Therapist's Guide to Creating a Website
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If you’re looking to create a therapy website for yourself, but don’t know where to begin, this therapist’s guide to creating a website is for you.
Therapist websites aren't just digital real estate—they can help you forge a real connection with potential clients and grow your practice in the process.
“Building a website for therapists is about creating a welcoming online space that communicates expertise, builds trust, and makes potential clients feel secure in their choice to seek help,” says Darryl Stevens, CEO of Digitech Web Design.
If you’re wondering how to build a therapy website that not only looks professional and showcases your education and expertise, but also grabs your ideal clients’ attention and shows them that you’re the right therapist for them, then you’re in the right place.
In this therapist’s guide to creating a website, let’s take a look at the steps you’ll want to take to create an effective therapist website design.
Buying a domain
Before you can design a website, you need a place for that website to live—or, in other words, you need a website domain.
You can buy custom website domains from online platforms like GoDaddy, Bluehost, or Namecheap. Once you choose which platform you want to use, you’ll want to use the platform’s search feature to see if your desired domain is available.
Another option is to use a therapy website builder with default and custom domain options that is integrated into your electronic health record (EHR)—which can save you a step.
For your website name, you might consider using your name, practice name, or some variation that indicates to visitors that they’re engaging with a therapist or therapy practice.
For example, let’s say you’re a therapist named Rebecca Reed. You might consider domain names like:
- rebeccareed.com
- rebeccareedtherapy.com
- rebeccareedtherapist.com
- rebeccareedLMFT.com
Or, let’s say your practice is named “Peace and Presence Therapy.” In that case, some domains that might work include:
- peaceandpresencetherapy.com
- peaceandpresencetherapypractice.com
If your desired domain isn’t available, you might consider a variation of your original domain idea. For example, using a different top-level domain (so, instead of rebeccareed.com, using rebeccareed.io or rebeccareed.net) or incorporating dashes into your spelling (like rebecca-reed.com or peace-and-presence-therapy.com).
Choose your brand color palette
Once you’ve locked in a domain, the next step in the therapist’s guide to creating a website is to start thinking about your therapist website design. But first, it’s important to get your branding elements into place—particularly your brand color palette.
The colors you use for your brand go beyond being aesthetically pleasing. According to color psychology, different colors can actually inspire different feelings, reactions, and perceptions in people. So when choosing your colors, it’s important to pick ones that make people feel, react, and perceive your therapy practice in the right way.
According to Stevens, therapists should aim to choose colors that convey calmness, trust, and professionalism. “Soft blues, greens, and neutral tones often work well,” he says.
For those of us who don’t have a design background, the idea of coming up with a full brand color palette (which generally features four to five colors) may feel overwhelming. If that’s the case, just focus on choosing one color you feel is the right representation of your brand—and then let a website design tool with therapist website templates do the rest.
“Once you decide on your main color, you can use a tool like Canva’s free color palette generator to come up with your secondary brand colors,” says Devin Beverage, Owner of DevBev&Co Digital Marketing Agency.
Then, once you choose your brand colors, it’s important to stick with those colors throughout your therapist website design. “Colors should be consistent across all pages for a cohesive look,” says Stevens.
Write your bio
The next step in the process of creating a therapy website is writing your therapist bio—but you may be wondering how to write a therapist bio for your website.
Your bio will act as an introduction to website visitors and potential clients. It’s a window into who you are and what you offer as a therapist.
That being said, you don’t need to write a pages-long bio that includes every detail on your history, background, or therapeutic approach. Instead, keep things short, simple, and to-the-point.
“There's no need to overcomplicate this or to write paragraph after paragraph; think of it as somewhat of an ‘elevator pitch,’” says Beverage.
The longer your bio, the less likely clients will read the entire thing—which is why it’s so important to get to the important information quickly.
So, wondering how to write a therapy website bio that includes the most important information?
“Your bio should contain your qualifications, specialties, relevant experience, and some concise description of your treatment approach,” says Beverage.
It’s also important to write your bio in a clear, straightforward way that’s easy to understand—no matter who is reading it.
“Avoid jargon,” says Beverage. “You want to appear approachable, and anyone that reads what you write should be able to understand who you are, what you do, and how you might be able to help them.”
Detail your services and modalities
Your bio is only a brief introduction into who you are and what you do. But, for clients to decide whether you’re the right therapist for them and their needs, the next step in the therapist’s guide to creating a website is to go into more detail on the different services you offer.
“Clearly list the services provided, including individual therapy, group sessions, workshops, [and other services],” advises Stevens. “Each service should have a dedicated page or section explaining what clients can expect and how they can benefit.”
This also includes different modalities. For example, if you offer cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, you’ll want to have a dedicated page and/or section for each of those modalities. Each page should clearly outline what the modality is, who it benefits, and what clients can expect from sessions.
The more detailed and personal you can make this section, the better. Think about how to market yourself as a private practice therapist and your niche and ideal client: who they are, what they struggle with, and what they’re looking for in a therapist. Then, craft each of your service descriptions in a way that “speaks directly to the potential client’s concerns and needs,” says Stevens.
Choose the right images
Next up in the guide to creating a therapist’s website? Choosing the right images for your website.
There are a number of different image types you’ll need when designing your therapy website, including:
Logo
While you don’t necessarily need a logo, it does help to elevate your brand and make it look more professional.
According to Stevens, if you really want your therapist website design to look like it was done by a pro, create a simple and memorable logo that reflects your practice area and philosophy.
The good news? You don’t have to be a design guru in order to design a great logo. You can design your own logo using the logo templates on Canva—or outsource the logo design to a professional design on platforms like Upwork or 99designs.
Headshot
Trust and connection play major roles in the process of choosing a therapist. In order for a client to want to reach out and schedule an appointment, they need to feel like they connect with and can trust you.
One way to foster that trust and connection is by featuring a professional headshot or photo of yourself on your website.
Putting your face on your website shows potential clients that you are an actual person—and featuring a professional photo (rather than a more informal snap, like a selfie) shows them that you take your practice seriously.
Also, people like putting a face to a name. Without a professional photo, you’re just words on a screen. But when you add a photo of yourself to your website, you become more tangible to clients. Because they can see you, they can then see themselves working with you—which can encourage them to reach out.
Other imagery
Your headshot isn’t the only photo you should feature on your website.
“Besides a good friendly and professional photo of yourself, you should include positive images that extend feelings similar to your brand color palette,” says Beverage. “Also, consider images conveying feelings of inclusivity, positivity, hope, health, and peace.”
In other words, choose images that reinforce your message—and help inspire the kind of feelings (trust, calm, connectedness, etc.) that you want to ignite in your clients.
Finding free photos is a pretty simple process. “You can use a free stock image tool like StockSnap, Unsplash, or Pexels to find imagery that you can use without worrying about copyrights,” Beverage continues.
Keep in mind that, if you’re going to feature photos of other people on your site, you’ll want to make sure those photos are diverse and inclusive.
According to Stevens, using images that reflect a diverse clientele can underscore the therapist’s commitment to providing services to all individuals.
Make it easy to get in touch
The purpose of your website is to connect with potential clients and showcase who you are, what you do, and why you’re qualified. But ultimately, the end goal is to have those potential clients take action and reach out to schedule an appointment.
In order to reach that goal, you need to make it as easy as possible for visitors to get in touch.
The next step in the therapist’s guide to creating a website is to feature your contact details on your homepage in a place where clients won’t miss them, such as in the footer.
“Clearly display contact details, including phone, email, and physical location, if applicable,” says Stevens.
You can also add a contact form to your website so clients can reach out directly while they’re on your website—without having to open up their email or pick up the phone.
Depending on how you’re designing your website, you can either add a form directly via your website builder (more on that in a moment), ask your website designer to incorporate a contact form into their design, or create a contact form using a third-party email platform (like Mailchimp or Convertkit) and then add it to your website code.
It’s also essential to make sure that you’re keeping client data safe if you’re using a website for potential clients to reach out.
“Implement security measures, especially if handling sensitive client data,” says Stevens. “Use SSL certificates to secure the website and ensure compliance with privacy laws.”
Choosing a website builder that integrates with your EHR
One of the easiest ways to design a therapy website is to choose a website builder that’s integrated with your EHR—like the website builder from SimplePractice.
The SimplePractice website builder offers all the tools you need to build an effective, functional, and well-designed website from the ground up—no design skills required. All you have to do is choose from a curated selection of professionally designed themes, customize the look and colors to match your branding, and add your images.
Not only does the website builder allow you to easily create a website for your therapy practice, but it also integrates directly with the SimplePractice EHR (for example, by integrating with your calendar for easy client scheduling)—so you can run your entire practice from one easy-to-navigate platform.
The website builder from SimplePractice also takes care of the technical side of things so you don’t have to spend time and energy learning HTML, search engine optimization (SEO), or any other coding skills—leaving you with more time and energy to spend on growing and managing your practice.
How SimplePractice streamlines running your practice
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant practice management software with everything you need to run your practice built into the platform—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing.
If you’ve been considering switching to an EHR system, SimplePractice empowers you to streamline appointment bookings, reminders, and rescheduling and simplify the billing and coding process—so you get more time for the things that matter most to you.
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