Why a counseling website has to be calm, clear and careful
People who look for a therapist are often stressed and searching on a phone. They want to know what kind of counseling you offer, who you see, how a first session works, whether you take their insurance or accept self-pay, and how to reach you. A calm, plain site helps them decide and makes the first call less daunting.
The same clarity helps search engines and AI assistants. A page that says what you offer, where you are and how to book is easier to quote accurately than a page full of general wellness language.
The pages a therapy practice website needs
Start with a page for each kind of counseling you provide and each group you work with, written in your own words. Describe the training behind the work only as far as you can show it. Keep every page to services you are licensed and trained to offer.
Then add the pages most practices need:
- Your approach. How sessions work, in plain words, and what a client can expect from the process. No promised outcomes.
- First session. How to book, the intake steps, the format (in person, video or phone, as you offer them) and what to bring or prepare.
- Fees and insurance. The self-pay fees you choose to publish, and the plans your office confirms.
- Team. Each clinician’s name, degree and license type, as they appear on the license.
- Contact and crisis information. Phone number, hours, and the crisis wording described below, on every page.
Crisis information on every page
A counseling website needs crisis information where a visitor can see it without searching. We add a short box to every page and to the contact page, in wording your practice approves. The default wording reads:
“If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, every day. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.”
The 988 Lifeline’s own site lists call, text and chat, says the service is available 24/7/365, and describes conversations as free and confidential. The 911 line is general safety wording. Your practice approves the final text and can change or extend it, for example with your own after-hours instructions. If your contact form or messages are not checked for urgent needs, say so on the page. Your practice decides that policy, and we make sure the page states it.
Telehealth, intake and HIPAA
Whether HIPAA applies depends on the practice. It covers a health care provider that transmits health information electronically in connection with a covered transaction, such as an electronic insurance claim (45 CFR 160.103). A practice that bills insurance electronically, directly or through a billing service, is generally covered. Whether a self-pay-only practice is covered is a question for your counsel. We build the site the same way in both cases.
Where HIPAA applies, even a client’s name tied to an appointment request is protected health information. Booking, intake forms, reminders and any video session tool all handle that information. Each of those tools should be your practice’s own system, or a tool whose vendor signs a business associate agreement (BAA) with your practice.
A contact form or chat tool without a BAA should only give general answers, such as hours, the services you offer and how to book through your own system. We list every vendor that touches client information in the written scope, so you can check each BAA before you connect it. Confidentiality rules from your licensing board also apply. This is not legal advice. Ask your own counsel how HIPAA and your board’s rules apply to your practice.
No clinical claims
We do not write treatment claims, such as that therapy cures a condition, works faster than other care or guarantees a result. A visitor who is worried may read a promise as a fact about their own case. We describe your approach, your training and the practical steps of working with you, and we keep the copy to what you can show.
What we do, step by step
- We read your current site, your Google profile and the practices your clients compare you with.
- Scope, price, timeline and approval stages are agreed in writing before any work starts.
- We write the service, first-session and fee pages from the facts you confirm, and draft the crisis wording for your approval.
- We design for phones first, with calm layouts, a readable type size and accessibility checks to WCAG 2.1 AA.
- We connect the booking link or form, add structured data, check your listings and launch. The first 30 days include help and fixes within the agreed scope.
What it costs and what is not included
A 5-8 page practice site costs from $3,500 and takes 4-6 weeks. A landing page for one service or one new client group costs from $1,200. A full redesign costs from $4,500.
Not included in any price: domain and hosting, new photography, third-party software subscriptions (billed at cost, including any HIPAA-ready scheduling, intake or video tool you choose), SMS carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance.
Who this is for, and when a cheaper option is enough
This is for therapists and counseling practices whose site is out of date, unclear about services and fees, or missing crisis information. If the site works and needs only a new service page or an updated fee list, a refresh (from $2,500) or an extra page ($250-$450 per page) may be enough.
A clinician with a full caseload and referrals from colleagues may need only a simple page with a phone number, a service list and the crisis wording. We are a fit when you want the service pages, copy, first-session guide, listings and forms done for you, with the scope in writing. We do not meet clients in person. The whole project runs by phone, video and screen share.
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