Websites for therapists have one job: help a stranger who is anxious about reaching out decide that you're the right person and send a consult request. This guide is for solo and group practices choosing between a DIY builder, a therapy-website subscription and a done-for-you rebuild. It starts from what a prospective client needs to see, then judges each option on that, on HIPAA-safe forms, and on how well Google and AI assistants can read the result.
Demand for help is real. Here is what therapists search when shopping for a site:
| Search (US, monthly) | Volume |
|---|---|
| websites for therapists / therapist websites (one cluster) | ~1,900 |
| therapist website design | 390 |
| websites for counselors | 390 |
| best therapist websites | 320 |
| therapist website templates | 260 |
| best website builder for therapists | 110 |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026. Google groups "websites for therapists" and "therapist websites" as one search.
What a prospective client checks before reaching out
Someone who found you through Google or your Psychology Today profile arrives with a short list of questions, usually in this order:
- Do you work with people like me? Their concern, age group, relationship, identity.
- How do you work? Talk therapy, CBT, EMDR, couples work, play therapy for kids.
- Can I afford it? Your fee, whether you're in-network, whether you give superbills.
- Can I see you? In person where, telehealth in which states, and whether you have openings.
- What happens if I reach out? A free 15-minute call, an intake form, a first session.
If the site answers those five in under a minute on a phone, the person keeps reading. If it opens with a mission statement and a stock photo of a beach, they go back to the search results. Everything below follows from that.
Pages every therapy website needs, and the ones that build fit
The core pages:
- Home: who you help, where, and the next step, all above the fold.
- Specialty pages: one per concern or population you actually treat, such as anxiety, couples, trauma, and children and teens. Each one describes what that client is experiencing in their own words, how you work with it, and who it's not a fit for.
- Approach pages: CBT, EMDR, DBT or whatever you're trained in, explained in plain language: what a session looks like and how long it typically runs.
- Fees and insurance: session fees, panels you're on, superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, sliding-scale slots if you offer them, and your cancellation policy.
- Telehealth: the states where you can see clients. Licensure follows the client: the Counseling Compact's FAQ (opens in a new tab) puts it plainly, "Counselors must have a license or a privilege to practice in the state where the client is located."
- Getting started: what happens after someone reaches out, from the first call to the first session.
- Bios: each clinician's license type (LPC, LMFT, LCSW, psychologist), training and populations, with a real photo.
- Crisis note: a visible line that you don't provide emergency services, pointing to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens in a new tab) (call or text 988, 24/7) and 911.
The pages that build fit go further: a page for a specific group you know well (new parents, college students, first responders), an FAQ that answers "what if I cry in the first session?", and a short video of you talking. These are what make someone feel they've found their therapist rather than a therapist.
What to leave out: client testimonials. The APA Ethics Code (opens in a new tab) (Standard 5.05) bars soliciting them from current clients; the ACA Code (opens in a new tab) (C.3.b) adds former clients; the NASW Code (opens in a new tab) (4.07) bars soliciting endorsements, including consent to reuse a client's earlier words. Wording checked October 22, 2026.
DIY builder, therapy-website platform or done-for-you: an honest comparison
There are three broad routes. None is right for everyone.
| Criterion | DIY builder | Therapy-website platform | Done-for-you rebuild |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the domain | You, if you register it yourself | Check the contract; some register it for you | Check the contract; it should be you |
| HIPAA-compliant forms and a BAA | Only on some builders and plans | Often an add-on or higher tier | Depends on the provider; ask for the BAA |
| A page per specialty and approach | Possible, you write them | Templates and content libraries | Written or rebuilt for you |
| Speed on phones | Depends on your theme and images | Depends on the platform | Depends on the build; ask for test results |
| Cost model | Monthly plan plus your time | Monthly or annual subscription, sometimes a setup fee | Monthly service or a one-off project fee |
| Who makes updates | You | You, or support on request | The provider, or you through a dashboard |
Two named examples, as published on the vendors' own pages on October 22, 2026:
- Wix (DIY builder). Wix will sign a BAA, but its HIPAA setup article (opens in a new tab) says you need a supported Premium plan to activate PHI protection first. Activation can restrict some features, hides apps that aren't HIPAA-compliant and reduces analytics data. Older forms must be rebuilt with the current Wix Forms.
- Brighter Vision (therapy-website platform). Its pricing page (opens in a new tab) lists Start at $99 a month, Grow at $179 and Flourish at $349, with a $100 setup fee on the first two and lower prices billed annually. HIPAA-compliant forms (through Hushmail) are included on Flourish or sold as an add-on. The page says you fully own your domain; it mentions a BAA only for the Hushmail add-on, so ask before you sign.
When DIY is the better fit: you enjoy writing, have evenings free and need only a few pages. When a platform fits: you want templates and support but will write your own copy. When done-for-you fits: your time is better spent with clients, and you want the specialty pages, speed and structured data handled.
Consult and contact forms: what HIPAA means for a therapy site
A website isn't regulated by HIPAA just for existing. What matters is the information it collects. A consult form that asks "What brings you to therapy?" or "Any diagnoses?" collects protected health information (PHI) from someone who is, by definition, seeking care. From that moment, the form tool, the host and any service that stores submissions must protect it and sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with you.
Design for the minimum necessary, meaning only what you need to schedule:
- Name and preferred contact method
- Phone or email, and whether it's safe to leave a message
- Preferred times and in-person or telehealth
- Insurance carrier, or self-pay
- Optional: "Anything you'd like us to know before we call?" with a note not to share clinical details
Then check what runs on that page. HHS's online tracking guidance (opens in a new tab) says tracking code on a page where someone types a reason for seeking care or books an appointment can disclose PHI to the vendor. A court vacated part of that guidance in June 2024, but not that part. Keep ad pixels off consult and intake pages.
Our guide to HIPAA-compliant forms covers field design and vendors, and HIPAA rules for therapy websites covers pixels, testimonials and messaging. Once requests arrive, tracking consult requests in one place stops them from sitting unanswered.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Writing about your approach without promising outcomes
Ethics codes require your public statements to be accurate. NASW 4.06(c) asks social workers to make sure representations of "services provided, or results to be achieved are accurate", and AAMFT Standard 9.2 (opens in a new tab) requires advertising to be true and accurate. In practice:
- Describe, don't promise. "EMDR is a structured therapy that uses bilateral stimulation while you recall difficult memories" is accurate. "EMDR will heal your trauma in six sessions" isn't.
- Name the evidence carefully. If you call an approach evidence-based, say which concern the evidence covers, and don't imply it works for everyone.
- Be honest about fit. "I don't work with active eating disorders; I'm happy to suggest colleagues who do" builds trust.
- List only credentials you hold. Trainings are not certifications; a weekend course is not a specialty.
Illustrative example (fictional practice): "In couples therapy we use the Gottman Method. Early sessions focus on assessment: we meet together, then each of you individually. Most couples come weekly at first. We'll talk honestly about whether it's helping."
Speed, mobile and readability basics
Assume the reader is on a phone, possibly at 11 p.m. after a hard day. Google's Core Web Vitals (opens in a new tab) set clear targets: the main content should load within 2.5 seconds, the page should respond to a tap in under 200 milliseconds, and layout shift should stay under 0.1.
For a therapy site, the usual problems are large background videos, uncompressed photos, chat pop-ups that cover the page and three different booking widgets. Beyond speed:
- Body text at least 16px, short paragraphs, plenty of white space.
- A tap-to-call phone number and a contact button visible on every page.
- Headings that say what's below ("Fees and insurance", not "Investing in yourself").
- Plain language: "anxiety", not "dysregulated nervous system", unless you explain it.
Making your site readable to Google and AI assistants
Some people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews to suggest a therapist. Google says there are no extra requirements (opens in a new tab) to appear in its AI features: pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet, important content should be in text, and structured data should match what's visible.
For a therapy site that means:
- Specialties, location, telehealth states and license types written in text, not baked into images.
- Structured data that identifies the practice, its address and its clinicians.
- The same name, address and phone as your Google listing and directory profiles.
- No robots.txt or hosting setting that blocks crawlers you want reading the site.
The medical website design guide covers structure and schema across specialties.
How Medfy rebuilds a therapy practice website
Medfy starts from your current site and rebuilds it: fast, with a page per service, structured data and HIPAA-compliant forms, hosted on your own domain. Form submissions are stored in separate, encrypted HIPAA databases in the US or Canada, and Medfy signs a BAA with your practice before any client data flows. The plan includes 500 AI credits a month for edits you ask for in plain English, such as "add a page for teen anxiety".
The $349 base plan also includes automated SEO, weekly AI visibility tracking, Google reporting, analytics and a patient CRM for consult requests. See pricing. To see where your site stands first, start with a free audit of your current site, then see a free preview of your rebuilt website before paying. If you're mapping the rest of your marketing, the therapist marketing hub covers listings, ads and ethics.
Frequently asked questions
Do therapists need a website if they're on Psychology Today?
Yes, for most practices. A directory profile is rented space with a word limit, shown next to dozens of competitors. Your website is where you explain each specialty, your approach, fees, superbills and telehealth states in full, and it's the page Google, AI assistants and your own profile link back to. The two work best together: the profile gets you found, the website helps someone decide.
What should a therapist's website include?
A home page that says who you help and where, one page per specialty or population, plain descriptions of your approaches, therapist bios with license types and numbers where your board expects them, fees, insurance and superbill details, telehealth states, a description of the first consult, a short contact form, and a visible note pointing to 988 and 911 because you don't provide crisis care.
Does a therapy website need to be HIPAA compliant?
The pages themselves aren't regulated, but anything that collects or transmits protected health information is. A consult form that asks about symptoms, diagnoses or insurance details creates PHI, so the form tool and host need to sign a Business Associate Agreement and protect the data. Tracking pixels on those pages can also disclose PHI to ad platforms. Keep forms minimal and choose vendors that sign a BAA.
How much does a therapist website cost?
It depends on who does the work. A DIY builder costs a monthly plan plus your evenings; Wix requires a supported Premium plan before it signs a BAA. Brighter Vision listed therapy-site plans from $99 to $349 a month as of October 2026, with HIPAA forms on its top published tier. Medfy's base plan is $349 a month and includes the rebuilt website, hosting, SEO and analytics.