Here are 10 things to do to improve your therapy or therapist website.
These tips are aimed at improving the experience for the user so that they can get the help they are looking for.
Over 50% of visitors to your website will ‘bounce’.
This means that they have come to your website but did not find what they were looking for or in many cases were unable to.
Website is all about clarity and simplicity.
Many therapist websites can be confusing to use or simply not clear about what type of client or types of therapy you offer.
So here we go and how many do you get right?
1. Make your phone number ‘clickable’ or on the phone ‘tappable’
Many websites make the phone number hard to find and when found often it is not tappable, this is incredibly frustrating for the user of your website – users expect when they see a phone number and simply tap on it.
2. Does your contact form send an email confirmation to the client with all your details?
Many websites have contact forms that only send an email to the therapist.
A simple automatic email confirmation sent to the user is reassuring and professional.
3. Are you building trust?
Simple things like spelling errors or pages not loading properly can put visitors off.
As a professional, it is important that your website looks and is professional too.
We can send a review of your website and provide recommendations for making your website professional.
4. Are you easy to reach out to?
One of the hardest things for someone contemplating therapy is to make the first contact.
Not everyone is comfortable making that call.
Make your website ‘friendly’ enough that someone can reach out and offer multiple varieties of ways to do so.
Phone numbers and contact forms are ideal, but there will be those who prefer to contact you via Social Media or online chat should also be added so that those uncomfortable with traditional means can still reach out (especially out of hours).
It is well established that ‘Gen Z’ and Millenials don’t like making or taking phone calls.
5. Show yourself
Not many people like having their picture taken and many more may not want to see it added to a website – but it does build trust.
6. Show your office or meeting room
Approaching a therapist is difficult. Pictures of your meeting room or build location can help ease clients when it comes to visit you
7. Explain how a session works
It may sound obvious but a simple explanation of who the therapy will work with – where do I sit where does the client sit, and access to a toilet or wheelchair access. What if I feel upset and want to stop?
8. Add an FAQ
An FAQ will always be one of the most visited pages on your website.
Collect all the common questions that you are asked (not client specific) and add them to your website. FAQs are important lead-ins for a potential client. Remember these don’t need to be in-depth but can be simple things that help clients decide if you are a suitable therapist.
9. Are your professional qualifications explained?
As in any field, there are technical terms and qualifications that have names and meanings unique to their field. Many clients don’t understand these terms.
Many therapist websites ‘assume’ that the reader understands these terms and can deduce if the therapist or therapy is applicable to them.
We recommend that whenever a technical term is used on your website that a short explanation is provided in brackets to help explain it.
10. Should you have a logo?
Arguably if you are a lone therapist then there may not be a requirement. If you are in a partnership or organisation then a logo can give you a clearer identity.
But there are other benefits to a logo even if you are just an individual:-
Makes it easier for your identity on websites, social media, forums, chats and other tools which give you consistency across platforms. This also helps Google and other search engines identify you.
It does look professional. With more and more therapy sessions taking place online it does help reassure and build trust.
Who has time to maintain a website?
All of the above takes time and we can help with that, what ever you need to do to keep your website in tip-top shape, just get in touch and we will fix, sort, update or add a new feature. It is important that the website does not look too amateurish or home made.