Must-Have Elements for Your Wellness Website
Don’t leave these off your website!
Prefer to watch a video? I’ve got you covered with my companion video over on YouTube. Otherwise, keep on reading friend!
Whether you have a comprehensive multi-page website or a snazzy one-pager, if you don’t have some key elements included you’re missing an opportunity to put your best foot forward in setting up your site for success.
Let’s review these elements and why they are important to include in your website.
Your Homepage
First up is your homepage. It sounds obvious because every website has a homepage. But it’s also the most critical page of your website, so it’s crucial to set it up well.
This page is where you will grab your customers or potential customers and move them along the journey that you want to take them on. You want to share your story and your services and lead them where you want them to go, which is to book your services.
So what does this entail?
On your homepage, you want to ensure you're not overcomplicating it or including too much information. You want to structure it by thinking about your customer and the journey you want them to take.
Where do you want them to begin? Give them that snippet of information, and move them on to the next step. You need to grab their attention so don’t over-complicate it by giving them too many options or directions to go in.
Put yourself in their shoes and think ‘why are they here and where do I want them to go?’ Start there.
Make sure that your text (your copy) isn’t too wordy. You're not writing a novella. You're not trying to explain every detail about your services or yourself on your homepage. Give them enough information to get them interested and wanting to click the button to take them on the next step of the journey. Where they go further to learn more and eventually make that sale.
So to recap, your homepage needs to:
Be clean and organized.
Not use overly long copy/text.
Be simple.
Be short.
Keep the customer moving.
The About Page
When it comes to your about page(or section), the critical thing to remember is that your about page and your website as a whole, is that while they are about you, it's not about you!
It’s about you, but it’s not about YOU!
It's actually about who you serve. Who's your ideal client?
So while you want to introduce yourself and explain who you are and why you're qualified to provide the services that you do, you want to be doing this from the perspective of your ideal client.
How do you serve them?
How do you solve the problem that they're looking to you to help them with?
You need to make it about them as well.
Don’t write a long biography, or tell them your life story, or list every qualification or certification you've ever received. Write from a place where you speak to their problem.
For example, give them a scenario and explain how you can help them and why certain professional certifications you have enable you to help. Put yourself in their shoes and use their words so they recognize themselves in your copy.
Above all keep it simple. I’m going to say that all the time. Structure your copy into short paragraphs, maybe some bullet points. Make it easy to read, but make it about them. Describe yourself while making it about them.
And don't forget to include a photo of yourself! You should do this throughout your website. Wherever possible, make sure you've got a few photos of you doing what you do the best. People want to see your face, they want to know who's behind the website, and they want to make a connection. So whether you're a yoga teacher, a meditation teacher, a health coach, or a massage therapist, people want to feel like they're making a connection with you.
So you have at least some pictures of yourself, and they don't have to be expensive professional photographs! You can take some good photos using your phone!
The second thing about your about page is that while it can be a standalone page within your website; sometimes it's also a good idea to put a little snippet from that page in a section on your homepage with a button that says something like “learn more about me” that will take your viewers to your full-length about page.
It's not a requirement, but it's something to consider.
If you want to drive people to your about page or pique their curiosity, giving them a clear path is helpful.
Your Services/What You Offer
You must have a page or a section where you clearly list out what it is you offer. What are your services? Whether you're teaching classes or booking private appointments with people, you want to be able to show them how to find that information easily.
Your services/classes.
Your schedule.
Your prices.
How to book you.
You want your customers to have an easy journey through this process. You don't want to send them through multiple clicks to multiple different pages or different pieces of software or off your site. You want it to be as seamless as possible for them.
Make sure that your services, prices, and schedule are clearly represented and that they can just click to schedule or buy.
If you make them click through multiple pages with no clear path or end in sight, you're just going to wear them out and risk them losing interest in working with you.
Don't overcomplicate it for them or yourself because you also want to be able to keep that info up to date easily. And that is so important!
Whether you work at different studios, online, or within your own studio, don't make the mistake of just putting up a schedule and pricing and not keeping it updated. It won’t leave a positive impression!
Clear Calls to Action!
I mentioned this a little bit before, but when we want our customers to follow the journey we want to take them on, they have to click on a button or on a link to take them to the next step. That may be to other pages with more detail about your services, or a page to book with you, your about page, etc.
It's imperative that every single page of your website has clear calls to action or CTAs.
We’ve been focusing on the journey you want your customer to take as they're moving through your website. Each piece of that journey needs to have a clear call to action such as:
Book Now
Schedule an Appointment
Learn More
View Our Services
Whatever it is, you need to make it very clear to them what you want them to do next. If you don't, they can get confused, start poking around, or worse they'll get frustrated and leave. Remember, you don't have a lot of time to grab people's attention once they come to your website. So give them clear direction using that call to action!
Contact Page/Link
Be sure that there is a clear way for customers or potential customers to contact you through your website. How you do this is up to you and is dependent on your personal preference, the nature of your business, and how your website is set up.
In general, it's not necessary to have a full separate Contact page, but that is an option. Other options are a button or link in the footer that says “Contact” and sends them to a phone number or an email address or to a form to fill out. Regardless of your chosen contact method, it's important to give them an option if they need or want to contact you.
A Way to Collect Email Addresses
Finally, you need to ensure that your website has is a way to collect email addresses! Some may disagree with me and think “I don't want to do that I'm already getting email addresses through people booking appointments or classes with me.” That's fine, and that may work for you, but there’s something I’d like you to consider.
You might lose some potential clients, or shall I say future clients or customers who haven't booked a service, class, or appointment with you yet by not getting them onto an email list. You’re also leaving potential future income on the table. You want them on a list where you can communicate with them on a regular basis, allow them to get to know you, to nurture them so that potentially down the road, they become a client.
That’s a much better scenario than them visiting your site and thinking,
‘Well, I looked at your website, it's okay. I'm kind of interested in your stuff, but not right now. Maybe I’ll come back later.’
And then they leave. And maybe they remember you later on down the road when they're ready, and maybe they don't. Having a way to collect email addresses on your website gives you the opportunity to get that information and have regular contact with those potential clients.
It doesn't mean that you have to do it weekly or have some elaborate newsletter. But you do need to make some effort to at least monthly, go out there, and communicate with that email list. It's a great way to keep people up to date on your services, what's new or changing, or any sales or specials you may be having.
Start simple. The point is to be able to be in contact with these people to continue to let them know who you are, what makes you special, and what you offer, and engage with them so that eventually, they convert into a client.
There are several ways to do this.
You can have a newsletter block on your site asking them to sign up for your email list. But generally, it's also good practice to offer a free resource in exchange for their email. Maybe it's a quick checklist or meditation or video to download, or a link to an article or something you may have written.
It's up to you what you want to do. It's your business, it's your website. But not collecting emails is a surefire way to leave potential clients on the table that you may never see again.
And remember, having an email list, just like having a website, that's information that you own. So don't leave that in the hands of somebody else like another studio or practitioner’s office that you work for. Get that email list that you own of people who’ve expressed interest in you and your services and keep the communication open with them.
Your website, your business, and you are going to grow and change over time. You need to keep letting potential and current clients know what's going on. Keep them involved and feeling like they're a part of your business and part of your journey. And hopefully, they'll be coming along with you!
Okay, we covered a lot here, but I hope you found it helpful! If you already have a website go ahead and check and see if you have these elements in place, and if you don’t already have a site, bookmark this post to refer back to when you do launch your site!
If you have any questions, please let me know by leaving a comment!
