Building and Developing your Therapy Website, with Theo Ruby

Artwork for podcast The Grow Your Private Practice Show

Episode 140 • 11th May 2023 • The Grow Your Private Practice Show • Jane Travis

Jane: Hi, and welcome back and if this is your first time here, it's great to have you on board. I hope you're okay. Now then question for you. Do you either have a website or want to get one? Because if so, you are gonna find today's podcast really interesting because I'm delighted to say I've got a guest expert for you.

Yep. Today I've got the fabulous Theo Ruby, which is also a really cool name. Thea Ruby is here with me and we are gonna be talking about. Websites. We're gonna talk about getting your first website or maybe upgrading the one that you currently have. Now Theo's a great person to talk about this because he is a website and digital marketing consultant and he works a lot with counselors and therapists.

And one of the things I really like about him is that he is one of those people that's people that's really generous with their knowledge. You know, he, he goes above and beyond really to do what he can to help people to navigate tech because. I don't know about you, but frankly I'm a bit scared of tech and what I like about Theo is that he understands that, that, you know, most of us, most of us counselors find tech a little bit scary.

So, yeah. So he's gonna help you to, you know, Wade your way through some of the, some of the tech headaches that you might be having. So if you've ever wanted to know what to look for when choosing a new website or what you definitely need, or what you could do without, then get comfy, cuz I'm sure that you're gonna find this really helpful.

So let's dive on in. I think you're gonna like this one.

So, Theo, it's really great to have you here. I've been really looking forward to talking to you because this is something that comes up time and time again. You know, people when they're first starting out, I, well, I think what happens is when people first start out, there's just this feeling that, oh, I've gotta get a website.

So people just get a website from somewhere. You usually the, you know, the one that's the most inexpensive, and then after that there's a period of. Okay. I'm not sure it's gonna do what I thought it was gonna do. I mean, is this something that you've experienced from, from people?

Theo: Yeah. So especially counsellors.

maybe they've had a site they got built a few years ago, or they, they got one from, a company that, that's maybe not well regarded and they're just, They have a lot of questions about how they can edit it, how they can kind of maintain it and, and use it, for a long period of time. Obviously like when, when you buy a website, you are hoping it's gonna last you, I dunno, say, five to eight years.

So it's quite a big investment and I think, it's important to make sure that you pick the right tools and also something that you're comfortable with as well. Mm-hmm.

Jane: And I, I think the problem is when we are first starting out, a usually we haven't got very much money and b. Most, a lot of counselors, and I can only speak for myself, I'm not a very techy person, so I dunno what I'm doing.

So I need to go for the, what appears to be the easiest option. But that's not always the right option, is it?

Theo: No. And I think, People, people get scared by the idea of like web builders and all, all of the terminology is quite confusing. Even for me. I have to like google some of the terms to know what they mean.

So I can imagine for someone who doesn't spend all down a computer, it can be quite, quite scary. and I, it's about finding someone to talk to who you can trust and who can kind of explain it to you in a way that you understand. I know there's. So, for example, some website builders, their support teams are very good at kind of breaking things down and going through the process.

And other ones, they just, they don't give the time to the customer. So you can feel a bit unsure of what, what the actual product's gonna be. So I think, yeah, getting some clarity on what you're actually, starting with is very important. Mm-hmm.

Jane: And I think sometimes it's difficult to know what you need to be looking out for.

Because if you don't know what you need to be looking, you know, you don't know even what to be looking out for. So maybe we could go, haven't phrased that very well have, but maybe we could just have a little look at that of, you know, what might be something that people would have on a checklist of what to look out for when they're first starting out, either getting their first website or moving onto another website.

Theo: Okay. So I mean, for me there's three main things that are quite important. the ability, basically you should always own your domain. So even if you go for another company, you should be able to, the domain should be registered in your name. It just gives you that security for the future. it

Jane: should be so sorry.

Sorry. So just to be clear, your domain is the thing That's your, that's your url. So that's the www dot, you know your name dot. Co UK, isn't it? Exactly.

Theo: So mine's theo ruby.com and even if I used, wix or Squarespace or something, but it's more if you work with, with a, like a designer, if they purchase your domain for you and then they stop working, you lose access to it.

So I've had some counsellors have come to me and they said, oh, the guy's, retired or he is got children, and now, now I can't access my site. It's very important for you to be able to, in the worst case scenario, always have access to it. Always know that, yeah, in 10, 15 years, you will always be able to get your name, because the name, the www.is, that's where the traffic goes.

That's the important part. That's kind, that's your brand, is your name. and I think apart from that, it's really about being able to edit. So, or being able to get into the backend in some way, shape or form. So if you wanted to say, update your prices, it should be, it should be possible for you to go in and very simply just change a few bits of text.

Some, some counselors I've spoken to, especially people who say are, are new to private practice, they're changing their prices all the time. Every three months, they're updating very small, minor things and I think just, yeah. Having, having the confidence and knowing you can do that is very, very helpful.

Jane: Mm-hmm. Well, I couldn't agree more because for me, my website, I'm changing things on it all the time. Well, a, I'm blogging so that's changing things constantly, but I'll sort of have new ideas. I'll have an idea of what I want to say. I might want to change something slightly, might want to change an image.

And I know in the past, you know, I did have somebody do my website for me, a lo a long time ago. And it, and I've heard of this so many times, people saying, I've asked them, ask the person doing my website to make a change. And it can sometimes take weeks for them to just make a very simple, basic change.

And that makes it very difficult to then, well, it makes it very difficult to feel as though that's your website because it's so, it, it almost feels too far away. Do you know what I mean? It's, it feels like it's not yours.

Theo: Yeah. And then either, obviously you've either gotta pay for that change or you've gotta wait for it.

Or maybe you might in them out. I know some ca some people have said they just, they don't wanna disturb the person who designed it. at the end of the day, I mean, it's not changing the design. It shouldn't be anything technical. It should just be a, a bit of text or maybe as you said, maybe a bit of text or an image, which should be, accessible by almost anyone.

especially now, like it's important for websites to be updated at least every few months. So, I mean, as kind of like a bare minimum, if you could make a small change to your site, I dunno, maybe four times a year will help you to be found and it'll kind of keep your site fresh and interesting.

Jane: The trick.

I think that for most, websites these days, just changing a, a few words is just the same as like changing something in a Word document, isn't it? It's not complicated.

Theo: Yeah, exactly. So I mean, I, I've used WordPress, but there's wic, Squarespace, all of these. It, you click into the editor and it is effectively a Word document.

Like do you have bold, do you have underline, you have the color, the size, but they try and keep it very kind of standardized and simple. obviously 15 years ago it's completely different, but now, yeah, they're designed to be, very easy to update and, and maintain from literally anyone.

Jane: Yeah, no, it's, it almost feels a little bit like there are some less scrupulous web people out there where it almost feels as though they're keeping you, hostage.

You know, it's like we've got your website and if you want to move because they've bought the domain name, then sometimes the, it can be a bit tricky being able to even get your ho your domain name back.

Theo: Or, or the des the design. Yeah. So I was working with a client recently and they, they create design in the first place, but the web designer wouldn't allow them to take it with them.

so I think having, making sure that you find a designer or a piece of software at the beginning, that there's, that transparency is very important. Mm-hmm. So like, even if it takes a couple more weeks or a month longer, to know that you have something that's gonna last you and something. Where you feel comfortable working with those people is very important.

Yeah. Good thing is now with the internet, like things are a bit more transparent and you can see, you can find out reviews on different services. if you're not sure, you could ask, ask friends or in the Facebook groups for good recommendations. But yeah, like simple, accessible and transparent websites are normally the best.

Yeah, absolutely. and I don't think you don't need. It's overcomplicate. You need lots of pages and fancy features, especially to start, it's more about having kind of like a, a shop front. Just something that promotes your practice is very clean and simple and just, just tells people, what you're about.

Mm-hmm. There's no need to like to over-engineer it.

Jane: Yeah. It doesn't need to be like all the bells and whistles. It needs to be, they always say clear is better than clever. So you want it to be nice and clear, rather than having lots of bells and whistles.

You just need to get your message out there and to make it sound like you.

Theo: Mm-hmm. And then it should match with your, your directory profiles and your social media and stuff. They should all sound like it's the same voice. Sorry. I dunno if we should touch on this bit, but I think finding your voice is very, very important.

Jane: Well, yeah, you, you know me. I'm massive on niche. I'm a big believer in niche. I think a lot of people are a little bit worried about the word niche because it sounds like, well, I've got to choose a specific thing. I've got to then stick with that forever, and what if I get a bit bored of it? But choosing a niche is just really helping clients. Just to find the right person. So all you're doing is letting people, what you're basically doing is you're making it more likely for you to get the sort of people that you just love to work with. Mm-hmm. So the word niche, I think sometimes throws people off.

But all people are, all that really means is you are gonna be doing what you can to attract the sort of clients that you just love to work with, and that that's all it is.

Theo: And also I think, it, it means for the long term as well, you're, you're gonna start, people are gonna start to know you as a person that deals in a certain area or a certain type of type of client.

So, for example, for me, I used to work in corporate. I don't anymore. I focus on kind of small, independent people, people who like, Maybe one or two people in a team or just person on their own. And I find that really, really valuable. And I think, having that one-to-one personal service, even with your, your web designer or your whoever you get your website built with, is quite helpful.

At least having, like a point of contact. So if there's an issue, if you've got a question, you know the name of the person you can reach out to.

Jane: I think that's, that's just really important, getting that level of trust and getting that understanding.

Theo: Yeah. And in terms of other things for the website, I think now everyone talks about, having a site that's mobile responsive and having a site that's secure. Generally they kind, they come as standard. So most sites built in the last couple of years should have a security, sorry, security certificate and should look good on mobile.

But it's just ha when you do get it built, just to have a think, make sure that on your, on your tablet, on your computer, on your, on your friend's, devices, it all looks good and you're happy with it. Yeah. So after say, when I built, built a site for someone, I say to them, get. They're friends to check.

It gets some feedback from other people cuz it might look good on, on your phone, maybe not, not on someone else's. Mm-hmm. And then, yeah, also having the ability to go back and give feedback and kind of make sure that it's perfect and it's ready for you to, to share.

Jane: Yeah, it's so exciting when you get your first website.

I can remember it so clearly. I mean, the first one that I got was through a particular company that does websites for therapists, and they were, they were great for what they were. it was a great option for me, but I'd been with them for a while and then I realized that you couldn't. Put a blog on there, which was an absolutely devastating blow for me because blogging was definitely something that I wanted to do.

I think blogging is something that I honestly think that most counselors should be blogging, or creating content in some way. So for me to realize that I couldn't put my blog on there was like, Oh, well what do I do now? I've just gone to the time troubling effort of getting this new fancy website and you know, like I say, you get really excited and make it how you want it to be.

So I had to then change over and I actually got a website made for me. So somebody else went, went through the process and did it all for me. But you know, it was fun. I have to say it was fun getting my new website made, you know, planning on my colors and planning on my pictures and it was all great fun, but it was all another thing to do.

So it wasn't brilliant to have to change from one website to another.

***Theo: And I, but I think, There's normally WordPress, wick, Squarespace, and your independent kind of design companies. They're the main ones that come up. and yeah, I, I've, obviously, I have my preference. I do think that having something that's gonna last you in like the medium's term is really good.

So obviously cost is an issue. But just making sure that you're not gonna have to rebuild it in two to three years is important. Mm-hmm. And as you said, like being able to blog, so blogging and creating content completely changed my business. Mm-hmm. beginning of Covid, I went to a content led model and yeah, it, I've never been happier, like I, it, it took me kind of to the next level of, of my own business.

I think every counselor in order to be found in order to, to, to find that voice and to be. To be present on the internet is quite important to be able to try blogging and it doesn't. I think the other thing is people get, overwhelmed by the idea of having, say, to write something, but it could, could start with a video.

It could start with just an idea or a couple of paragraphs. so what, in some other sessions, what I'm trying to do is make things. You start with what you know, and you start with what becomes fun for you. So you might want, you might prefer to use a Dictaphone or write down some notes or some bullets or a conversation.

Just fi just think about what comes naturally when you wanna start blogging.

Jane: Yeah, I mean, I think Blogging's A, it's a, it's a, it's a big old subject and it's a subject that I really, really love. There are ways and means, I think the most important thing, like you say, is to just get started, to just start writing something and that gives you something to build on.

You know, the, the, the big, the biggest hurdle is just getting started and getting something out there on your website. Doesn't matter if it's not brilliant, because you can always get rid of it later, or, you know, go in and redo it, but just get started. Just dip your toe in and, and just learn how to do it.

And it's, it, you, you're absolutely right. It could be such a game changer and I think it's such an underutilized. Marketing technique, marketing tool for people to use that. it's something I'm really concentrating on helping people with at the moment, so I'm, I'm really excited about just helping people more with it because things are changing.

Theo: Do you find, that some, some clients are really adverse to it and some really enjoy it? So when I'm speaking to different clients, there's kind of like a very half and half mix between those who, who love it and they do it on their Sunday and they really enjoy it, and other ones who.

Just need that kind of nudge in the right direction to make the first take. The first step. Yeah.

Jane: Well, yeah, absolutely. And there's a couple of things. I mean, one thing is maybe it's about, it might be that they think, right, I don't want to write or I can't write. You know, some people think they can't write, which isn't true.

Cuz if you could speak, you could write. So I know somebody who just thought I can't write, and I said to them, try blogging and this. They were like, oh God, no, I, I can't do that. And fast forward to her not only having an absolutely amazing blog, which was really fun and interesting, but she'd actually r wrote her own book and she, I did actually in.

Interviewer for the podcast, so I'll put the link to that somewhere. But some people think they can't write, which isn't true. But I think the problem with that is people think they've got to write some sort of in-depth article, but this is just a conversation. So it doesn't have to be like really in depth, but for some people it might be they just don't want to write.

So maybe it's easier to do a podcast or go on video. So there are different ways of doing it. It doesn't have to be one thing. It can be, you know, different things. Yeah, so my,

Theo: my whole, content plan started with video. So I would record like a little training session and put that on my site, and then the text came afterwards.

and I, but I think we could do a whole, whole other podcast on this. but yeah, making, making it. A big part of your website and also, as we said, having accessibility to go on and add and update those blogs. You don't want to have, a hurdle. We have to send it to someone each time. but yeah, just having, a little, a step by step, say five things to do in order to post your blog on there and to get it shared can be really, really powerful for your practice.

Yeah,

Jane: absolutely.

Theo: And then obviously you can, once you what's on your site, you can then share that on social media. You can put that on Google Business, all your other areas you use to promote your practice. It can, it can be like a magnet to pull people back to your site. Yeah. Yeah. This is a whole, a topic that I do with quite a lot is about growing the website.

So once, once you find what you love, the next step is just getting the most from it. Mm-hmm.

Jane: And, and the way, I mean for me, the way to get lots of traffic to your website is through producing content, isn't it? It's a great way to get people then to go to your website and once they're on your website, they're getting to know you, getting to go get, getting to know a sense of you, and hopefully then they'll take the next step.

And I

Theo: think the one thing I really learned, over the past couple of years, I started off being a little bit stiff and formal and kind of businessy. but then giving it that personal touch and being a little bit more relaxed and being a bit more human in the way that you write or record or whatever you do, makes a hu makes a massive difference.

People don't wanna engage with businesses, they wanna engage with other people.

Jane: Yeah. Yeah. And especially for counselors. Especially for counselors because it's such an intimate thing. You know, going to sit with somebody and tell them your secrets and share your story and be vulnerable. You really need to have someone that you feel that sort of, that you have that no like and trust thing going on, you know, and you can get that by seeing what they put in their content.

You know, it gives them an idea of who you are. Yeah, slightly going off topic. It's just so interesting, isn't it? Content I think is just such an interesting thing,

Theo: you know, opens up a lot of doors for people. Yeah. But I think, yeah, I mean the website is the foundation of everything, so, yeah. If like all of the other, I mean the content, the videos, the images, your voice, everything, all forms part of that.

And it, it's something kind, kinda work on over time. yeah. Another question people say is, oh, I wanna get everything done in the next month for the next three months. And I think it's about staggering, your approach and not trying to rush and do everything in one hit. I mean, even if you had a. A good website, but not your perfect website for the first year.

Just ha, have your voice. Make sure that you're happy with the content. But it doesn't have to be, the best it could ever be. It can just be a, a work in progress.

Jane: And I, I always think that website's never finished either. You know, you don't get a website and like, think, right? You draw a line underneath it and you go, right, that's that done because you c for me anyway, I'm constantly changing it when I think of new things or want to think of a better way of saying something or, you know, I, I dunno about you, but I just don't think a website's ever like fully completed.

It's always a work in

Theo: progress. Yeah, exactly. And then it is, but it's just about you having, yeah, kind of the confidence. But like for me, seven years ago, I created my site and this, Christmas is gone. I actually redesigned my homepage, so I've kind of started from the ground up and redone everything as more of a story.

So rather than having like, individual sections that say certain things, I'm giving the, the person who goes on there, like for a top to bottom flow of what I do. And I think, as a counselor, if you, if you start by saying an introduction to your practice, a bit about what you offer about the kind of modalities and areas that you cover, maybe some ways to get in touch and, and have that flow can be really powerful as well.

Yeah.

Jane: But for me, always having the, always having the readers, always looking at it from the reader's point of view of what they need as well.

Theo: But I think, for me and most people I work with you always your own wise critic. Yeah. So whenever, whenever you create something, it's natural not to be completely happy with it.

That's part of Yeah. Human nature. so yeah, always go and ask your friends, go and ask other people who've got similar websites. And a good thing that I personally do is look at three or four kind of other counselors, other, businesses in the same area and just get a feel for. What, what good looks like to you.

Yeah, yeah. And then when you look back at your site, you can honestly review like, if you're happy with it, if there's anything you'd like to change. But yeah, just don't be too hard on yourself.

Jane: Yeah. I was reading a really interesting article the other day saying that you should know, cuz perfectionism is such a big thing, isn't it?

I d are you a bit of a perfectionist? Try to be, but, well, it's not a good thing to be a perfectionist. So a perfectionist is getting stuck and never feeling good enough. So you don't want to be a perfectionist, but I think so many people are stuck at being a co, like a perfectionist. They are so hard on themselves.

But this article was saying always aim for 80% rather than a hundred percent. Cause 80% is always good enough. and it stops you getting trapped in that. So yeah, it's interesting.

Theo: Yeah, because you can spend a month to create the content, the images, and the basics of the site, and then another year to get it to this, this unbelievable cloud nine kind of aversion.

and yeah, as long as you are happy that it represents you in a good way. And the end of the day it's, it's kind of like your, your digital business, cardio, the way that people are gonna find you. So as long as the language is there and the right, message is coming across, Then you can focus on other areas and always come back to it later.

Mm-hmm. And then you, I mean, to be honest, even if you think it's perfect in a year's time, you're gonna wanna change it anyway. You're always gonna have, the next, the next niche or the next thing to add to it. Mm-hmm.

Jane: Yeah. Abs, that's, that's so true. I, that happens to me all the time. I, I sort of, I even do that with like blogs or I do that with everything.

I think, well, I've got that to a point where now it's perfect and then afterwards I think, oh no, I just need to add this to it. I never get to a point where it's quite finished. That's definitely the case with a website.

Theo: Mm-hmm. And I think, Something we were mentioning earlier is when you're using certain builders.

So if you are using say, wick or Squarespace or those kind of all in one builders don't always, you don't wanna always opt for the highest tier, cuz again, you can always upgrade, you can always develop over time in the same way that you don't wanna be a perfectionist. You don't, you may not need all the bells and whistles from day one.

So just get something that's affordable, that's accessible, and then yeah, if, if you then want to add in a new feature, you can always go back in. But a lot of people I've spoken to, they kind of, they take on too much at the beginning, I guess. Mm-hmm.

Jane: Yeah. So just so start with the basics and you can always add onto that.

Yeah, no, always save

Theo: you, save you some money in the meantime as well. Yeah,

Jane: yeah, absolutely. So something else that is, something to be aware of. Because it's important, but I know it puts the fear of, puts the fear of God up people, and that is seo, o duh duh seo. It's like a black art, isn't it? But SEO is really important, but I feel like some people think they've got to spend a fortune on getting some big, you know, SEO company to come in and SEO their website, whereas there is some things that you can do yourself that can really increase the effectiveness of seo, isn't there?

Theo: Yeah, and I've actually, I've created some guides on the basics.

It's similar to the 80% rule in the sense that, you don't need to be perfect with seo, but just to be able to have, the pages set up correctly, have your Google business, set up and link to it, can make the biggest difference. There's something like 90% of websites don't do kind of the, the core five things.

Yeah, no, I mean, I've, I've got some guides, some videos on how to do it for yourself. but yeah, any, any website builder you use will have something inside it that can guide you through that. I think it's, agencies like to scare you and to make it sound overcomplicated and make it sound like it's.

I dunno, links, back, links, all the, the da, all the, all these terminology, that doesn't actually benefit the website. In, in reality, if each page on your site has a unique purpose and each, your title and your description for each page is unique. So f basically if you've got a five page site, each page should do a different thing.

And when the user goes on there, they can see why each of those pages exists. That's another point as well, is not to have just a one page scrolling site, for seo that doesn't really do very well. So all of the, the client sites I've worked with, generally three to six pages, you might have home about therapies, block and contact so that when, when the potential client is looking for therapy or looking for some support, they know which page to, to go to.

And yeah, if you, if you do that, if you have a unique page, you're tied to your description, you're doing better than most, to be honest. Mm-hmm. obviously, yeah, there's more you can do, but that again, can build up over time.

Jane: Yeah, absolutely. Just, just start simple and then, you know, you can't suddenly, it's not like Neo in Matrix where suddenly go, I know seo because it doesn't work like that.

You're just gonna keep learning a lit, few little tricks here and there, and it, it just all adds up, doesn't it? So, you know, getting your, Getting your resources. We've got help as well in the, in the membership where you've been in the membership helping us with it. there's, there's lots of help out there.

So, yeah, I think it's just about being aware of it, just being aware that SEO is a thing that can help you to get your website seen by the right people. That's literally all it is, isn't it?

Theo: And I'll be happy, to do like, a live or some kind of a session with the group as well, just to go through what you can do yourself in under an hour.

Mm-hmm. So you don't need to pay someone, you don't need to like, have a degree or anything else. These are literally just tangible things you can follow along. it's funny cuz some people come to me, they say, oh, I, I'd like you to review my website. I haven't done any seo. And it turns out they've actually completed most of it.

They just, they always think there's more. With seo, you always think there's like the next level. Or you get worried that you're not doing enough. but yeah, it's just doing it in small manageable steps. Yeah. But once you launch the site, the, the number one rule is if it's good for the client, for the p for the visitor on the site, then it's good for Google.

Yeah. So you don't want to fill it for the buzzwords or change it to make it good for seo. You wanna, if someone down the road is looking for a ther a therapist, you wanna make sure your site. Has the right wording and the right titles for them. And then, yeah, that's all. That's all you need for SEO really.

Jane: Yeah. And it's just so effective. You know, it's, it's something that is just gonna, something else that's really, I just want to talk to you about, because I think this is something that could put the fear of God into people. I mean, I'm really not a very techy person, as you know, and it doesn't take much to put the fear of God into me about anything like websites.

I know when I first started out, I was really terrified I was gonna, Press the wrong button and the whole website would just like, you know, dissolve in front of me. I was just so terrified that if I do this bit wrong, then the whole thing's gonna crash. It's not really like that though, is it? Thank goodness.

no, but yeah, that, sorry.

Theo: No, I say there's, there's daily backups. So for most websites, most builders, every single day there's a backup and you can always undo, like in, in words, you can press control, Zed. There's normally a way to undo an action, but you can also restore it back to the, the yesterday's version.

I haven't, I haven't come across any website builder that doesn't include that at the moment. and yeah, there's, I've, there's, there's always a kind of disaster recovery, and it's normally just a one button thing doesn't take much time. It's just you click and restore it from the day before. I've actually just done, web, like a website glossary to show, to kind of get rid of some of the jargon and to take, maybe I can send that to you for the show notes.

Yeah, that'd be

great.

Jane: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, and

Theo: even things like s se seo, they, there's a lot of words that you can kind of demystify just by knowing what it actually means. Mm-hmm. and yeah, having a backup, a backup is basically a copy of your site from a time in the past. Normally it's every day.

And yeah, I, I've literally never had anyone who's managed to actually break invoke commerce their site.

Jane: Well, that's reassuring. That's reassuring. Maybe I need to try harder.

Theo: Wait. You get to like, you spend hours on it and then all of a sudden, like you, I dunno, you might delete something when you move something in the wrong place.

And I, I've had people like email like, oh, it's the end. I've done it. And it's, it's a two minute fix. Mm-hmm. and it's. Again, when, when you are starting out, that's the question you should ask is what is the backup feature and what would do I do if I press the wrong button? And yeah. I can't think of any builder, any bit of software.

Again, for me personally, word WordPress is the main one. but I've used 15 to 20 other types and that's built into all of them.

Jane: Yeah. That is just so reassuring to know that, to know that if you do happen to do something wrong, it is not the end, that it's completely recoverable. That is, and that is, like you say, that's a really good question to ask somebody.

You know, if you're thinking of going to somebody to make you website, because it's important, isn't it? It's important to sort of to know and something else that's important. I was gonna talk about, Other bits and pieces that a, a web person might do to you that they might charge extra for. So things like, upgrades and hosting and things like that.

I wonder if you could talk to us a little bit about that.

Theo: So, when you have a website, you need three things. Your name, which is a domain with a www, you then need your a hosting, which is like a computer to keep it online. And then you need the, the, the control, the, like the, the content management system, the way that you edit it.

and hosting normally, is like a, a monthly charge to enable your website to stay online. The domain you pay once a year and then the content editor is normally free. yeah, some people they get overcharged or they might be paying 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds a month for hosting. And then you realize that around, generally around 10, 10 to 12 pounds is the, the standard rate.

And for that, basically it means that your, your website stays online. You get your backups, you get your security, you have padlock that goes in the corner. and then it should include just the very, very basic updates. So depending on, the builder you use a couple of times a year, you might wanna go in and just update a few of a few things.

and again, that should be very clear with the web designer. how easy is it to update? Do I have to do it on a regular basis? Do you do it for me? may, I mean, maybe we should just put the, I dunno, the top five, six questions to ask your web designer in the show notes as well. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that would be great.

Yeah. Yeah. We, I mean, we've touched on security, we, the backups, the upgrades, but I think just, yeah, having that in a list and just so someone can take it and take it to the, the, the web company or the designer would be helpful.

Jane: Yeah. Yeah. That would be great. Yeah. What about things like Google Analytics?

Can you, can you tell people what Google Analytics is for anybody who doesn't know?

Theo: so Google Analytics is how you track the visitors on your site. So if you imagine, 10 people might visit my site today, but then some might be using different devices from different countries, and Google Analytics just stores information and shows you who's going to your site, where they're coming from, and what's making them leave.

And its a really good, sorry, I was

Jane: sorry. I was just gonna say, that's one of the things that's great when you're blogging, cuz you can see that people have gone to your website to read that blog and that makes you feel really good.

Theo: Yeah. And you can see, do they come to your homepage first and then go to the blog?

Or do they go to the blog itself or, and you can see their journey through the site. And so for example, they might go to the homepage, to a blog, back to your therapies to see the type of therapies you do then to your contact page. Fill out the form and then leave the site. Yeah, and I mean the, the, the thing I love about Google Analytics is it's free and it's one of those things where you set out once and you can lead it working in the background.

There's no, no maintenance, no real skill to kind of keep it going. It just, it does the work behind the scenes. and now with every website that I work on, I always make sure it's set up there before we even go live. Yeah. the other thing that compliments it, Is Google search console, which again, it's, you set it up and you leave it, but it just helps you to see how you are appearing in search, what people are typing into Google to find you.

So it might be, therapist in London, bereavement therapists for men, whatever the, the, the key word is. it will, it'll keep a list of those and help you to understand how you're being found. Again, completely free takes, I dunno, maybe five, 10 minutes to set up even. it's part of what I do is training people and even for the most tech averse people, they can do it in under 10 minutes.

So yeah, it's, that's kind of a no-brainer. That's something that you should, with every website, no matter what it is, you just always include. I

Jane: think the thing with Google, with, you know, with the Google suite of products, they are so, intuitive to use, aren't they? They tend to be really easy to get to use.

Theo: Yeah. And, and they've got step by steps. samely, if you wanna do it yourself, if you, if you literally just Google, the how to use it, set analytics, there'll be a two minute video or five steps to get it done. if you are using WordPress, there's a really, really good plugin called Site Kit, and that does it all for you.

So you turn it on, you literally sign in with Google and it syncs everything for you. Sets it all up, and then yeah. It's, it's a one, one hit and you're done for at least good five years or so. Yeah, I've got

Jane: that. It's

is that from July of this, of: 2023

again, it's, it's just something used to go in there and just update.

Jane: Right. Okay. Right. I'll not remember that. Just remind us closer to the, mind you, it is closer to the time, isn't it, you know, recording this. It's May now. So it's not all that long, long away is it?

Theo: I mean, I did it on mine, two weeks ago.

And yeah, it's because Google is such a big, big company, they've got this setup where you just press a couple of buttons and it, it has, it knows what to do. And it does, it does it for you, basically. Yeah. that's good. I think, I mean, there are other options, but generally, as long as you don't mind Google collecting some data, they make it, they make it very easy.

They make sure you've got everything that you need. Yeah.

Jane: I use Google for so many things. I just use Google for like, just everything,

Theo: which, I mean for another and maybe the next podcast speaking to talk about the whole Google Chat p t, but we'll save that for the next one. Okay.

Jane: Okay.

Theo: But I, I think, yeah, so some people, They're not sure where to start.

So I think something we haven't really, we, we touched on, but we should probably go over it again, is if you are thinking of doing your very first website, what should you be doing first? Yeah. and I think, number one for me is understanding what you want to say to the client. So, Make a list of like, these are the therapies I offer.

this is, my style. If you do, walk and talks in person phone, just so you understand yourself, what you're trying to explain. and then think about the, like, the look and the feel if you wanna be, com like reassuring or professional or like the kind of the impression you want to give to the client.

And then from that point, once you, once you yourself know, you have your vision or at least like a rough idea of it, then you go and look at the best way, the best builder, the best designer, the best person to do that for you. But you don't, you never want the designer to lead on the vision for your site.

Yeah,

Jane: absolutely. I kind of do that cause I've got the, my website blueprint as a course in our web, in our membership. And the, the, my website blueprint is about, What do you want to say on your website and what do you want it to look like? So it's looking at, what pages you might want, what text do you want on those pages?

And my, my, the way I've done it is if you fill, if you fill it in, if you fill in the my website blueprint, like workbook, then you've either got something that you can then copy and paste onto your own website, or you can take that and give that to your web designer and say, right, this is, this is really what I want because.

What happens is we go to the website designer and we have no idea, and then we can get influenced by someone who's not a therapist, who doesn't know what it's like to be a therapist. Because I think the way that we market our business is quite specific. It's quite, quite specifically different to how somebody else might market their shop or something like that.

Theo: Yeah, no, I've seen, a lot of people I've worked with, a lot of counselors have been given like a template and they've, the design has given them a structural wick or Squarespace, whatever's given them a frame to work in. So they end up just picking the first thing they see or the thing that resonates with them initially.

And at the end it's, it's, it's not them. It's I dunno, a coaching website or a dentist or something else. So yeah, having that blueprint, having that plan, And it doesn't have to be perfect. Again, going back to it, we don't, it doesn't have to be your end goal, but you just need to have an idea of what you're looking for when you start.

Yeah. yeah, and just the, the, the kind of tone, the, the colors, the, the kind of pages that you want to have. I, I personally think having an FAQ page is a real big benefit. Yeah.

Jane: I definitely agree. Yeah.

Theo: So, and it's, normally it's quite a simple page. You just have, how long are my sessions? What does it look like?

How do you know when it's working? Kind of these core questions you get asked by your clients, just have that on a single page, and then you're kind of, you are already preempting them with the answers to what they're thinking about when they're on your site. Yeah. And for example, a template site for a dentist wouldn't have that, so you need to incorporate.

Counselor specific things into your website?

Jane: Yeah. Yeah. I did actually do a, a podcast about, about pages, no, about FAQs. I'll have to find that and put that in the show notes. But, but yeah, it, it's, it needs to be suitable for a counselor. Ultimately. It's not just a, it's not something that you can just take off the shelf and just use any old website.

Design, you know, you need to have it. Something that's gonna be, you know, when people land on it, it'll feel right. You know, it's gonna feel like you, it's gonna feel like, give people the welcome that you want to give them. Mm-hmm.

Theo: There's a lot of, a lot of templates and a lot of structures are more attract, like business to business, whereas this is really business to the client.

It needs to, it needs to have that personal touch. I mean, you, you're not, you're not selling a, a product. You are helping and supporting people. So it's gotta have that kind of, not, not community, but that, softer, more empathetic kind of touch to it. Yeah. And the same, just one thing on that is, a lot.

Say, marketers will say you have to have big buttons, lots of colors and things to attract people. But at the end of the day, I, for most, counselors, having a softer, more kind of subtle website is good. So don't be led into having, I dunno, big flashing buttons and things that don't really suit with, what you're trying to achieve.

Jane: Yeah. Because it's not a big sales page, you know? And we're not trying to have something that's gonna be like, sell, sell, sell, come and buy, come and use me. We're not out there trying to persuade people to come to us. We're out there trying to make the choice of coming to you easy. And that's, that's a difference, isn't it?

Therefore, big, big, flashy things aren't gonna work, and it's gonna make you feel uncomfortable. As a counselor, you're gonna feel. You have to be, you're gonna have to, I think it's about lo loving your website, so having it as a space that you feel really comfortable about. And if you have something that's a bit flashy and that doesn't feel right to you, you, you're not gonna feel comfortable sharing it with people.

Theo: Because, a lot of clients might go to one of the big directories and from there they'll visit your website. So it's kind of, they've seen your profile, they've seen your picture, they've got an idea of your background, and then they go to the site to learn more about you. So, something we, we touched on is having a video on your site of you speaking can be quite powerful.

Mm-hmm. But it, it has to, kind of, has to reassure, it has to give that context to the client so that they. They can start to build up that, that trust that they, I mean, it's not, it can't do all of the work, but it should be a way to give them the confidence that you are the right person for them.

Jane: Yeah, yeah.

Brilliant. Well, we've covered quite a lot, haven't we? Let's just go over what we've talked about. So really, we've been talking about the fact that when you first get a website, It's, it's difficult to, it's difficult to go about getting your first website cuz sometimes you don't have a lot of money to invest into it.

Mm-hmm. You don't really know what you want or why you might want something or why you might need something. So it's easy to get something that you think is, oh, that's gonna be okay. And then realize a little bit down the line that actually it's not quite what I need. And I think that's a normal thing to happen, isn't it?

Theo: It is. Yeah. Yeah. Everyone, most people I know they have gone through that process. Mm-hmm. and as we said, it's, yeah, get, understand what you're trying to say and like the, the, tone that you wanna give for the site. Then when you're ready, make sure that you find the designer, the builder, the platform that works for you.

yeah, and just, just don't rush it. Like even if you have to just, use Google Business for a few months while you make it perfect or while you improve it. I wouldn't rush into just getting the first website you can make.

Jane: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give it a little bit of consideration. Yeah, you're absolutely right and I think it's so important if you are somebody who's just spent some money on getting a website made and you are sort of holding your head in your hand a little bit going, what have I done?

This isn't what I wanted. I'm really struggling now because they're not making the changes that I wanted them to make and I dunno if I've made the right. Choose choice. Just give yourself a break. This, this happens to so many people. It happens. You know, it happened to me. It's something that can happen.

So if you are in that situation, just look at this as a really good learning point. You know, you are learning about. What you need, what you don't need. And it means that you are gonna be in a position that when you get your next website, you're gonna have a lot far better chance of making it something that is gonna be what you want and also what clients need to see from you in order for them to take the step to contact you.

Theo: And I think to kind of, Help with that. I, I can also offer like a little drop in. So if you do have a question, if you are not sure if the designer or the platform's right for you, just get in touch and we can have a look at, if it's suitable, if it's cost effective, if it's giving you everything that you need.

And most importantly, if it's something that you can actually update and access yourself, I'm so happy to jump in and just, yeah, you don't need to go crazy, but just update the, the text, the image, some basic information. And, make sure it's gonna last a good few years for you.

Jane: Yeah. One of the wonderful things about Theo is that he's extremely.

He's extremely generous with his knowledge and he is extremely helpful. And I know you do make websites, you know, often for therapists and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending you. So, anyway. We'll, I'll put all the details of how to contact you in the show notes and anybody who wants to just contact Theo and get a little bit of advice then, please do.

Theo: Yeah, and I don't feel, that it's for a project. It's just something that I offer for all therapists, so there's no, There's no commitment or anything, it's just really to help out. So in the shadows, we'll also include the glossary and maybe the first five things you should do when starting your own website.

Perfect. Well, thank you so much. It's been a really good experience. Thank

Jane: No, thank you. And I'm sure people are gonna find this useful. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there like me who's really worried about websites, that this is just gonna give them that little bit of peace of mind that yeah, there's a way forward.

So thank you so much for giving your time. Cheers. Take care. See, I told you he is lovely and I really hope that this has helped you. It's certainly helped me. I love talking to, to Theo about websites because it kind of soothes my te averse brain. So if you are a bit te averse, you know, I. I hope that it's helped you too.

Now, he did say that it was gonna share with us five things to consider when starting a new website. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna add those in the show notes so you can grab, go and have a look at the show notes and take a look at them and just, if you're not sure where to find them, the show notes, you'll find them wherever listening to this.

So if you are listening to this on your phone or wherever, look around the place where you just found this, this, This recording and you can click on something that probably say more information or whatever and the details are there. Okay. Now he also talked about a digital marketing glossary, and I'm gonna share the note, show notes as well.

And after we spoke, I realized that I can remember I did a podcast called Demystifying Marketing Terms as well, so I'll share that as well. We also talked about a podcast that was called From, I can't write to published author with Zoe Clements, which is, which is great. So if you doubt your ability to write, then I definitely recommend that you have a little, listen to that.

Again, the details are in the show notes and also I've got a couple of other. Different, website podcasts with other guests that I've had as well. I'll share them too. So we've got six reasons. You must have a website and five commonly held met website myths that could be held in you holding you back.

Both of those are with Sarah Gershon, friend of the show, and another one by the amazing cat Love who came and we spoke about four mistakes that make your website copy ineffective. So yeah, again, there's so, there's lots there to help you with your website. So if you are, you know, thinking about getting a website or you want to upgrade yours, then you know, lots there for you to go at.

you know, the thing is, I know that websites can feel like a minefield. So if you're building your own, just remember, take it slowly and remember that if you need some help, you know, we have the Your Website Blueprint course available in the Grow Your Private Practice membership that's gonna take you through the whole thing, you know, looking at what pages you need, what to say on each page.

We also look at things like a little bit of branding and colors and all of that good stuff. And if you want someone to either take the pain away and make yours from scratch or to give yours, you know, a review and give you some feedback to help you, to make it work harder for you to attract more clients, then you know, you, you've heard Theo, I highly recommend that you check him out.

And again, there'll be links to that in the show notes. So all that's left to say really is thank you so much for tuning into the Grow Your Private Practice Show, and if you found any value in today's episode or if you've been enjoying the podcast overall, a little favor, I would really, really appreciate it if you could leave a, preferably a five star review on your favorite podcast platform.

It would really help me, you know, your feedback helps me to improve the show and to reach more therapists as well who could benefit from the content. So also I love hearing from you. So you know, take a moment to leave a review. Let me know what you think. And yeah, thank you for your support. So that's it from this week.

So I hope you have an absolutely fantastic week and I look forward to speaking to you next time. You take care. Bye-bye.

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