How to Build a Therapy Website: A Step-by-Step Launch Checklist

You can build a therapy website yourself if you do the work in the right order. The words and photos usually take longer than the building. Decide what you need to say, gather your photos and details, build five core pages, connect booking, add privacy and crisis information, then test and tell Google. This checklist works on any platform.

What to gather before you build anything

Most delays come from missing material, not from the website tool. Collect these first:

• Your licence type, number and state or province, written exactly as your board lists it.
• A recent photo of you that looks like you. A clear headshot works well.
• The services you offer and who you help, in a few plain sentences.
• Your fees, whether you take insurance, and your session length.
• How people book with you today, such as your EHR’s booking link.
• Your office address, if clients visit in person.

Check your board’s advertising rules before you write about specialties, results or testimonials. The rules differ by state and by licence. Your board’s website is the best source.

Write the words first

Open a plain document and write each page before you touch a website tool. Write for a nervous person who has never met a therapist. Short sentences and everyday words work best.

Here is what each core page does:

Read the Home page out loud. If a client with no background in therapy cannot tell what you do, rewrite it.

Choose a platform for how you want to work

The platform matters less than people think. Google has said that the backend you use generally doesn’t matter for ranking, although speed and behavior still do, as shown in Google’s May 2023 office hours. Pick the one you can keep up.

• A website builder like Wix or Squarespace is the quickest to start. I compare them in Wix vs Squarespace for therapists.
• A template can give you a good start. See therapist website templates for when that works.
• For money, read the therapist website cost breakdown.

You also need a domain, which is your web address. Buy it in your own name and keep the login. Then you control it if you ever change builders.

Connect booking the safe way

Link your site to the booking tool you already use. For many therapists that is the scheduling page inside their EHR, which is the software that holds client records. Your site should send people there instead of collecting health details itself.

This also keeps your site simple. If you want the details, HIPAA and booking for therapists explains what a BAA is and when you need one. A BAA, or business associate agreement, is a contract with a vendor who handles client health information for you. If you are comparing booking tools, see practice management software for therapists.

Add privacy and crisis information

Two things belong on every therapy site.

Privacy. Tell visitors what the contact form is for. Say plainly that it is for general questions and not for health details. If you are a HIPAA covered provider, the rule at 45 CFR 164.520 says a covered provider with a website about its services must post its Notice of Privacy Practices there. You are usually a covered provider if you send health information electronically, for example to bill insurance (45 CFR 160.103). Check with your licensing board or a lawyer about what applies to you.

Fees and good faith estimates. If you see clients who pay for themselves, United States rules require you to say on your website that they can ask for a good faith estimate of costs (45 CFR 149.610). Put a short line on your Services or Fees page.

Crisis help. Put a short note on the Contact page and in the footer. Say the form is not for emergencies. Give 911 for emergencies and 988 for emotional crisis support. The 988 Lifeline says you can call, text or chat with a counselor any time, day or night. That is the number for the United States. If you serve clients in another country, list their local number.

Make it work on a phone and for everyone

Many people will find you on a phone, so build and check the mobile view first. Google lists three speed marks on web.dev: the main content should load within 2.5 seconds, the page should respond to taps within 200 milliseconds, and things should not jump around as it loads. Large photos often slow pages down, so shrink them before you upload.

Accessibility means people with low vision, hearing loss or limited hand movement can use your site. A common yardstick is WCAG 2.1 level AA, the middle level of the W3C web accessibility guidelines. In practice, that means:

• Text with enough contrast against its background.
• A short description for every photo.
• Buttons and links that work with a keyboard.
• Headings in a sensible order.

Set up the basics for Google

Do three things.

1. Page titles and descriptions. Google’s starter guide says a good title is unique to the page, clear and short. Give each page its own, with your specialty and your city or state.
2. Search Console. Add your site to Google Search Console, verify that you own it, and submit your sitemap. The sitemap is a list of your pages. Most builders create one for you.
3. Google Business Profile. This is your listing on Google Maps. Google says a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours to qualify, and online-only businesses are not eligible. A telehealth-only practice often won’t qualify. Read Google Business Profile for therapists before you start.

Add your website link to your Psychology Today profile, and link to your profile from your site.

Test everything before launch

Spend an hour on this. It saves you from sending a stranger to a broken page.

• Send yourself a message through the contact form. Confirm it arrives, and check your spam folder.
• Click the booking button on a phone and on a computer.
• Click every link and button.
• Read every page for typos in your licence number, fees, and phone number.
• Look at the site on a small phone and a large screen.
• Ask a friend who is not a therapist to find your booking link in ten seconds.
• Remove leftover sample text from any template.

What to do next

• Write your five pages in a document this week.
• Gather your licence details, photo, fees and booking link.
• Pick a platform and a domain, and keep the domain login yourself.
• Run the launch tests, then submit your sitemap in Search Console.

If you would rather not build it yourself

I build websites for therapists through HealerSites. The subscription plan is $75 a month with no build fee, on a 12-month term and then month to month. The other plan is a $1,500 build fee, paid in two halves (at design approval and at launch), then $25 a month. Either way you get five pages with the words written for you from a questionnaire and one call, and your booking tool connected. The site is typically live within four weeks of me getting your content. The contact form is for first questions only, and clinical details stay in your own EHR.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your licensing board or a lawyer for your situation.