I love building and maintaining websites for therapists and other mental health professionals.
As a therapist, you know the importance of work that makes a difference in people’s lives. Here at Creekside, my passion is supporting people who make that difference, whether in building a website, or in long-term maintenance and technical assistance as the needs of the practice grows.
Does a therapist need a website?
Your practice is a business, and just like any other business, websites for therapists are essential. Your website will:
- allow potential clients to find you
- build trust with potential clients
- communicate essential information to existing clients.
What should websites for therapists include?
The good news is that therapist websites are relatively simple, and can function as a sort of online brochure, without a lot of the complicated features that can require custom coding. Below are a few considerations when building your website.
Logo
A logo is not essential, of course, but will help keep your brand in the minds of potential clients.
Attention Grabbing Headline
The two websites shown below are very different, yet each has a headline and image that sets a mood and tells the potential client a little about what to expect.
Cami Ostman
Photos & Design That Represent You, Your Philosophy, and Practice
Using the two examples above, you can see how color and photos impact the viewer’s impressions of what their experience might be.
About Me/About the Therapists Page
An essential part of any therapy website is information about the therapists. You are asking people to trust you with very personal parts of themselves, and a bio—including photos and some personal information about you as well as your education—can go a long way to developing trust.
About the Practice
Letting people know what to expect, from insurance, scheduling, to cancellation policies, can save a lot of time on the phone.
Intake Forms
Let future clients easily find and download your intake forms.
Scheduling App
Many therapists choose to book with the client at the end of their current session, but if you find it easier, a scheduling app that clients can use themselves may be a good solution. A scheduling app that automatically creates private Zoom sessions is even better!
Clear Call to Action
Guide potential clients very clearly to the next step on each page, (i.e. “Learn More,” or “Schedule a Free Consultation.”)
Map to the Practice
There’s nothing worse than being lost in the car, finding the place you are looking for on your phone, and there is no address or map to the location. Help your clients out with an obvious link to location right in the menu.
Easily Accessible Contact Information
Other than deciding whether or not to make that initial call, a client likely won’t access your site ever again, other than to find your phone number or address. Make it easy for them!
Blog
A blog, while not necessary on websites for therapists, is a great way to establish yourself as an authority on certain topics and bring in clients with related needs. In fact, if you’ve read this far in this article, here is proof that it works! I love working with therapists, and wanted to be sure that folks interested in a therapy website might find me in the Google jungle. The same thing can work for your practice.
How do You Create a Therapy Website?
DIY
The Baby Bear plan. If you’re just getting started, you may consider a do-it-yourself site using page builders such as Wix or Weebly. These builders are relatively easy to use and affordable. The down side to these builders can be time spent in the learning curve & building the site itself, and difficulty expanding the functions of a site at a later date. Your time may be more profitably spent with clients.
Custom Design
The Papa Bear plan. With a custom designed site, you’ll work with a designer to develop a site architecture and design developed especially for your business. Established practices may have strong branding considerations and expanded functionalities needed for their site, and this is a good choice in those situations.
Professional Designed site on a Template
At Creekside, this plan is the Mama Bear of websites for therapists—just right for a majority of clients. Working together with a designer, you can choose a template that fits your practice. The designer (usually me) then helps with photos and color choices that work well with your personality, and builds the site based on that template, remaining available into the future, should your needs for a website change. The template keeps the whole process affordable while still offering professional assistance and the possibility of change in the future without having to redesign the entire site.
Happy to Help
I hope this article helped with a few of your questions re: websites for therapists. I’m always happy to help if you have any questions that aren’t answered here! Feel free to shoot me an email any time.
