Business Profile: 1st Class Training

We’re happy to be featuring our active, healthy, native-Houstonian client, 1st Class Training, in today’s SSP Client Profile!

The Challenge

1st Class Training, a group of fitness, wellness, and personal training professionals servicing the Houston area were looking to get their website back into shape. They approached SSP needing help with a huge makeover of their current fitness website along with a mobilized version to accommodate their on-the-go clients.

The new website presented an intuitive design with easy access to fitness class schedules, enhanced video and photo galleries, and highlights of the facility’s three main services: personal training, kids’ sports training, and corporate wellness.

Take a look at the difference: 

While we took a look at the benefits of responsive sites for SEO yesterday, it’s important to note that in certain instances, a dedicated mobile site could benefit a client more in terms of utility, budget, and time.

Whether to go with a mobile dedicated site vs. a mobile responsive site varies by situation and depends on the the company’s preferences and, most importantly, the target user’s preferences. This is the circumstance that we faced as a team when we were first approached by our client, how do we create the best possible website out of an existing website and make it mobile-friendly? 

The Decision 

We decided to go with a fully dedicated mobile version of the 1st Class Training website. This was our reasoning:

• A dedicated mobile website is a better option for existing sites with intricate components:  For the 1st Class Training website, with interactive elements such as the client’s “light box” photo galleries and fitness scheduling already integrated into the site, these components wouldn’t be able to transfer into responsive code and would only be hidden away if a user accessed the site on a mobile device. Adding responsive code to the existing site would’ve resulted in a complete deconstruction of the site and would greatly stifle usability and interactivity of the site for the user.

• In contrast, a separate mobile site would allow the repurpose and redesign of the current desktop site, adding interactive elements where needed, while completely omitting others, even some content, if desired. This could result in a much neater, cleaner version of the current desktop website. And with a little backend coding, the website would still automatically adjust to a mobile version if accessed on a mobile device. This would technically create two URLS on paper, but for a user on the web, it would function as one (www.1stclasstraining.com).

1st Class Training, Desktop Website, 2013 

1st Class Training, Mobile Website, 2013 

As you can see, the 1st Class Training mobile site contains some of the same elements as the desktop version, but some features such as the fitness scheduling and location information were rearranged to accommodate a smaller screen size.

The Takeaway

For clients who have invested a significant amount of time and money into an existing site and/or those needing a quick adjustment for a site with many elements already integrated into it, sometimes the best option is a separate dedicated mobile site. Our job as the digital media agency is to take a close look at each and every one of our clients and provide the best solution to fulfill their needs and the needs of their clientèle.

Regardless of the framework used to build a mobile site, a visitor’s first impression is most often than not a visitor’s first interaction with a brand. Taking advantage of that fact with what’s been given takes a bit of smart, strategic thinking, but, in the end, always aims to provide the best user experience possible. And that’s what matters.

Interested in rebranding your overall web presence? Take our free marketing assessment! We’ll provide you with tips and recommendations on how to enhance your online marketing. 

About Small Screen Producer

Small Screen Producer is a full service, marketing firm located in Houston, Texas that specializes in online digital media marketing through a 4-step process. Step 1: WE PLAN a custom web presence strategy for your business through website design and development, mobile development, social media account creation and branding. STEP 2: We then POSITION your brand through Pay-Per-Click advertising and search engine optimize tactics that include on-page and off-page SEO that are Google and Bing approved. STEP 3: We then PROMOTE your brand using an Inbound marketing strategy or a content marketing strategy to help you accomplish your marketing goals. We do this through blogging, video production, infographics, call-to-actions, landing pages, and free educational offers. We help you build trust and rapport with your customer base. STEP 4: We then PROTECT your brand’s web presence with a reputation management program that monitors social media and on line reviews. Get started today with a free online marketing assessment of your company’s web presence. Your company deserves it.