The therapist website checklist

Whether you're building your first therapist website or fixing one that isn't bringing in clients, it helps to have the whole list in one place. Here's everything clients look for, in the order they look for it, plus the practical pieces to check before you launch.

Tick off what you have. Anything missing is a question a future client has to call you to ask, or a reason they book with someone else.

Your home page

• A first line about how the reader feels, not about you
• Who you help and where, in one plain sentence (for example, adults in Fargo and online across North Dakota)
• A book or free consult button you can see without scrolling
• Whether you're taking new clients
• Your photo, or photos of your team
• The concerns you help with most, each linking to its own page
• A short look at fees and insurance, with a link to the full page

About you, or your team

• A real photo of every therapist
• A few warm sentences in your own words about who you help and how you work
• Your license explained in plain words (what an LPC, LMFT or LCSW is)
• Your training, approaches and the states you're licensed in
• For a group practice, whether each therapist sees people online, in person or both

Services and concerns

• A page each for individual, couples and family therapy, if you offer them
• A page for each common concern (anxiety, depression, grief, relationships, life changes, burnout), written in the words people search for
• What a session is like and how long it lasts

Fees and insurance

• Your session fees, including the first session if it's different
• The insurance plans you're in network with
• Sliding scale, HSA and FSA cards and superbills, if you offer them
• Your cancellation policy
• A link to your Good Faith Estimate notice for self-pay clients
• A link to pay a bill online

Getting started

• What happens after someone gets in touch, step by step
• How soon a first session is usually available
• A book button that opens your scheduling tool
• A client portal link for people who already see you
• A video session link if you offer telehealth

Contact and location

• Your address with a map, plus parking or transit notes
• Your hours
• A phone number that calls when tapped
• The states you can see clients in online

Privacy and safety

• A crisis line on every page, such as "In a crisis, call or text 988 any time"
• Intake forms and the portal linked out to your secure practice software, not collected on the website (we explain why in Patient forms, HIPAA and your practice website)
• No contact form that invites people to describe what they're going through
• Your Notice of Privacy Practices, if your practice is covered by HIPAA
• A privacy policy and an accessibility statement

Before you launch

• Open every page on your phone and tap every button
• Check that the book, portal and pay buttons go to the right place
• Give every page its own title and description for Google
• Add your website to your Google Business Profile
• Link to it from your Psychology Today and other directory profiles
• Ask Google to index it in Search Console

The checklist at a glance

• Home page that speaks to the reader, with a book button
• Every therapist with a photo and a warm introduction
• A page for each service and each common concern
• Fees, insurance and the Good Faith Estimate notice
• What happens first, and how soon
• Address, hours, map and telehealth states
• Crisis line on every page
• Forms, booking and the portal linked out
• Privacy notices and accessibility statement
• Tested on a phone and set up in Google

Start from a design that has all of this

Renew is our design for therapy and counseling practices, solo or group, with every page on this list built in. We tailor it to your practice, launch it and keep it updated, or you can build it yourself from the Framer template.

See Renew

For example wording, read Therapist website examples, or see what to look for in Therapist website templates.