What makes a good counseling website
What a counseling practice website needs to help people pick a counselor and book, whether you work alone or with a team.
A counseling website is often the first conversation someone has with your practice. Before they ever call, they've read your home page, looked at your counselors and tried to work out whether they can afford it. If the website answers those questions, they book. If it doesn't, they go back to the search results.
Here's what a good counseling website does, whether you're one counselor or a group practice with a dozen.
It speaks to the person reading it
The first line on the page should be about the reader, not the practice. "Find healing. Find hope." or "You don't have to have the right words" says more than "Welcome to our practice". Underneath it, one plain sentence should say who you see and where: adults, couples, families, teens, in your town or online across your state.
Put the book button right there too. Someone who has finally decided to reach out shouldn't have to scroll to find it.
It helps people pick a counselor
For a group practice, this is the most important job on the website. People don't know the difference between an LPC, an LMFT and an LCSW, and they shouldn't need to. Help them choose with:
- A photo of every counselor, with a short line in their own words about who they help
- Their license explained in plain words, once, somewhere easy to find
- Whether each counselor is taking new clients, and whether they see people online, in person or both
- A way to browse counselors by concern, such as anxiety, grief, couples or teens
Some group practices go further with a short "Not sure who to see?" page that groups counselors by what they help with.
For a solo counselor, the same job is simpler: a warm about section with your photo, your approach in plain words, and what a first session with you is like.
It gives each kind of counseling its own page
Individual, couples and family counseling are different decisions made by different people. A couple deciding whether to try counseling has different questions from a parent looking for help for their family. Give each its own page that says who it's for, what sessions are like, how long they last and who on your team offers it.
It names what you help with
People search for what they're going through: "grief counseling", "anxiety therapist near me", "marriage counseling". A page for each common concern, written in those words, helps them find you and helps Google show your practice for those searches. Each page can be short: the signs people notice, how counseling helps and how to book.
It's clear about fees and insurance
Cost is one of the biggest reasons people put off counseling. List your session fees, the insurance plans you're in network with, whether you offer a sliding scale, and how superbills work for out-of-network plans. Self-pay clients also have a right to a Good Faith Estimate of what their care will cost, so link to your notice.
It says where you can see people
List every office with its address, hours and parking or transit notes. If you offer telehealth, name the states you're licensed in near the top of the page, so people out of state don't have to read the whole website to find out.
It makes the first step feel small
Explain what happens after someone gets in touch: a short call, a first session, then regular sessions. A free 15-minute consult lowers the barrier for a lot of people, and saying "most first sessions are within two weeks" answers a question everyone has.
It keeps private information off the website
Booking, intake forms and the client portal should open in the secure tools you already use, like your practice management software. A contact form that invites people to describe what they're going through collects health information on your website. We explain the risk in Patient forms, HIPAA and your practice website.
It has a crisis line on every page
A small line in every footer, such as "In a crisis, call or text 988 any time", tells people where to go if they need help right now. It's a small detail that shows you thought about everyone who might land on your website.
A counseling website design you can start from
Renew is our design for counseling practices, solo or group. It has a page for individual, couples and family counseling, a What we help with page with a page for each concern, a fees table, counselor profiles and a crisis line in every footer. We tailor it to your practice, launch it and keep it updated.
Want the full list in one place? See The therapist website checklist.
