5 lessons from Equinox’s website structure

Fitness company Equinox has over the past three decades cemented its position as the purveyor of high end gym experiences. Since it was founded in 1991, membership has been central to how they manage their relationship with their customers, as you’d expect with any gym. But they’ve since built out a connected ecosystem of physical and digital experiences.

With over 100 clubs worldwide Equinox supports a global audience and had to develop a website structure that enabled them to path them as quickly as possible into their membership, whilst enabling engagement and learning for those on the cusp of joining. Here’s 5 lessons you can take away from how they’ve structured their website experience.

1. A defined role

Equinox has a substantial ecosystem of both physical and digital touch points. The Equinox website has a distinct role within that and they have developed it specifically within that remit. If you’re an equinox member you’re engaging with the brand in either the app or a logged in state, so their website is tailored to new users. Through defining this the messaging is focussed and consistent throughout.

TAKEAWAY: Define the role of your website and homepage in particular clearly, its this clarity that will give the design direction and make it a more seamless experience .

The top conversion module on the homepage drives to membership

2. Conversion is key

Equinox is in the membership business, their revenue is based on their subscription models. As a result it’s clearly the center of their ecosystem and they’ve determined that it should be in the most prominent place on their homepage. Look across the rest of the site though and you’ll find multiple sign up points, everything ultimately needs to drive to acquisition. Their app is featured but its less prominently to membership as that’s the primary revenue source.

TAKEAWAY: You need to drive conversion with as little friction as possible, if users are coming to your site to convert make it easy for them, whilst still creating opportunities for those who are as yet on the fence.

Zones deliver on the need of the audience

3. Value matters

If you look at the hierarchy of the homepage the second zone after conversion is membership value. Equinox has obviously put a lot of focus on this area as it’s highly likely any new users who don’t convert straight away are asking ‘what do I get for my membership?’. As a result they have pages dedicated to the entirety of the membership benefits prominently linked. The rest of the pages continue to land the value of membership in different ways.

TAKEAWAY: If you have developed a membership ensure that the full value of it is clearly delivered on your site and easily understandable. Simplicity of messaging around benefits is key in the right zones.

The navigation delivers a limited number of options dependent on the users need whilst showcasing the entire offering

4. Navigation

Equinox’s navigation is simple and effective, it takes into consideration the needs of their audience whether that is understand the value of membership, see classes or personal training. But at the same time it clearly articulates their expanded offering fo hotels and spas.

TAKEAWAY: Don’t clutter your navigation and group items around natural needs of the audience. The nav bar can also act as an immediate sign post to the entirety of the brand offering so use straight forward language.

The ability to browse locations is key to their audience need and individual pages deliver SEO.

5. Location

When you have a business where geography is important like Equinox, it’s pivotal you include a way for users to discover whether they can even visit your brand. It’s likely ‘is there one near me and what is it like’ is close behind ‘what do I get for being a member’ as core questions for their audience. As a result each of their locations has their own page, this also acts as a way to drive search traffic and deliver SEO.

TAKEAWAY: If your business has physical locations don’t neglect how you feature those on your site, they are valuable for SEO but they are also a part of your product.