Case Study · Web Design
Problem: A veteran personal training gym had a website that was effectively frozen in time — locked behind an old hosting account after the original builder passed away, with no way to pay, book, or find the gym online.
Solution: The SEEN Mini Experience — market research to sharpen who the site speaks to, a full content rewrite, and a new website built to actually run the business.
The Client
Joe is a certified personal trainer with 30 years of experience, a competitive bodybuilder since 1993, and the founder of multiple local gyms before opening J&J alongside his wife Joanna. Joanna is a registered nurse and certified personal trainer who competes and judges bikini bodybuilding. Together they run a couple-owned gym rooted in their lifelong hometown of Irondequoit, serving everyone from first-time gym-goers to competitive bodybuilders.
Where the Business Was
Joe and Joanna had everything a personal training business needs to earn trust — decades of coaching experience, real competitive credentials, and a loyal community following built over years in Irondequoit. What they didn't have was a website that reflected any of it. Their original site was built years earlier by someone who had since passed away, and the domain and hosting account had effectively been locked ever since. Updating so much as a phone number meant digging through old text messages for account codes.
The site also wasn't set up to run the business day to day. There was no way for a client to pay or book online, no interactive map for people trying to find the gym, and no content written for the two very different people walking through the door — someone just starting a fitness routine, and a competitive bodybuilder prepping for a show.
Joe and Joanna needed a site that could finally keep up with the business they'd already built.
The Diagnostic
The domain and hosting were locked behind an old account tied to a builder who had passed away, making even simple updates nearly impossible.
Clients had no way to pay for training or memberships through the site, adding friction to something that should have been simple.
The site spoke to everyone the same way, when general fitness clients and competitive bodybuilders need to hear very different things.
No interactive map or clear directions made it harder than it should be for new clients to actually find the gym.
The Process
A five-day sprint, run against the same framework used to diagnose the gaps — moving from client research to a fully functioning website in one week.
Built out detailed avatars for J&J's two core audiences — the general fitness client rebuilding a routine, and the competitive bodybuilder chasing a stage-ready physique — so the site could speak to each one directly.
Landed on a clear core message: world-class, experienced trainers in a private, hometown atmosphere — the alternative to crowded, impersonal big-box gyms.
Wrote the full site from the ground up — homepage, services, Joe and Joanna's story, and FAQ — translating three decades of coaching experience into copy that actually sells it.
Built the new site around the messaging and content, designed to work equally well for a first-time client and a competition-prep athlete.
Connected an embedded Venmo link for direct payments, a simple contact form, and an interactive map with click-to-navigate directions — then launched on a freshly unlocked domain.
Who It's For
Research surfaced two distinct audiences walking through J&J's doors — and the site was written to meet each one where they are.
Busy, motivated, and tired of starting over. Wants structure, accountability, and a coach who knows them by name — not another big-box gym where they're a number.
Disciplined and results-driven, already deep into training but looking for the edge that gets them past a plateau. Responds to proof, credentials, and a coach who's lived it.
The Result
The new site leads with Joe and Joanna's core promise — structured, results-driven training with no guesswork and no wasted effort — backed by a video of the gym itself instead of stock photography. A dedicated “Our Story” section carries Joe's three decades in the industry, from his first bodybuilding titles in 1993 through building and running multiple Irondequoit gyms, while an “About Joe & Joanna” section introduces both trainers and their very different paths into the business.
A clear four-step process walks visitors from fitness assessment through custom programming, coaching, and ongoing progress tracking, and a qualifying “Is This Right For You” section helps the right clients self-select before they ever reach out. Practical friction is gone too: an embedded Venmo link lets clients pay directly, a contact form replaces guesswork, and an interactive map makes the gym easy to find.
For the first time in years, Joe and Joanna have a website they actually control — and one that represents the business they've spent decades building.
If your website can't keep up with the business you've built, let's fix that.
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