The machines are in, the mirrors are up, the first class is in ten days. And online, you do not exist. Here is what we put in place so Pilatéa was ready before opening, and the detail almost everyone forgets.
There is a strange moment when you open a place. The work is done, the equipment is in, everything is clean. You push the door open, look at the room, and think you are ready. Except online, nothing has happened. Someone searching for your trade in your town finds nothing. You do not exist yet.
That was exactly the situation for Pilatéa, a Pilates Reformer studio that has just opened in Septèmes-les-Vallons, inside the CF7 centre. Five Reformers, small groups, a room rebuilt from scratch. And three weeks before the first class, no address to give out.
The list is shorter than people think, but every line counts. Whatever is missing on day one cannot be recovered: the people searching that day went somewhere else.
A contact form can show a beautiful confirmation message, with a green tick, and send absolutely nothing. That is not rare, it is common. The message goes out from an address that no longer exists, the recipient server refuses it, and nobody knows. The visitor thinks they got through. The owner thinks there are no enquiries.
That is why on every site I deliver, the last test is not clicking the button. It is sending a real enquiry, with a copy to a mailbox I can open, and checking it arrived. Until I have seen the message in an inbox, I consider the form broken.
A form that says "message sent" proves nothing at all. The only proof is an email received.
The studio opens inside a centre that already exists and already has its own site. Pilatéa needed its own identity without being cut off from the parent business.
A few days. Not because it is rushed, but because there is nobody between you and me. No project manager to brief, no salesperson to repeat yourself to, no back and forth between three people. You send me your photos and your words, I build, you correct, we go live.
The longest part is never the site. It is gathering the content: photos of the place, exact opening hours, how you want to be contacted. The more you bring, the faster you are online.
Do not leave the site until last. It is the final line on most people's list, and it is the first thing your future customers will look for. Count it alongside the sign above your door.
Opening a place, or just opened without a website? Tell me about your project and I will reply in writing the same day. Tell me about your project