I recently went through a website upgrade as I felt my old website didn’t really communicate what it is I did. But what should be on a Private Practice website? After working with many therapists, I’ve learned a thing or two about what should be on your Private Practice website. Below I will outline why you should have a website in the first place. What key pages you should have. Put my case across for why you SHOULD list your fees and why blogging is important.

What is the point of a website?

Whilst you do not have control over what people see on your social media you do have control of this little corner of the internet. The main point is to help attract your ideal clients. You want the right people visiting your website and staying on it. One of the best ways to help with this is through blogs or videos. This will help with your search engine optimisation (SEO) as you will hopefully be writing about what your ideal clients will be searching for.

Key Pages

Whilst your website is personal to you, there are some key pages that it should contain.

Welcome Page

Your welcome page should be all about the client. It should clearly outline who you serve and what you do. Break up text with images. You can find free images online using Canva, Shutterstock, Unsplash etc. You should also ensure you have some ‘call to actions’ on this page. Call to action’s are what you would like the person on your website to do. Do you want them to read your blog? Check out your services page? or get in touch? Ensure to make these really visible with bold background buttons. A video could also be a great addition to a welcome page. You can add captions which will also increase watch rates. 

About You Page

As the title suggests this page is about you. Tell your story of course but ensure that it relates to your business and understanding the struggles of your ideal client. This is a chance to connect to the reader and make them confident that you are the person to help them. Tie your understanding of them and your story back to the services you offer. You absolutely want a photo of YOU on this page, preferable making eye contact with the camera.

Services & Fees

When a potential client finds your website, not only do they need to know that you are the right person for them, they also need to know you offer the service they want. Be very clear here with exactly what services you offer and what your fees are. Fees can be a contentious subject however I am a full believer in listing your fees on your website. Put yourself in your client's mind for a minute. If you were looking for any kind of service and there wasn’t a fee how would that make you feel? What if you contacted that service provider and you found out their rate was far too high for you? You can always say that you offer a reduced fee programme for a percentage of clients or something similar. Giving people a ballpark figure will ensure you get real inquiries. 

Contact Page

Having a dedicated contact page is important. Some people will skip past all the calls to actions on the other pages and want to head straight to the contact page. It can be really frustrating if a website doesn’t have an easy to find contact page and could make potential clients move on to another website. If you have a form for people to complete just add a few key questions to it. Don’t ask clients to write their whole life stories. Name, email, phone number, how they found you and room for a message is plenty. 

Blogs

I have separated this from the key pages but I do personally think this is a necessity. Blogs are great for SEO as search engines like it when a website is updated regularly. They also can contain a huge amount of keywords that your ideal client might be searching for. If you have a podcast or post videos on YouTube you can turn these into a blog post for your website.

Clear Navigation

A really important thing to remember is having clear navigation so that people who visit can get from page to page easily. Most people look at websites on their phone so as well as having the key pages at the top in the header ensure to also have easy links in the footer. That way, when someone is scrolling through a page they don’t have to go back to the top to find where they want to go next. Also, sprinkle calls to action throughout your website and repeat the important ones. 

Social Links & Mailing Lists

If you have social media add your links in the footer of your website. Social media allows people to build up a like and trust factor with you. Someone may not be ready to work with you yet but giving people a chance to follow you on social media may give them the confidence to contact you.

If you have a mailing list, ensure to add a link where they can sign up. You can then send them regular newsletters or blogs that may be of interest to them. Again building that like and trust relationship.

Imagery

Finally, ensure your imagery is positive with professional pictures as much as possible. Client’s don’t want to see you looking unexpressive, they want to see how their life could be after working with you. 

Conclusion 

You should now have a clear picture of what should be on a Private Practice website. Having a great website is really down to the client experience. How easy is it for them to read your content? Do you get across who you are and what you do? Is it visually pleasing and can they find what they want easily? Remember a confused person never buys! 

I have some great website developers in my network that work for therapists. Feel free to contact me if you’d like any recommendations. Take a look around my website to see how easy it is to navigate and the key pages I have.  

If you’d like a more in-depth consultation on your current website and recommendations I have for you, you can book an Admin Audit. An admin audit is a 60 minute zoom meeting for anything to do with your practice. If you’d like more information please contact me at kim@virtuallyirreplaceable.co.uk.