Growing Your Health Coaching Business Online
Everything you need to start and grow a health and wellness coaching business online - your website, your brand, your offers, how people find you, and how to actually get clients.
What I Wish I'd Known When I Tried to Start My Health Coaching Business
Back in 2014, I was an IIN-certified health coach and genuinely lit up about stepping into this new career. I felt so ready to start after spending a year on my certification and experience… until it actually came to the whole business and marketing part!
I remember opening up a WordPress website, and I had no idea what pages to include, what to write on them, or how any of it was supposed to come together.
I fiddled with that website for months. It never went live, and eventually I ended up stepping away from health coaching to figure out what I was missing.
Here's what I know now that I didn't know then: the problem was never me. It was that nobody had handed me a clear order of operations. I didn't need more motivation or more hustle - I needed a plan.
So I built one. Then I built a whole business around making sure other health coaches get to skip the (almost) ten years it took me to figure this out. I've since built a thriving multi 6 figure web design business and have designed over 100 websites for health coaches and women in wellness. This guide is everything I know now, and what you need to know when it comes to starting and growing your own health coaching practice - your website, your brand, your offers, how people find you, how you market yourself, how you actually get clients. Let's dive in.
How to Start an Online Coaching Business: Your Website Foundation
Your website is the one thing in your business that's fully, completely yours. No algorithm decides who sees it. No platform update can shut it down overnight. It's yours - which means it's the one piece of your business you can actually build on top of.
And here's the thing about being findable: your website is where your ideal client lands when she's ready to get serious. She hears about you from a friend, sees a pin, finds you through a Google search for "health coach for [her exact problem]" - and her very next move is to look you up. If what she finds is a real homepage, a clear services page, and an easy way to reach out, you've already won half the sale before you ever spoke to her.
That's really what a website does for a brand-new health coach. It takes all that word-of-mouth energy - the referrals, the recommendations, the "you have to work with her" - and gives it somewhere real to land.
See the full case for owning your platform through a website instead of social media →
The Only 4 Pages You Actually Need to Start
This is the part that stops most new coaches before they even begin- what pages does your website even need to actually book clients? The good news! Only 4! Start with these core four pages and you can always build on and add from there when you’re ready.
| Page | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Home | Says who you help and how, in plain language |
| About | Lets people get a feel for you before they book |
| Services | Lays out exactly what working with you looks like |
| Contact | Gives them one clear way to reach out or book |
This is your whole non-negotiable foundation, whether you're using a template or building something fully custom. Everything else - a blog, funnels, extras - that can all come later- once these four are created and solid.
Template or Designer: Which Path Is Right for You?
Both are real, valid paths. The right one depends on your budget, your timeline, and how you feel about being hands-on with the building part - not on which option is "more legit.”
| Website Template | Custom Designer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Pre-built site you customize yourself | Fully built for you, start to finish |
| Timeline | A weekend to a month, depending on you | Weeks, on a set schedule |
| Best for | Hands-on business owners who like a plan | Coaches who want it handled entirely |
| Investment | Lower cost, more of your own time | Higher investment, none of your time |
If logging into Squarespace and moving sections around sounds kind of fun (or at least not dreadful), a template is can be the faster, more affordable path.
If it sounds like one more thing that'll sit half-finished- then a getting your website custom built by a designer is worth it - because it gets built whether or not you ever open Squarespace at all.
Get the full guide on how to choose your website path (template vs. designer) →
And if the whole idea of "building a website" makes your chest tight? You're not alone, and it doesn't have to feel that way. I’ve spent over 7 years now working on making this process simple and easy- no matter which route you take!
Shop Glo’s Squarespace Templates
Brand Identity: Making Your Website Actually Feel Like You
Ever land on a health coach's website and just know within three seconds whether she's your person? That's not luck. That's brand identity doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
Your brand identity is more than just a logo. It's the combination of your colors, fonts, imagery, and voice that makes a stranger feel like she already knows you before she even gets on her first call - and for a health coach, that matters more than almost anywhere else, because people are trusting you with something personal.
Think about the coaches whose websites stop you mid-scroll. It's rarely the logo, right? It's the whole feeling - warm or clinical, soft or bold, playful or grounded - built from a handful of consistent choices, not a hundred creative decisions made on the fly.
Even your fonts do more work than people expect. A warm, grounded coach might lean toward a soft serif. A no-nonsense, clinical-leaning coach might want something clean and minimal. The goal isn't "pretty" - it's sounds like how I'd actually talk, but in visual form.
Check out my designer-approved font pairings and how to pick yours →
Creating Your Offers
How you organize your offers on your website depends less on how many you have and more on whether they're all for the same client. This is one of the most common questions I get from newer coaches, and the answer isn't as complicated as it feels.
If your offers are all designed for the same ideal client with a similar set of needs, a multi services page works well - it gives visitors a high-level overview and lets them self-select where to go next.
If your offers serve genuinely different audiences (say, 1:1 coaching and a self-paced course and corporate wellness talks), separate pages usually serve you better.
Example: a nutritionist offering three coaching package tiers, all for women in their 30s balancing energy and hormones, can live on one page. A coach offering 1:1 sessions, group programs, and speaking engagements probably needs each on its own.
See the full guide on how to organize your offers on your wellness website →
Getting Visibility: SEO for Health Coaches and Beyond
So your website's live, your brand feels like you, and your offers are clear. Now comes the question that trips up almost every new coach: how is anyone actually going to find you?
That's what visibility means - and here's the good news. You don't need to be everywhere. You need to understand your options, then pick a lane. Let's walk through the four real ways clients find health coaches online.
1 | SEO
SEO - search engine optimization, or the practice of setting up your website so Google can make sure that the clients who are actively searching can find you - is the slow-and-steady option. It takes some time to build and gain traction, but once it does it keeps running for years to come.
See how to boost your traffic with SEO →
2 | Pinterest
Here's something most coaches get wrong: Pinterest isn't really social media. It functions like a visual search engine, which means one good pin can drive traffic to your site for 12 months or longer. It rewards the same patience as SEO - not quick wins, but steady, compounding traffic.
How I use Pinterest to drive consistent traffic →
3 | Social Media
Social media absolutely still has a place - it's real-time, it's personal, and it's where a lot of relationship-building happens. The trade-off is that it demands consistency to stay visible, and a post's shelf life is short. If you love showing up here and it feels energizing rather than draining, this can be a great visibility channel for you.
4 | Long-Form Content
Blogging, podcasting, YouTube - these are the "teach what you know" channels. A blog post especially pulls double duty, since it's also one of the best ways to build your SEO over time. If you enjoy going deep on a topic more than posting quick hits, this might be your lane.
Here's my honest advice: don't try to do all four. Pick one or two that genuinely fit how you like to show up, and get really good at those - rather than spreading yourself thin trying to maintain all four at once. I run my own business on roughly 6,000-8,000 monthly website visitors, almost entirely from just two of these: SEO and Pinterest. But you don’t even need this much to book clients and grow a thriving business. Even 1,000 monthly website visitors can sustain an intentional business.
Marketing for Coaches: Showing Up With Confidence
What do you think actually makes a health coach's marketing feel confident? It's not personality. It's not being the funniest or the loudest or the most "on" in her niche.
It's clarity. The coaches who market with confidence aren't necessarily the most extroverted ones - they're the ones who know exactly who they help and say it plainly, everywhere.
Here's the mindset shift that changes everything: you're not selling yourself. You're presenting a clear offer to the right person, at the right moment. Once that clicks, so much of the pressure that makes new coaches freeze up in front of a caption box (or a homepage headline!) just... melts away.
And showing up authentically doesn't mean posting constantly. It means saying the same core message everywhere a potential client might land - your homepage, your bio, your emails, your pins. Consistency of message beats frequency of posting, every time.
See my tips on how to market your coaching business confidently →
How to Get Clients as a Health Coach
So where do your actual first clients come from? Almost never just one place - it's usually a mix. Here's everywhere I'd point a new coach to look:
Your email list. The one asset you fully own. Start with one specific lead magnet ("free wellness guide" doesn't convert - "the 5-minute morning reset for women who always skip breakfast" does), then nurture with your story and client wins before you ever pitch. I run mine through
Referrals from past and current clients. This is where a smooth client experience pays off - quick responses, easy scheduling, contracts that don't feel like homework.
A free discovery call, advertised clearly on your site. Low-pressure, easy yes, and it lets a potential client hear your voice before she commits to anything.
Local wellness partnerships. Yoga studios, therapists, gyms, other practitioners who serve your same ideal client without competing with you directly. Cross-referrals go both ways.
Guest opportunities. Podcast guesting, guest blog posts, speaking - anywhere you can borrow someone else's audience for an afternoon and let them discover you.
Every visibility channel we just talked about - SEO, Pinterest, social, or long-form content - feeding new people toward your list and your inquiry form.
The through-line on all of these: they all eventually funnel back to your email list or your booking page - so make sure both are actually ready before you go chasing new channels.
Creating a Client Experience That Keeps Them Coming Back
Getting a client is only half the equation. What happens after she says yes is what turns one client into three.
Think about it from her side: a fast, warm response to her inquiry. A contract that feels professional, not like homework. Scheduling that takes thirty seconds instead of twelve back-and-forth texts. None of that is expensive to create - it just has to be intentional.
This is where a lot of new coaches lose steam, honestly. You can be an incredible coach and still lose a referral because the booking process felt clunky. The client experience isn't a nice-to-have - it's one of your best (and cheapest) marketing tools, because a client who felt taken care of tells her friends. A client who had to chase you down for a contract usually doesn't.
See the specific tools I use that make this feel seamless→
I run my entire client workflow through HoneyBook - contracts, invoices, and scheduling all in one place, so nothing falls through the cracks right when a new client is deciding whether hiring you was the right call.
Your Starting a Coaching Business Checklist
If you only remember one thing from this post, remember the order:
Get your website live - Start with your Home, About, Services, Contact pages.
See my health & wellness Squarespace templates to make this easy!
Nail your brand identity - colors, fonts, and voice that actually sound like you.
Organize your offers clearly - one page if your clients overlap, separate pages if they don't.
Pick 1-2 visibility channels - SEO, Pinterest, social media, or long-form content - and get good at those instead of spreading thin across all four.
Market with a clear message, clarity and confidence wins every time!
Build your email list - start with one specific lead magnet, and write a welcome sequence.
Make your client process feel easy - a workflow tool like HoneyBook helps.
This is the order I'd build it in if I were starting today.
From a Stuck Website to a Multi Six-Figure Studio
I didn't get any of this right the first time - and honestly? It ended up working out for the best! Getting stuck back in 2014 when I started my first business is the reason I spent the next ten years learning web design, brand strategy, copywriting, and email marketing inside and out. That setback became the whole foundation of what I do now.
Today, Glo Design Studio is a multi six-figure web design business, and I've helped over 100 women in wellness launch websites that actually book clients - not just sit there looking pretty. (Not including the 1,000+ Squarespace templates sold to help women DIY and launch their wellness websites with ease!)
This guide above is everything I wish I'd known back when I started my health coaching business, handed to you now, so you don't need ten years to figure it out. You don't need all eight things finished before you get your first client. You just need to start - and your website is the one piece that does the most work for you while you're not even online.
Shop my Squarespace Templates for health and wellness coaches →
FAQs: How to Start a Health Coaching Business Online
Q: Do I need to be good with computers to start a health coaching business online?
A: No. Everything in this guide - your website, your email list, Pinterest - can be set up without any coding or tech background. Squarespace templates and tools like Flodesk and HoneyBook are built for non-techy business owners.
Q: How do I get clients as a brand-new health coach?
A: Start with a simple website and a specific lead magnet to build your email list. Most new clients come from search, Pinterest, or referrals - not from constant social media posting.
Q: What's the best marketing strategy for a new health coach?
A: Build owned channels first - a clear website, an email list, and a search-based traffic source like Pinterest or SEO content. These compound over time, unlike social posts that disappear within 24-48 hours.
Q: How many pages does my website actually need to start?
A: Four - Home, About, Services, and Contact. Extra pages like an FAQ page or testimonials can help later, but they're not required to start booking clients.
Q: Should I use a website template or hire a designer?
A: It depends on your budget, timeline, and how hands-on you want to be. Templates are faster and more affordable if you're willing to do the customizing yourself. A custom designer is worth it if you want it handled entirely, with no building required on your end.
If you liked this post you may also like:
→7 Health Coach Website Must-Haves
→10+ Best Website Templates for Health & Wellness Coaches
→4 Essential Website Pages Every Health Coach Needs
→Why My Website Templates are Built Specifically for Wellness Pros
→4 Things Your Coaching Website Must Include
→The Ultimate Guide to Squarespace for Health and Wellness Coaches
→How this Health Coach Increased Her Revenue with a Glo Website Template
Hey I'm Jamie - Squarespace Web Designer and Certified Health Coach
I specialize in building strategic, elevated Squarespace websites for health and wellness coaches and practitioners who are ready to grow their business with more clarity, confidence, and ease.
After designing over 100 custom websites and selling over 1,000 templates that support women-owned wellness brand, I’ve seen firsthand how a strategic, beautiful, and professional website can completely shift the way you show up and how you sell online.
This blog is where I share the real stuff: design tips, marketing strategies, and behind-the-scenes insights to help you build a brand online that actually works for you.
Disclaimer: My policy is to only share products and resources that have brought value to me and/or I believe will bring value to my audience. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you make a purchase using them.
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The Maven is a Squarespace template for the coach who has genuinely never lost a hair tie in her life. Matcha in hand, candle lit, somehow never scrambling five minutes before a client call. You know the energy. Now your website has it too.
This isn't another site dressed up to look expensive with nothing to back it up. It's built on an actual insight: you’re not selling matcha and slow mornings. You’re selling the systems that make the matcha and slow mornings possible. Every page is built to sell that - not the vibe, the machine behind the vibe.
🎨 Designed specifically for life, health, wellness, and business coaches
👩💻 Includes coach-specific pages + structure
🔍 SEO-friendly design
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✅ Easy to customize for your practice