selfLove.Yoga — Site Critique & Competitor Research

Part 1: Critique of the current selfLove.yoga site

Overall: A default Wix template site with genuinely good bones (real teacher, real credentials, real blog content, real student testimonials) undermined by unfinished/broken execution.

Critical issues

• Broken/empty pages hurt trust. /online-courses renders empty (JS-only content, invisible to search engines and slow connections). /schedule says "No Schedule to display." A homepage "More" button links to a dead /error404 route.
• An orphaned placeholder page is publicly live. /courses still shows unedited Wix demo content ("Trumpet Basics," "Modern Ballet," "Pottery Workshop") — a visitor who stumbles on it will question the whole site's credibility.
• An old draft homepage (/version1) is still publicly reachable with a different, seemingly fictional teacher roster (Ian Gardner, Zayd Hale) and a different pricing model than the live site — a brand-consistency and honesty risk if anyone finds it.
• No pricing anywhere. Not on the homepage, not on /ytt. This is the single biggest conversion blocker.
• No real commerce. "Shop" is limited to informal Venmo/Buy Me a Coffee links and vague "affiliate discount" mentions (Lululemon, Vuori) — no cart, no digital downloads, no physical products for sale.
• Weak social proof presentation. Only one testimonial appears on the homepage; the testimonials page mostly links out to Yelp instead of showcasing quotes on-site.
• No LMS/member experience. "Log In" exists in the nav, but there's no visible student dashboard, progress tracking, or class library browsing.
• Generic template feel. Default Wix styling (visible "Powered by Wix" footer) undercuts the "boutique, high-quality instruction" positioning.

What's genuinely working (worth preserving)

• Real, specific instructor credibility (E-RYT500, 11+ years, named Bay Area studios).
• A real, consistently-updated blog (20 posts) with an authentic, personal voice.
• A real YouTube channel (PracticeYogaWithBarry) with existing video content not yet leveraged on the marketing site.
• A clear, differentiated philosophy — "skilled teaching over fancy shops and decorations."

Top improvement priorities

1. Publish real pricing (or a clear "starting at" figure).
2. Build an actual shop with digital products (manual, guidebook, meditation audio) and physical products (mat, tote, gift cards).
3. Build a real LMS-style class/module library with video previews, progress state, and tiering.
4. Build a working, filterable schedule with live-class booking.
5. Remove or password-protect /version1 and fix/replace the /courses placeholder page.
6. Feature 3-4 testimonials directly on the homepage with photos.
7. Move off default Wix visual language toward a distinct, intentional brand identity.

Part 2: What viral/popular yoga & wellness sites do well

• Alo Moves / Alo Yoga — magazine-editorial minimalism, black/white/neutral palette, brand-first over conversion-first.
• Glo — clean SaaS-wellness minimalism, card-grid class library, two-tier pricing cards.
• Peloton — dark, bold, community-first, heavy filter system, trial-first pricing psychology.
• CorePower Yoga — energetic orange/white, CTA-dense, rotating hero carousel.
• YogaWorks (relaunched) — pure digital app-style site, warm cream palette, trial-first two-tier pricing.
• Down Dog — algorithmic/personalized practice generator, sparse nav, app-store-first CTAs.
• Gaia — dark, cinematic, Netflix-style carousels, repeated pricing tiers with trust badges.
• Yoga With Adriene / Find What Feels Good — personal-brand-first, warm and minimal.
• EkhartYoga (now YogaEasy) — closest structural match to a YTT school: Classes / Programs / Calendar / Academy nav.
• 2025-2026 web trends — bento grids, dark-luxury defaults, kinetic typography, glassmorphism, organic/blob shapes, scroll-triggered micro-interactions, AI-personalized dashboards, tactile brutalism.

Each of these patterns was mapped directly into one or more of the 10 redesign concepts.