign just to do something new, redesign because you have a better answer to the question.”
A fitness website redesign should be done with purpose, and working with a skilled designer will help ensure you’re focusing on the right things and not doing stuff just for the sake of it.
Whether you’re still sitting on the fence trying to decide if now is the right time for a fitness website redesign or if you’re ready to get your project underway, Pixality Design can help.
You can learn more about our Fitness Website Design services right here, or check out our Sitemap and Search Strategy Package.
