In my last post, I published a blog on the importance of having a website for your private practice. Hopefully, that made some sense to you and you have gone ahead and started building your site. This article will look at the next stage and focus on what type of things you should include on a counselling website.
And make sure you read to the end to find a special offer and my personal recommendation of who to use to build your website.
Homepage
The homepage is, more often than not, the first thing that potential clients will see when they visit your website so, it is obviously of great importance. The way that people browse websites has changed, with the use of mobile phones and information being expected easily and instantly.
For this reason, you need to, firstly, make sure that your website works well on mobile phones, as well as computers and secondly, make sure that all the information someone needs is at the top of the homepage and easily accessible.
You can (and should) go into more depth about different areas on specific pages (which I will cover below), but for the most part, when someone lands on your website, they will want to know a brief account about who you are, what you offer and how to get in touch. This needs to be provided in the first few paragraphs at the top of the homepage.
As well as this, there are a few other areas that are worth noting in relation to your homepage.
Headshot
I believe that it is really important to include a photo of yourself on your homepage, ideally near the top. I understand that for many this can be quite a daunting process – it can be hard to get the right photo or put yourself out there in such a public way. However, one of the most common pieces of feedback I receive from others is either how much a photo helped someone decide if the counsellor was right for them, or how the lack of one was off-putting.
Granted, this is not an easy process and can bring up all kinds of things for people, but I do believe that it is an important element to have as part of your website. Have a look through some other websites or directories and see which photos appeal to you (personal, professional, indoors, outdoors etc.) or what impact they each have on you and use that to help make your decision about your own.
The rest of the homepage
Underneath your photo and the information that clients will need, you can add whatever you feel would be most helpful.
Most people will see the first part of your homepage and make a decision about whether they feel you are a good fit, or maybe want to get in touch. The rest will probably spend some time looking around the rest of the information on your website to help make a decision.
For this reason, it may be helpful to put links to other pages on your website in this section or maybe excerpts of blogs or links to your social media. Maybe pictures of your counselling room, helpful information, resources, services or anything else that people may find helpful in their search for a counsellor.
If you would like to have a look at my own homepage, it will hopefully illustrate what I have explained above – Chris Molyneux – Person-centred Counselling and Supervision.
What to include on the About Me page as a Counsellor
Your About Me section is an opportunity to tell potential clients about yourself. This is just my personal preference, but I try to include a mixture of some personal details, like hobbies, interests and maybe a bit about your journey, as well as professional experience and qualifications.
I think the About Me section is an opportunity to get across your more personal side and be more relatable and ‘human’ as a counsellor.
Often, clients will just see a professional and especially in the person-centred approach, I think it’s important to show your personal side and make you more human as a counsellor. This will set the precedent of being more relatable as a person and hopefully begin to even out the power dynamic. It can also make the process of getting in touch a little easier.
Cost, location and services
This page will be your opportunity to cover the practical details that all clients need to know in deciding if your services are a good fit for them.
Clients will need to know how much you charge so that they can work out whether they can afford counselling with you. They will also need to know if your location is practically accessible (or if you offer online services too).
This is also where you can share accessibility details about your practice (e.g. stairs, disabled access, local bus routes etc.)
You should list the services you offer and information about these. For example, counselling, supervision, coaching, consultations etc., as well as things like how long your sessions are, if you offer discounted rates, frequency of sessions, if you offer time-limited or open ended work, and any other information that would be helpful in clients deciding if your services are suitable.
Client Testimonials
This may not always be an option, especially when you are starting out in private practice, but I think it is a really helpful area for potential clients.
Many clients will not know much about you or your services and hearing first-hand from past clients gives them a trusted and direct experience of how you work as a counsellor.
Sometimes, potential clients will trust these opinions most as they are separate, unbiased opinions from people who have been in the client’s position.
Writing a Blog as a Therapist
A blog is an important part of a website for two main reasons.
Firstly, it gives you an opportunity to write about areas that interest you and may also be helpful to clients. Some clients may find these posts helpful in their own right, even if they don’t decide to come to see you as a counsellor. Others will use them to get an idea of your interests and viewpoint to help them decide if you are the right person to work with.
Secondly, and of great importance, is how Google views your website. If you are regularly adding blog posts (about once a month should be fine) then Google will view your website as relevant, frequently updated and with new content. It also helps you rank for relevant search terms and keywords.
This means that Google will likely put more trust in your website, and as a result, may help you rank higher its search results. This will result in more clients finding your website, and a better chance of gaining new ones.
Contact Details on a Counselling Website
This does not need to be a long page, but I think it is an important page that you link and refer to throughout the website.
This is obviously the vital step in getting new clients and the way clients will first speak to you, potentially leading to starting work together. The reason that you are providing all of the above information on the website, is to help clients make the right decision about working with you.
If you seem a good fit for clients, then the next step will be getting in touch with you. For this reason, your contact details need to be easily accessible and featured throughout the website so that clients can easily make contact to arrange their first session, wherever they are on the website.
Many people advise including what are called “calls to action” on your website. These are things like “Get in touch now” or “Book your first session here”, which all link to your contact details. You can feature these as part of other pages, but also make sure that you have a separate contact details page that can be easily accessed through the menu and page links on your site.
Counselling website FAQs
The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of the website is really important for clients. It is an opportunity for you to answer many of the questions potential clients would need to know about working with you.
To help you write this section, think of questions you are often asked by clients or information that would be helpful or vital to potential clients making a decision about working with you.
Have a look at my own FAQ section to get an idea of what type of questions might be good to feature here.
Some examples might be: “How many sessions of counselling will I need?”, “Is my information kept private?” or “What can I expect from our first session together?”.
Other things to include on a counselling website
Hopefully the above has given you an idea of the specific content and pages that you need to include on your counselling website but to finish, here are some general things to consider:
- Make the writing clear and easy to read
- Make information and pages easy to find throughout your website
- Include pictures and a variety of media for different client needs
- Include your location and contact details regularly
- Include social media or links to any other relevant sources of information or content
A special offer from WebHealer…
Please don’t forget that you can get a free 2 week trial to try building your own website at Webhealer, who specialise in making websites for therapists.
Also, as a reader of Chris The Counsellor, if you decide to go ahead with their services, you can use the unique referral code CM7414 when signing up. This will give you an exclusive £60 discount and a custom design, with their help at every step of the process!
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As I mention in my Building a Therapy Website post, I am recommending WebHealer only because I have used them ever since qualifying as a counsellor and cannot fault their service.
I would only want to recommend products I have tried and believe in, and WebHealer is certainly one of those. If you would like to see my Counselling website, designed by WebHealer, you can see it my counselling website.
And finally…
I hope this article has been helpful in deciding what to include on your counselling website.
If you would like to ask for any further help, or to make any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to use the contact details provided to get in touch (Look! I’m doing that thing I recommended above!!).
Thanks for taking the time to read this post and good luck with your brand-new therapy website!
