MapMyFitness reveals fresh new look after 6 months of ‘shaping up’

MapMyFitness is all about helping people shape up. Today, the company announced that it, too, has been shaping up with a major update and redesign of the website.

MapMyFitness offers a suite of fitness apps that support an active lifestyle with tools to map routes, track activity, log food intake and connect with others for motivation. The company was founded in 2007 and has since grown to 15 million users, five distinct products (MapMyRun, MapMyRide etc…) and an MVP premium membership with advanced features. Over 300,000 thousand workouts are logged everyday.

The new look includes improved functionality that makes it easier to navigate around the app and access various features, a greater emphasis on social sharing, and a fresh design that unifies the various products. CEO and founder Robin Thurston said that the updates are the result of six months of research and analysis of user behavior and is the most extensive design update in the last three years.

“The biggest trend we have seen thus far is the amount of our community accessing our site through their mobile phones and tablets,” he said in a Q&A. “This was critical in our design process. Having a unified brand and design for is really important because users want a seamless experience when they work out. From day one, we recognized the importance of having an open platform where people can house all of their workout data, no matter what device they are using.”

The new navigation tool bar has three main components. There is Home, where your personal activity is documented; Improve, which has training plans and device integration; and Discover, which is the first phase of the Local pages which will help people find fitness options around them. These features are all easily accessible from the dashboard. Furthermore, MapMyFitness integrates with ‘hundreds’ of fitness devices and sensors and the sharing tools are enhanced so people can more easily engage their friends in their workouts.

Thurston said that MapMyFitness has made a strategic shift towards design over the last 18 months and hired a new creative team to build out the new look. The greatest challenge, he said, was finding the right team, but it paid off in a “cleaner,” “simpler,” and “more beautiful” site.

Quantified self devices, mobile technology, and activity trackers have had a powerful impact on people’s fitness habits. MapMyFitness is one of many in the fitness tracking space, including Runkeeper, Skimble, and Endomondo, and  Thurston said that in the next five years, he expects this space will see “rapid change and disruption.” By listening to user feedback and continuing to iterate, Thurston seeks to remain competitive and even dominant in the sector. His goal is not only to encourage people to be more active, but to use technology to actually change outcomes.

MapMyFitness is based in Austin, Texas and has raised $18.5 million to date.

Photo Credit: gareth 1953/Flickr