The Charles Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in San Mateo, CA, offers self-defense training for children and adults of all skill levels. Students learn under the guidance of Cristiano Xavier, a black belt from Goiania, Brazil, who trained directly under legendary instructor Charles Gracie. Utilizing advance team building, rigorous exercise and a comfortable approach to learning, the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy seeks to embower students while also giving them the real-world skills to protect themselves. Since most fights end on the ground, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu proves effective as both a deterrent to bullying and as a self-defense option. The Academy teaches strategies that do not contain punching or kicking and that have very few rules or regulations to hinder student growth.
Creating a website for a product that carefully balances tradition and innovation, action and precision required a respectfully detail-oriented approach. Rather than clutter the website with splashes of dry information or over-the top videos and non-representative fight sequences, we turned to the emblematic white-color in the background of the Academy logo to serve as the inspiration for design. By laying high-quality photography against a clean background and spreading information out amongst practical, search engine optimized text and a limited number of pages, we sought to mimic the discipline valued by the Gracie San Mateo.
Committing to efficiency of design, the website manages to capture the spirit of the Academy, while maintaining a look that is professional, modern and inviting. Showing off the large, two-level building was important to the Academy, and the chosen pictures use a mix of action and straight-interior shots to draw attention to the clean, spacious, and fully-equipped center. Similarly balancing form and function, responsive embedded videos help to give prospective students a clear vision of the martial art without overwhelming the site design.
Meanwhile, in order to effectively engage continuing, returning and new students, clearly marked schedule pages are presented under the menu bar. Likewise, contact and social media contact options are integrated onto each page along with an inclusive mission statement that plays as a subtle call-to-action.
At Bay Area Web Solutions, our goal is to create forward-looking websites that capture the spirit and services of the companies we work with. We are committed to helping business of all shapes and sizes maximize their web presence and meet the challenges of their unique situations.
Services Completed
Responsive HTML
Design and Build
Photography
Local Search Engine Optimization
Website URL
www.graciesm.com