CHALLENGE

 

In 2015, I worked directly with CrossFit Metropolis (NYC) ownership on a full website redesign as a freelance engagement. CrossFit Metropolis was in transition mode and needed a better online presence in order to appeal to their diverse audience. The site needed to reduce content, focus on core offerings, and remove any hurdles to new potential members.

SOLUTION

 

Website was revamped with a clean look, simplified content, and made it simpler to sign up. Professional photography was used to showcase their offerings, tie emotion into the marketing messages, and set their site above any other CrossFit gym in NYC.

My Contributions

  • Redefine the brand’s online presence through new marketing themes and content
  • Identify key content for current and potential members
  • Website redesign and rebuild through WordPress, including custom theme development and integration of professional photography assets

Process

 

1 – Research

  • Conversations with the management team to determine existing and future goals for the site.
  • Understand how current members, someone with little to none CrossFit knowledge, and everyone in between would use the site.
  • I had no prior experience with CrossFit, so I took a class myself to understand the experience and community firsthand — a useful (if humbling) crash course in who I was designing for.
  • Build out personas based on primary target audience – current members and those new to CrossFit.
  • Identify experience pain points and high-value content that’s beneficial to the users.

 

2 – Construction

  • Move key content for current and potential members to high visible areas.
    • The hero area would showcase the key marketing themes, using high quality photos to build visual interest.
    • WOD (workout of the day), current members visit the site daily for this constantly updated information.
    • “What is CrossFit” – a quick synopsis about what it is and the ability to learn more.

 

  • Much of the homepage was stripped down to deliver important content quickly and succinctly.
    • Visitors wanted current information, not a workout from 5 days ago, so old WOD’s were moved to the WOD archive instead.
    • Content that didn’t get much traffic was moved to other areas of the site in order to keep the homepage succinct and clean.

 

  • Professional photography was key to our design direction — it allows the site to convey feelings and features that easily get lost in website text. The images were catered to the following themes:
    • Building fitter New Yorkers
    • The fitness program that works for me
    • Community and inclusion that isn’t typical in a traditional gym
    • Health & happiness through fitness

 

  • Feedback from current members was consistent throughout the construction process to help deliver a site that made current members happy while attracting new members.
    • We received positive and negative feedback from members, with some unhappy about changes in general, “it doesn’t work like it did before”, and those were addressed, but ultimately the site needed updated technology to be better suited for the future of the gym.

Before

After

Behind the design:

Content Strategy

Content on the page was drastically reduced after gathering feedback from current members. We learned that previous days’ workouts weren’t relevant once a new WOD was posted — only the latest mattered for daily visitors. Numerous links that weren’t getting much traffic were removed or moved to the footer, since they only added clutter to the homepage.

Information Architecture

Because the site serves a wide range of visitors — current members, CrossFit newcomers, and casual researchers — content was condensed so the most important information lived in the hero area and just below the fold. This structure lets the homepage serve all visitor types within about 3 seconds of landing, while maintaining a clean, professional look.

Visual Direction

High-quality imagery allows the homepage to convey multiple emotional tones that work as effective marketing messages (confirmed by CFM management): building fitter New Yorkers, finding the fitness program that works for you, community and inclusion not typically found at a traditional gym, and health and happiness through fitness.

 

Results

The redesign consolidated a cluttered, link-heavy homepage into a focused experience built around the two things visitors care about most: today’s workout and how to join.

  • The new photography library — built from a dedicated photoshoot — became the foundation for CrossFit Metropolis’s ongoing marketing campaigns, extending the redesign’s visual direction across social media and print materials.
  • Feedback from current members confirmed the new homepage felt ‘cleaner’ and ‘easier to find what I need,’ while still requiring an adjustment period for those used to the previous layout.