I’ve been building websites for personal trainers for some time now and I’ve been in the fitness industry even longer. One thing I’ve noticed when it comes to hiring a website designer is there are two types of people.
Which type of trainer are you?
The personal trainer who wants to build a website on their own. This might be due to financial reasons, they think they need a website but can’t afford one, or they have experience and/or success in building websites in the past.
The personal trainers who just straight up hire a fitness website designer and outsources the work. They have zero desire to do it themselves and they’re often aware that it ends up working out cheaper in time and money to get it done right the first time.
I make money from building websites so I’m supposed to say “you should always hire a professional to build your fitness website” but that’s just not true. There are times when you should and times when you shouldn’t hire a personal trainer website designer.
The personal trainers who just straight up hire a fitness website designer and outsources the work. They have zero desire to do it themselves and they’re often aware that it ends up working out cheaper in time and money to get it done right the first time.
I make money from building websites so I’m supposed to say “you should always hire a professional to build your fitness website” but that’s just not true. There are times when you should and times when you shouldn’t hire a personal trainer website designer.
1. Expertise
This, in my opinion, is the most important reason to hire a fitness website designer.
You’ve heard the story about the plumber who charged $200 for a single tap on the boiler, right? The plumber goes to fix a broken boiler, he looks around, runs his hand down the side and then gently taps the side of the boiler with a hammer.
When the bill comes, the customer is appalled by the $200 fee and asks for an itemised invoice.
When the itemised invoice comes back it says “tapping the boiler: $5. Knowing where to tap; $195”
You’ve heard the story about the plumber who charged $200 for a single tap on the boiler, right? The plumber goes to fix a broken boiler, he looks around, runs his hand down the side and then gently taps the side of the boiler with a hammer.
When the bill comes, the customer is appalled by the $200 fee and asks for an itemised invoice.
When the itemised invoice comes back it says “tapping the boiler: $5. Knowing where to tap; $195”
Expertise is everything. Especially when you can find out how to do almost anything on your own with a simple Google search.
The same is true for your website. Knowing what goes where and why can mean the difference between a successful site and one that just sits there like an ugly business card doing your business no favours at all.
When to do it yourself: If you have a basic level of web design, copywriting, SEO and marketing, what you need on a site, where it should go and why, you'll be able to build a successful website.
When to hire a fitness website designer: If you have zero knowledge of web design and your first Google search would be “how to build a website”, save your time and energy for other tasks that will bring on more revenue so you can afford to outsource later.
2. Money
I know, I know. It costs money to get a website designed by a professional.
But does it...
Let’s safely assume that it takes you 25 hours on planning, design, copywriting, SEO, layout and testing. 25 hours seems excessive but when you have no idea what you’re doing, trust me, the time goes.
But does it...
Let’s safely assume that it takes you 25 hours on planning, design, copywriting, SEO, layout and testing. 25 hours seems excessive but when you have no idea what you’re doing, trust me, the time goes.
Now let’s say you offer training at a modest $40/hour.
$40 multiplied by the 25 hours you’d spend on your site is $1,000. You can get a site built for $950 and still have $50 leftover for coffee.
Now you have a website and a coffee, without having spent a penny! I’m just kidding but you catch my drift.
It’s called Buying Back Your Time. The art of outsourcing tasks that cost you too much time, because you can make more money in that time than it costs to outsource.
When to do it yourself: If you can build a website for less money than you can make in the time it would take you to build the website, you should build it yourself. In other words, if you know what you're doing and you have the free time to do, crack on.
When to hire a fitness website designer: If it would take so much time for you to build it yourself that you could’ve spent that time on other forms of marketing, training clients and making more money, hire a professional.
3. Stress
Stress is something I emphasise a lot when I talk to new PT’s interested in my services. For me, business should be fun. Because let’s face it, you’re going to be in it for a long time. So if your website design is stressing you out, the stress can seep in to other aspects of your business and sometimes even your personal life.
You’re more than likely going to be up early in the morning and working until late at night, so the last thing you need on your plate is the frustration of trying to hook up your domain to your email provider, add a new testimonial or even embed a YouTube video on your website.
When to do it yourself: If, like me, you love tinkering with new bits of technology and new apps and figuring out how these things work is fun for you, you should build it yourself. You’ll have loads of fun.
When to hire a fitness website designer: If the idea of copying a piece of code and trying to find out where you should paste it in your website code would frustrate the hell out of you, perhaps you should hire out.
4. Professionalism
Now let’s not bash your competitors. Most of them are just trying to make a living like you and I. But let’s face it, if a potential client sees their crappy DIY site and your professional website side by side, guess which way they’re going to lean?
Don’t get me wrong, the design of your website will not be the deciding factor for your potential clients but according to a study by the Neilson Norman Group, good website design is a major trust factor.
The best way to think about this is to think about how you navigate the internet. You naturally favour professional websites over less professional websites, right. It’s just normal. Looks matter.
In fact, looks is why most of your clients come to you. It's only fitting that your site should look good enough to represent your business.
When to do it yourself: If your design skills are top notch and you’re confident you can give your website the professional look you want for your business, build it yourself.
When to hire a fitness website designer: If you have no idea how to relay your message through the use of colors, fonts, shapes, layouts, and more to deliver the message that best represents your business, hire a professional.
All in all, a fitness website designer can save you time, money and stress and help you build a personal trainer website that you're proud to have representing your business.
If you're ready to find out more about getting your own professional personal trainer website, get in touch and I'd be happy to chat :)
Don’t get me wrong, the design of your website will not be the deciding factor for your potential clients but according to a study by the Neilson Norman Group, good website design is a major trust factor.
The best way to think about this is to think about how you navigate the internet. You naturally favour professional websites over less professional websites, right. It’s just normal. Looks matter.
In fact, looks is why most of your clients come to you. It's only fitting that your site should look good enough to represent your business.
When to do it yourself: If your design skills are top notch and you’re confident you can give your website the professional look you want for your business, build it yourself.
When to hire a fitness website designer: If you have no idea how to relay your message through the use of colors, fonts, shapes, layouts, and more to deliver the message that best represents your business, hire a professional.
All in all, a fitness website designer can save you time, money and stress and help you build a personal trainer website that you're proud to have representing your business.
If you're ready to find out more about getting your own professional personal trainer website, get in touch and I'd be happy to chat :)
