5 Things Every Therapist Website Needs

I want to tell you about a night I spent looking at therapist websites.

Not as a designer. As a mom.

My son needed a myofunctional therapist and I sat on my couch after bedtime going through search results. I looked at ten sites. I reached out to one.

Here's what lost me on the other nine.

1. how payment works

I know. This one makes everyone uncomfortable.

But when I couldn't find a single word about payment, I assumed the worst and moved on. Do you take insurance? Which plans? Are you private pay only? Do you give me a superbill? I wasn't going to fill out a form and wait two days just to find out if it was even possible for us.

You don't have to publish your rates. One clear line is enough. "We accept Blue Cross and Aetna, and offer private pay with superbills." Or "We are a private pay practice." That's it. It tells a parent whether to keep reading, and the ones who keep reading are the ones who can actually book with you.

2. Where you actually are

In-home? In-clinic? Virtual? Which cities?

I found one site I loved and spent four minutes trying to figure out if she was anywhere near us. She wasn't. That's four minutes neither of us got back.

Put your location and your service area somewhere obvious. Not just buried in the footer.

3. An easy way to reach you

A contact form is fine. A phone number is better. Both is best.

What doesn't work is a generic form with no indication of when you'll respond. When you're a parent trying to solve a problem, silence feels like a no.

4. A site that doesn't look abandoned

One practice I found looked so outdated that I genuinely assumed she'd stopped practicing. I clicked away. She may well be an incredible clinician. I'll never know.

This is the hardest one to hear, and it's the reason I do what I do. Your website is making a claim about your practice whether you meant it to or not.

5. Something that sounds like a person

Every one of those sites had a paragraph about "comprehensive, evidence-based, individualized care."

None of them told me what it would feel like to bring my kid there.

The one I reached out to did. Her about page sounded like an actual human being who liked kids. That was it. That was the whole difference.

The WHOLE point

A parent in that moment isn't studying your credentials. She's tired, she's worried, and she's scanning for answers fast.

Your website is the difference between a parent reaching out and a parent quietly closing the tab.

Want to know how yours holds up? The free 5 Minute Brand Checkup walks you through the exact things I look at first.

__________________________________________________________

About the Author

Carley Zuniga is a speech-language pathologist turned brand and website designer, and the founder of Something New Design Studio. After four years of running her own private practice, she now helps therapists build clear, cohesive brands and websites through her one-day Design Day Intensives. When she's not designing, she's at home in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, son, and French bulldog, Hugo.