If you’re a health and wellness coach without a website, you’re missing out on one of the most important tools practices use to book new clients. Your website establishes your digital presence and is often the first online impression you’ll make with patients.
Without a website, your health and wellness business has virtually no chance of getting found by potential clients — and no clients mean no business.
Even Coaches With a Full Client Network Needs an Online Presence
Think you don’t need a website because you have a full list of potential clients from your professional and personal contacts? Guess again. Even clients from your local, in-person network need a place to book with you online, pay you, and connect with you. Having an attractive and user-friendly website positions you as an expert professional, keeps you and your clients organized, and broadens your opportunity to be discovered by new clients on autopilot.
Build Your Website: Our Step-by-Step Guide
If you're wondering how to make a website as a health coach, you're in luck. We're going to walk you through exactly how to build a website your clients will love, so you can launch it and start your online marketing journey for your health and wellness business.
Know Your Options
First, know that you have two options for creating a website for your health coaching business. You can hire a web designer or do it yourself. The method you choose to get your website online will depend on the time and cash you have to spend.
1. Have Your Website Built For You
This is the best option for health coaches who do not have the skills needed to build a website. It's also a good choice for busy coaches who do not wish to take the time to learn how to make a website. Here you have two options. You can hire an agency or hire a web designer and engineer separately. Let’s take a closer look at both:
A. Hire an Agency
Hiring an agency will guarantee you an excellent end product that allows new clients to find you and pay you. With an agency, you'll get a complete website build and custom design all in one. However, this type of project usually comes with a high price tag.
B. Hire Freelancers
Another option is hiring a website engineer and a web designer separately. The engineer will construct the site for functionality, and the web designer will tailor the design to meet the aesthetics of your brand.
It’s important to know this method will require some back and forth between the two professionals and yourself. Therefore, it will not be as seamless a process as hiring an agency. Budget can also come into play, as hiring a website designer and engineer can be pricey for a custom website. Marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr allow you to find numerous talented freelancers.
Build it Yourself
The most affordable solution is to build your own website. The benefits of building it yourself are that you can customize how the site looks, how pages are laid out, and how content flows through all the different sections of your website. Put simply, you have complete control over creating a user experience.
Here is a list of the top 5 platforms for building your health coach website:
- Wix
Wix is a drag-and-drop website-building software that makes it easy to create professional-looking sites without having to type a line of code. Wix offers hundreds of modern designs that come with photos and fonts so you can easily and quickly build a website. Wix websites also have e-commerce and marketing integrations, though you will still be responsible for driving traffic to your website once it is built. - Squarespace
Squarespace is another popular option for DIY websites. It's slightly more structured than Wix's drag and drop editor, and it's not quite as customizable as some other options on this list. Still, Squarespace is an excellent option because of its beautiful templates. You don't need much coding knowledge. However, you will need to have a marketing plan to get eyes on your finished website. Squarespace websites also have e-commerce integration. - Shopify
Shopify is built specifically for e-commerce. If you have lots of products to sell, this platform is worth taking a look at to determine if it’s the right choice for your health and wellness business. Shopify allows you to make an online store without being a web designer or needing to code.
You may find that Shopify takes a little bit of work and setup to get the site up and running, but it is made for the business owner who doesn't have technical knowledge. Like Squarespace and Wix, you'll need a marketing plan and budget to start driving traffic to your Shopify store once it's complete. - Sofia Health
Sofia Health is the simplest website builder on this list. There's almost no setup involved. Just fill out your custom information, and the website creates itself. Another advantage of using Sofia Health for your website is built-in marketing. Your Sofia Health website is automatically connected to a directory of health and wellness coaches where potential clients can find you. The platform makes it easy to create a listing for your services and get found. As a result, you won't have to worry about spending money on digital marketing. Best of all, Sofia Health allows you to create as many service listings as you like, so there's limitless opportunity to get found. - WordPress
WordPress is open-source software that powers most of the internet. It's an extremely innovative, highly customizable platform. However, to work with WordPress, you must have some coding knowledge to customize your website design. The other option is to hire a web designer or pay for an expensive WordPress theme to give your site the look you want. Ultimately, WordPress is best reserved for health coaches with some coding knowledge.
How to Make a Website Yourself
If you're looking for affordability without sacrificing functionality, there are options available to you. Building your website can be done with the right resources, even if you're a beginner.
This guide will walk you through the process of how to make a website on your own, so you can skip the web design bill and get the right to earn an income in your health and wellness business.
Understanding Website Components
Before diving in, let's talk about how websites are constructed. There are 3 main website components:
- Domain name
- Web hosting
- Platform
Website Domain Name
Your website domain is your URL or the link people use to access your site. The domain is also how people find your site on the internet. Your domain name should be the name of your business so that your website appears when people search your business name on Google.
Next, you have to choose a domain extension. Usually, it's best to select a domain extension that uses .com or .net, because these are the most common and easy for clients to remember.
You can purchase your domain from a reputable website hosting company. Some popular ones include:
Don't get too hung up on this: Your energy is best spent on the website itself.
Web Hosting
Website hosting is how the internet service provider (ISP) of your choice hosts and stores your website. The ISP provides you with a server to store all of the data, including text, images, videos, or sound files, which are then sent out when someone visits your site.
You can choose from different types of web hosting: shared web hosting, or managed hosting. Shared hosting is the most affordable option; however, it can be hard to find reliable service. If your website grows in popularity and traffic, you may need a managed web hosting plan which offers more bandwidth or storage space for uploaded files.
We recommend going with managed hosting from the beginning. Bluehost is a great option for hosting your website because they are affordable and reliable, but there are other options to choose from as well. Do some research and learn about the different website hosts available to you before making a decision.
Website Platform
You've got your website address and the place where it'll be stored on the internet. But what about your health coaching website itself? Now let's talk about what platform you're going to create a health coaching website on. You want something simple and easy to use, but that also offers the functionality for managing your business, such as scheduling, payments, and more.
This is where you will choose between the 5 most popular website platforms above, or do research to choose your own. When selecting your website platform, keep in mind the level of coding and technical knowledge it will require. Also, take a look at the functionality it offers to make sure it's a good fit for you.
Customizing Your Website
Once you pick a theme and tweak the colors you're done, right?
Not quite.
The experience your website visitors have while using your site should represent your business. Some key components of that experience should include your branding, website navigation, and functionality.
Branding
Your website is a representation of your brand, so align its look with how you want people to see you. This means the colors, fonts, and graphics should all be similar, if not identical to, how they appear in your other branding materials like social media profiles or business cards.
Making your website reflect your brand will increase your conversion rate (the number of leads who book with you).
Navigation
The navigation on your health and wellness site should be clear, with links that are easy for people to follow. If there's too much happening on the screen, it becomes difficult for visitors to navigate and find what they're looking for. The most important pages of your site should be at the top in a menu that's easy to find.
Your contact page or booking page, where clients set appointments with you, should also be very easy to find. Place a button to this page right on the homepage, and make it noticeable. Also, be sure to include it in the menu. Other important pages to include are your service pages. These pages tell your prospects about what you do and what kind of results they can expect from hiring you.
Functionality
A website is how potential clients and customers find your business. It's how you generate leads, how you advertise, and how you market to a wider audience than your local area or your social media audience. A complete website needs various features to be successful:
- Booking availability/services
- Accepting payments
- Having an online calendar of events
- Contact forms for leads to reach you with questions
You also want to have a place for leads to enter their email address to receive email updates from you.
Plugins
All of this functionality requires plugins. A plugin is an extension that allows your site to do something you can't code yourself, like adding social media integration to display your social posts on your website. It typically requires a simple setup that includes installing the plugin or website "app" with a few clicks.
For example, you could use the WordPress plugin called WPforms to have leads submit inquiries to you through your website. Other plugins that are a must-have are calendars where clients can see your availability and schedule with you, and a plugin that allows clients to check out and pay you in advance for your services.
Of course, this is only a basic overview of what a plugin does. You’ll want to research more about what kinds of plugins you want to use on your WordPress site and what each one can do for your website.
Website Security
Cybersecurity is a concern for all businesses, including health and wellness coaches. A strong security plan should be one of your top priorities when building your website. Hackers can steal sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and credit card information from a site that's poorly protected.
Fortunately, you can protect your site with SSL certificates. By getting an SSL certificate from your website host, you'll be able to safely encrypt your website data. Although it's not a 100% foolproof solution, an SSL certificate will help keep your site secure from hacking attempts.
Keep Your Website Legally Compliant
One of the biggest things health coaches are tempted to overlook when creating their website is adhering to legal compliance. Did you know that you're required to have a privacy policy page and terms of service page on your website?
NOTE: Speaking to a legal professional who specializes in website compliance can ensure you have everything legally required for your website.
Creating Content for Your Website
Once your website structure is built out, you need to fill it with content. You should have blog posts relevant to your health and wellness business, professional photos of you, website copy that converts leads into clients, and web pages that walk prospects through their decision to hire you by describing what you do.
Website Design
Don't get too busy with colors or design. You want to pull users in with a clean, simple design that allows them to absorb the information you're providing about your health and wellness business without overwhelming them. Focus on how you want your user to feel, and create a personal and inviting space.
It's also a good idea to have someone else review your work as you build it so they can offer their feedback on how the flow of it looks or if any glitches need fixing before sharing it with potential clients.
Website Copy
The most important aspect of your website content is going to be the copy. You can either write this yourself or hire a professional copywriter to do it. Depending on your skill level and budget, you might hire a freelancer to make sure the copy is going to resonate with your potential clients and help you convert them into clients.
If you're writing your website copy, brainstorm the pain points your health and wellness clients have and craft your messaging around them. Also, be sure to clearly state their desires and the results they will see once they start working with you.
Logo
Do you have a logo for your health coaching business yet? If not, you can easily create one with Tailor Brands, or create a logo yourself in Canva. Another option is to hire a graphic designer on UpWork or Fiverr. Be sure to place your logo front and center on your home page for brand awareness. The more places your prospective clients see your health and wellness logo, the more they will begin to associate it with you. Having a logo allows you to appear professional and put together.
Images
As a health and wellness business owner, having professional photos taken for your website can prove a worthy investment. Beyond headshots, you should also consider photos on lifestyle content as well, so you can show your prospects who you are and what you stand for visually. Images are powerful, and you don't want to ignore the importance of high-quality photos on your website. A website with blurry or low-quality images will not convert at the rate a website with attractive, professional photos will. In fact, poor-quality images may drive prospective clients away.
Likewise, stock photos are easy to spot, and website visitors will not be as impressed with them as they would be with genuine pictures of you. Your own photos will be able to convey your personality and give prospects a sense of the service they are buying much more effectively. However, if professional photography is not in the budget, don't let a lack of pictures hold you back from making progress in your business. Remember: imperfect action is better than none at all!
Pages
In addition to building out your service pages, create an "about me" page. This will help your prospects get to know, like, and trust you before deciding to become a client.
This is a critical piece of content, as almost every lead will take a peek at it before deciding to work with you. Take the time to tell your story well and set the stage for your brand with this page.
Blog
Blogging gives your potential health coaching clients more insight into what they can expect and how you will help them if they choose to work with you. Blogs can also help your health coach website rank well on Google so people can find you.
Ranking on Google With Keywords
Try to focus your blogs around specific problems your potential clients may be facing and what solutions you have for them. Remember to write for your audience first, and for search engines second. But if you want to rank the post on Google, it must have keywords. This means it needs to contain phrases people are already searching for. To choose the right terms to rank for, you need to conduct keyword research to learn what prospects are searching for that's relevant to the health coaching industry. Then you can use this information to create content that will both rank on Google and resonates with your audience.
Optimizing Blogs for Google
Now that you have some keywords, you can just put them in your blogs anywhere, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. You need to place keywords in specific locations within your blog to optimize the page for Google search results. There are a few things you can do to optimize your blog posts for Google:
- Choose one target keyword per blog to optimize for
- Ensure that at least some of the titles and headings in your blog use your target keyword
- Make sure the alt text for images contains keywords you want to rank for
- Place your keyword in the introduction and conclusion paragraphs
- Use your keyword occasionally throughout your blog
- Fill out the meta description and include your keyword
Create a Mailing List
Remember we mentioned adding an email opt-in form for your website visitors? Here's why: Most of your health and wellness website visitors won't turn into clients for your health coaching business on their first visit. You need a strategy for getting them to come back until they are ready to work with you. That's where email newsletters come in handy!
Send a newsletter every week with content that your subscribers will find helpful and relevant. This way you can keep in touch with your leads and make sure you stay top of mind, which is important for getting them to convert into clients! Write about updates in your business and industry, new services offered, and how your service can make a difference in their life. As they receive your content, they'll slowly realize that you are the expert who can help them.
How to Get People to Opt-In
Sometimes offering a free guide, download, e-book, worksheet, or other "freebie" can help convince your website visitors to give you their email address. Any piece of content that would be helpful to them will work. You can use a simple automated email sequence to deliver your freebie to your leads. This can be achieved with email software, plugins, or other tools. Once your lead opts in, they will automatically receive an email with the downloadable freebie.
Getting Traffic to Your Website
Learning how to make a website for your health coaching business is only step one in your online marketing plan. Having a website that no one sees is almost as helpful as not having a website at all! This is the importance of marketing your business to drive traffic to your website.
Social Media and Content Marketing
There are many ways you can promote your site, but not all of them are free. Organic social media marketing is one way to get your website in front of more eyes for no cost. The first thing you need to do is add your website link to your social profiles. Optimizing your profiles with links to your website and including your website link in the content you post for your audience on social media is key in sending leads back to your site.
Remember to consistently promote your blogs on social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Also, be sure to include links to your blogs in your email newsletters. The more places you can place your website links, the more chances there are of your next client finding it and contact you.
Paid Ads
If you want to start getting eyes on your website fast, paid ads will be a very important part of how you promote your business. Social media ads on Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds, for example, can be targeted so they are only shown to users who are interested in the particular product or service they are promoting. You can also participate in this strategy on Google by paying to show up first in search results for certain keywords.
By spending on an ad budget, you can send people from social media or search engines directly to your website. This is a highly effective way to drive traffic to your business and generate leads.
The only disadvantage to using paid ads is that it is very expensive to generate results. Many business owners spend between hundreds and thousands of dollars on paid advertising between Facebook and Google.
How Much Does it Cost to Drive Website Traffic?
Why pay for traffic when you can drive it to your website for free by posting on social media or ranking your blogs on Google? Here's the thing: The reality of driving traffic to your health and wellness website for free is real, but it takes a long time. It also requires a tremendous amount of effort, marketing knowledge, and strategic planning. Blogging and posting social media content work for bringing more people to your website, but they work best as long-term strategies. So, what can you do to bring people to your website right away?
The #1 Marketing Solution and Website Builder for Health Coaches
What if there was a way to completely streamline the entire process, from how to make a website, all the way to instantly marketing yourself? For Sofia Health practitioners, this is a reality. Our health coaches enjoy the benefits of having a website already built for them at an affordable cost from the moment they sign up for our platform. They also receive instant connections with potential clients who are searching for coaches who specialize in their area of expertise.
Our platform is home to:
- Health coaches
- Nutrition coaches
- Mindset coaches
- Life coaches
and more!
Sofia Health's Turn-Key Website Builder
At Sofia Health, we are proud to offer a seamless website builder for health coaches that takes care of all your online business needs. Our website builder makes it easy to create a website for your health coaching business: You can get your business up and running online in just five minutes! All you need is an account with us, which automatically generates your website. The only content you are responsible for creating is a bio, uploading a picture, and detailing some of your experience.
After the website is built, all you have to do is fill in specific information about yourself and customize how people will find your site online by listing the services you offer. Our low-cost monthly subscriptions allow you to create as many services and/or product listings as you would like.
Where Service Listings Get Displayed
Once you've created your first service listing with Sofia Health, where will it be displayed? How can potential clients find you? Every service listing on Sofia Health is displayed on our website for clients to search. All of these services are grouped for easy browsing by how relevant they are to general categories clients can search for. Each service listing on Sofia Health has a button that leads straight to the coach's calendar where clients can book calls.
Our Website Features
In addition to getting access to an instant website, you immediately gain the functionality your website needs. Without installing apps or plugins, you have a built-in scheduling feature where clients can book with you. You can update your availability to reflect when you'd like your clients to be able to schedule with you.
Our website also comes with the capability to accept and process client payments headache-free. You won't have to worry about the security of your client's credit card information or taking on the liability of storing it on your website. We like to make our coaches' lives as easy as possible because we know how busy they are. Between taking appointments and living their lives, there's no time to worry about website building or how to process online payments. Our mission is to get you up and running with everything you need: All you have to do is make an account!
Sofia Health's Client Acquisition
Why would you want your service listings to appear on our website? Sofia Health is the #1 website for health and wellness services for top health coaches and practitioners.
Leveraging the ranking of more established sites like ours on Google can help business owners who don't yet have an online presence get found by clients faster. We put up the effort, time, strategy, and cost when it comes to marketing. By creating an account with Sofia Health, your service listing will be shown to potential clients who are searching for someone exactly like you!
Never worry about ranking in Google or spending money on ads. Included in the price of your monthly subscription is everything you need to get found by your next dream client. And if you want to promote your Sofia Health page on your social media channels, we provide you with a dedicated link to share with your audience.
Get Started With Sofia Health Today
Are you a health coach wondering how to make a website for your health coaching business? The process of building your own website can be difficult and time-consuming, and even more frustrating is the task of marketing your website once it is complete. If getting more people to find you online as quickly and easily as possible is your goal, join us at Sofia Health and sign up here. We'd love to help you do what you do best without the headaches of dealing with online marketing.
If you're still wondering if we'd make a great fit, give us a try for 30 days at no charge! We know you'll love using our platform, and we want to give you the flexibility to try it risk-free.
Do you have questions about how Sofia Health can improve your health coaching business? Contact us at info@sofiahealth.com or (424) 272-0534.
