In this post – 13 Fitness Website Design Tips I have stressed the importance of using Wordpress for your fitness blogs in number 4. If you’re just getting started and you have your own website already, than there is no reason not to have Wordpress. The software is free from Wordpress.org and most hosting companies these days have simple 1 click installation.
Hosting through Easy Fitness Websites has this simple capability as well. You simply go into your sites control panel, click Fantastico -> Wordpress -> Enter Your name and email (basically) -> Install. It’s really that simple. Check this post for detailed instructions – Wordpress Plugins Are Easy To Install
In tip #5 from the 13 Fitness Website Design Tips post I mentioned running plugins that help the functionality of your blog. Currently there are over 8,000 plugins in the Wordpress codex. That sure is alot of plugins to go fishing through.
Luckily you can find tons of posts on the web with top10 lists and best 49 plugins for your blog. But why go pilaging the internet when you can get 3 right here that will add functionality instantly to your fitness blog.
Lets jump right into it.
Plugin #1
If you’ve ever read a blog than there are two types of blog homepages you’ve most likely encountered: one with a full post on it and one with a link to continue reading. You should notice that all the posts here on Easy Fitness Websites contain a link to read the rest of the post.
I do this for a few specific reasons that you can read about in a moment. Don’t worry though, this doesn’t involve any html coding or high tech php/css work.
If you are using Wordpress than you can use this simple little trick with the click of a button (literally). But before we talk about how to insert a “more tag” lets talk about some benefits as to why you need to use it.
Find Out Why, Hurry Up
Hey everyone this is an exciting post because we get to keep rolling with the real world examples. Sirena Bernal of The Naked Dish Blog volunteered her Wordpress fitness and nutrition blog for a design review. Why is this good for you?
You get to see what areas could need improving and which are good. You might be doing something that you think is totally rad, yet design wise it doesn’t make any sense.
Sort of like these guys.
So that is why its good to not only have an external pair of eyes look at your fitness site for your own benefit, but when its posted here, everyone gets a chance to find tips and useful bits of info. Everyone is hear to help each other right?
Trust me I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff on websites: salespages with links to affiliate products that make $4.93 commission instead of selling training for $157 per month. So lets look at some design enhancements that you might be able to use on your fitness website as well.
Take Me To The Review
Typing the words blogging tips into Google will grab you 19,500,000 results as of today. That is alot of information for anyone to read and absorb. Some blogs will post their Top 7 Tips for 7 Figures or 59 Blogging Secrets for Success. But do you have time to read all of them?
The most likely answer is no, but if you follow one blog and they break down these tips into Top 10 lists like Letterman than you have a chance to continually improve your blog. So thats just what this is post is setup to do, provide you with a bunch of tips that you can use right away.
Most of these will be design or organization based but there are going to be some that probably so good they need to be stated here as well. Shall we dance? Lets go. In no specific order…
1. Blog to your local fitness market if you run bootcamps or training.
On Kick Back Life Craig Ballantyne dropped a guest post that tied into my first tip. Craig said,”Focus on being the go-to “Authority” in your niche market.” When many people start blogging they are trying to dominate their local area for boot camps and personal training, yet they are trying to blog to the world. If your product is local, blog to your community and the needs of your clients.
If your product is worldwide, then well your a small fish in a big pond. You’re not selling bootcamps to people in other countries, so talk about your town and your workouts, do videos, and become a local celebrity. Your business will boom.
2. Present your ideas visually
In today’s culture of scanning and clicking, long blocks of text aren’t read. Break up your text with visuals—graphs, charts, photos, blockquotes, and videos. Annotate the images to reinforce your meaning. If you get photos from other blogs or from Flickr, include a link back to the source. Most popular blogs are visually rich. Try to find images that relevant to your post if possible, unless your site is themed in some way differently. from Id Rather Be Writing
3. If you are serious about blogging buy your own domain
Read Tips 3-13
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