My Admin Notes on Rebuilding a Coaching Site with Magnetique

I didn’t start this rebuild because I wanted a prettier landing page. I started because my coaching content had turned into a messy library: a few strong articles, some free resources, a handful of paid lessons, and a “book a call” page that felt disconnected from everything else. The site worked in the narrow sense (pages loaded, forms submitted), but it didn’t work as a system. People arrived, browsed a bit, and then disappeared—usually because they couldn’t quickly answer a basic question: What should I do next?

The first thing I did was stop pretending design would solve a sequencing problem. I needed a site that behaves like a conversation: orientation, trust-building, clarity about outcomes, then one obvious next step. During this rebuild I leaned heavily on a single theme foundation—Magnetique — Coaching Online Courses WordPress—not because of a flashy demo, but because I wanted a calmer structure that I could keep consistent as the site grows.

The real problem wasn’t conversion. It was sequencing.

Most coaching sites fail at sequencing. They have content, credibility, and sometimes even a good offer—but the site doesn’t guide a visitor from “curious” to “committed” in a way that feels natural.

My old structure looked like this:

• A homepage with three competing messages
• A blog that mixed deep, evergreen posts with random short updates
• A “Programs” page that acted like a menu, not a pathway
• A checkout or inquiry step that felt like a cliff: you either jumped or you left

What I needed was a site that reduces decision fatigue.

So I wrote down the site’s content types and forced myself to define each one:

• Coaching (a service relationship)
• Online course (a structured learning product)
• Resources (free tools that create momentum)
• Proof (case notes, testimonials, before/after patterns)
• About (context, values, and fit)

Then I mapped how each content type should connect.

My rule became: every page must point to one next step that makes sense for a first-time visitor. Not a grid of everything. One step.

I rebuilt the information architecture before touching design

This is the part that feels slow, but it saved me time later.

I drafted a simple visitor pathway:

1. Homepage (place the visitor)
2. One “Start Here” hub (reduce choice)
3. A few content entry points (build trust)
4. A course overview page (clarify the learning journey)
5. Enrollment / booking decision (only after context is earned)

That meant deleting sections I liked but didn’t serve the pathway. It also meant resisting the urge to add a second, third, and fourth call-to-action.

When you build for long-term operations, clarity beats cleverness.

The homepage as a decision page, not a brand page

I used to treat the homepage like a brand poster: slogan, big image, generic promise. It looked fine, but it didn’t resolve uncertainty.

So I rebuilt it as a decision page that answers three questions quickly:

1. Who is this for?
2. What can I do here in 60 seconds?
3. What’s the next step if I’m not ready to commit?

I stopped trying to “sell” and started trying to “place” the visitor.

A coaching site doesn’t win by shouting. It wins by making the first two minutes feel obvious.

Course pages work better as “guided flows” than catalogs

A common mistake is presenting courses like a store shelf. That can work for huge catalogs, but for coaching-style offers it often creates friction.

What I wanted instead:

• A course page that explains the learning journey
• A clear “start here” module
• A sense of progression and checkpoints
• A way for returning users to re-orient quickly

So my course page structure became:

• A short, direct overview (no hype)
• “Who this is for” in plain language
• A minimal outline that communicates progression
• A practical expectation section (“how to use this”)

Notice what’s missing: a feature list. I don’t think features convince in this niche. Sequencing does.

The biggest operational win: consistent templates

As an admin, I care less about how a page looks in a demo and more about whether I can maintain consistency when the library grows.

So I enforced template rules:

• One layout for course overview pages
• One layout for lesson pages
• One layout for coaching service pages
• One layout for resource pages
• One layout for proof/case pages

This sounds rigid, but it creates a calmer experience for visitors. Consistency makes people trust that the site is managed, not improvised.

It also reduces my workload. Publishing becomes “fill the template,” not “reinvent the page.”

I watched user behavior and redesigned around it

I tracked a few simple behaviors:

• Where people clicked from the homepage
• How far they scrolled on long pages
• Where they exited
• Whether they used the navigation menu or in-content links

The pattern was predictable:

• Most visitors don’t use the menu first
• They scroll, look for a cue, then click one thing
• If they can’t find a “start here” signal, they bounce
• Mobile visitors are extremely sensitive to clutter and layout shifts

So I tightened the page hierarchy:

• Fewer competing blocks above the fold
• Stronger in-page cues
• One next step per page

Instead of adding more options, I removed friction by removing noise.

The “coaching vs course” confusion—and how I resolved it

If you offer coaching and courses, visitors get stuck:

• “Is this a course site?”
• “Is this a service?”
• “Do I need a call?”
• “Can I learn without coaching?”

I clarified by giving each route a plain promise:

• Course route: structured learning, self-paced, predictable progress
• Coaching route: tailored feedback, accountability, iteration support

Then I ensured each route has a simple internal bridge:

• Course pages can lead to coaching for people who want feedback
• Coaching pages can lead to a course for people who need foundations

The point isn’t upselling. It’s reducing uncertainty.

Healthy friction vs bad friction

Some admins try to remove all friction. In coaching, friction isn’t always bad.

• Bad friction: confusion, clutter, too many choices
• Healthy friction: a short pause where a visitor reflects and decides

I built in healthy friction by:

• Keeping pages readable and not overloaded
• Using fewer sections but clearer wording
• Making choice points obvious
• Avoiding loud “conversion language”

When visitors don’t feel rushed, they make better decisions—and they trust the site more.

How I choose a theme for long-term publishing

When I browse collections like WooCommerce Themes, I don’t look for the flashiest demo. I ask boring questions:

• Can I keep course pages consistent without redesigning every month?
• Will lesson pages stay readable on mobile?
• Can I reduce layout shifts and visual noise?
• Is the structure stable enough that publishing becomes routine?
• Will updates break a bunch of small hacks?

That mindset is less exciting than trend-chasing, but it produces calmer sites that age well.

Post-launch: what changed after a few weeks

After launch, I watched the site instead of celebrating immediately. The early signs I cared about weren’t spikes—they were stability:

• Visitors spent more time on foundational pages
• More people reached the second click (homepage → content → next step)
• Course pages felt less like sales pages and more like onboarding pages
• Support questions improved: fewer “what is this?” messages, more “which path fits me?” questions

That shift matters. It means the site communicates clearly.

The only scaling rule that mattered

Here’s the rule I’m keeping:

If adding a new course requires a new layout, the system is too fragile.

A healthy coaching/course site should scale with content, not with design complexity.

When the structure is sound:

• New course = same template, different content
• New resource = same template, different utility
• New proof item = same template, different story

That’s how you keep ops costs low and publishing momentum high.

Closing reflection: my goal was a calmer learning journey

I don’t think the best course site is the one with the most features. I think it’s the one that makes the visitor feel oriented:

• “I understand what this is.”
• “I know what to do next.”
• “This feels maintained and coherent.”
• “This doesn’t feel like a funnel.”

That’s what I aimed for with this rebuild: a calmer structure, clearer sequencing, and templates I can maintain without rebuilding the site every time I add a new lesson.

If you’re building a coaching or online course site, my advice is simple: start with sequencing, lock templates early, protect visitors from decision fatigue, and let the content do the work.