A therapy website isn't like any other website. The emotional state a potential client is in when they begin looking for a therapist is fundamentally different from the mindset of someone shopping for a backpack, booking a haircut, or hiring an interior designer—and your website needs to account for that.

In this episode, Anna explains why therapy websites need to be built differently, not just aesthetically, but strategically and structurally. She breaks down how your website can support a client's nervous system, why the pages and conversion flow need to reflect the therapy industry, and what can go wrong when therapists use templates or website frameworks designed for other types of businesses. If your website looks good but isn't producing the results you want, this episode will help you understand what may be missing—and why the right structure matters just as much as the design.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

1️⃣ Why a therapy website needs to account for the emotional state and nervous system of someone looking for a therapist.

2️⃣ How the structure, pages, and sections of a therapy website differ from websites built for coaches, consultants, and other service providers.

3️⃣ Why the conversion flow for therapy needs to be slower, warmer, and more layered—and how that helps potential clients feel safe enough to take the next step.

4️⃣ What to look for when choosing a website template or framework, and why starting with something built specifically for the therapy industry can save you from fighting your own website.

Resources & links mentioned

• Confident Copy: https://walkerstrategyco.com/cc
• Walker Strategy Co Squarespace Templates: https://walkerstrategyco.com/templates
• The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com

Connect + subscribe

Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who's building their private practice. Explore more marketing support for therapists:

The Walker Strategy Co website: https://walkerstrategyco.com

About Marketing Therapy

Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker, a marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.

Hey, hey.

2

Welcome back to Marketing Therapy.

3

This is episode 88, in

case you were wondering.

4

Today we're talking about how to create

a therapy website, how to build a

5

website that actually supports your

clients' nervous system, and where I

6

see a lot of therapists get this wrong.

7

Now, this episode was inspired by

talking to some therapists recently,

8

a few who had booked discovery calls

with me to chat about done-for-you

9

services, and just a few that have been

in my inbox for, for various reasons.

10

But they're all kind of telling

me some version of the same story.

11

Sometimes it's that they worked with

their cousin's best friend's niece's

12

boyfriend or whatever who offered to

build them a website on the cheap, so

13

they just go ahead and take 'em up on

it, and quite frankly, it turns out okay.

14

Or sometimes they bought a, a

template from, you know, a shop

15

that they follow on Instagram, or

maybe they're a Pinterest user.

16

I talked to one who was like,

"I went on Pinterest and I found

17

some websites that I liked, and

so I tried to create one like it."

18

And all of these are, like, really

good attempts to create websites that

19

are gonna do them justice, right?

20

We know that your website is the literal

home of your marketing, that if your

21

website isn't working, none of the rest

of your marketing efforts are likely to

22

work as well as they could either, right?

23

Because everything's driving back

to it, so if we don't get this part

24

right, we're not gonna get the results

that you, that you could, right?

25

We know that.

26

So these therapists, whether they, like

I said, bought a template that they

27

thought looked good, or they used their

cousin's best friend's niece's girlfriend

28

They're weeks or months or in the case

of one of the conversations I had,

29

years in with a website that does look

okay, but they find that they're bending

30

their practice to kind of fit the site.

31

The site isn't easy to update anymore.

32

The site has certain sections that they

feel like they have to do something with,

33

and they're hoping that if it just keeps

looking good, it's gonna work good, right?

34

And unfortunately, what they're realizing

and the reason that I was having these

35

conversations with them is because it

wasn't and so just because it looked

36

good didn't mean it was working good.

37

And a lot of times when I

open up their websites, their

38

websites weren't really that bad.

39

I often tell clinicians who I

have conversations with for our

40

done-for-you services that, you

know, I look at a lot of therapy

41

websites, thousands of them, right?

42

I have seen so many that run the gamut,

and rarely are these clinicians' sites

43

some of the worst ones I've seen,

which is, I think, harder because they

44

look at it and it seems fine, which

is kind of the theme of some of our

45

conversations on this podcast recently.

46

But sometimes they have a

genuinely beautiful site.

47

But here's what I really

want to talk about today.

48

A therapy website isn't

like any other website.

49

This industry isn't

like any other industry.

50

But if you're forcing your therapy

practice into some other website

51

framework, whether that's the one that

your, you know, niece's girlfriend

52

created or that you saw on Instagram or

whatever, you're gonna get a site that

53

looks polished but is not set up to meet

your client and their nervous system at

54

their point of need to book a therapist.

55

Those things have to be in

place for a website to work.

56

Now, like I said, therapy is a

fundamentally different industry.

57

When people ask me why I got into

working with therapists and, and

58

creating Walker Strategy Co, I share that

before I ever started actually offering

59

anything to therapists, I spent about

six months developing a point of view,

60

trying to get to know this industry.

61

Because holy cow, is it different.

62

We are not selling backpacks here.

63

We are not selling a haircut.

64

We're not selling coaching or

interior design or whatever else

65

we could possibly think of, right?

66

Therapy is so unique.

67

We're also…

68

We're not even selling dental services

or other medical provider services.

69

Therapy is unique.

70

I mean, think about it.

71

Think about the experience of your

clients as they look for a therapist

72

compared to any other service.

73

The emotional state that they are in

when they decide to seek out therapy

74

versus when they decide to buy a

backpack or find a dentist, right?

75

They're in a completely different place.

76

The level of trust

required before they book.

77

Now, we always need to trust the

people that we buy from, whether

78

that is a backpack, a hair salon, a

dentist, whatever that might be, but

79

the level of trust required to work

with a therapist, pretty much the

80

most vulnerable thing we do, right?

81

The fears holding that client back,

the hesitation they have about

82

therapy versus the hesitation they

have about going to the dentist,

83

which might be legitimate as well.

84

But can you see here how the experience

of your client deciding to work with a

85

therapist is fundamentally different than

any other way that they spend their money?

86

So if you are expecting your website

to support that journey and meet them

87

at that point of need and walk them

through that experience by using another

88

website framework or just expecting

to slap something together that looks

89

nice, we're gonna be missing what is

fundamentally required In order to meet

90

them at that point of need and show

them that you're the therapist for them.

91

Your website has to be different too,

and I don't just mean cosmetically.

92

We're not just talking aesthetic.

93

We're talking about

structure and strategy.

94

The bones, the experience, the

conversion flow of how someone

95

decides, "Oh, interesting.

96

I want to click here.

97

I want to click there.

98

Okay, I'm ready to book."

99

Now, ultimately, when therapists don't

know this or they don't abide by this

100

guidance, I see one of two things happen.

101

One is that they shoehorn their

practice into a website that really is

102

structurally and strategically better

suited for a coach or a consultant or

103

some other service provider, and then

they end up fighting their own website.

104

Or even worse is they trust the

design, they trust what's been built

105

because, like I said, it might be

genuinely beautiful, but then they

106

miss the pages and the sections and

the flow decisions that actually make

107

a therapy website in particular work.

108

And like I said, that one's

almost worse because you don't

109

know that it's happening.

110

You just trust what you

see because it looks good.

111

So how is a therapy website different?

112

How does a therapy website need to

support your client's nervous system in

113

a way that other service providers don't?

114

The first is the experience on it, right?

115

Because someone landing on a therapist's

site is not in the same headspace as

116

someone landing on an interior designer's

site or a, even a coach's website.

117

Their motivation, their state

of mind, their nervous system

118

is in a different place.

119

They're not casually researching

some sort of fun upgrade, right?

120

They are likely anxious and

tender and tired, right?

121

They might be, they might be ashamed.

122

They might feel a little bit hopeful,

but hesitant at the same time.

123

You know, maybe they're

all of those things at

124

Speaker 24: once.

125

That

126

has to be met the second

that your page loads, right?

127

And we talk a lot on this

podcast about the power of

128

Speaker 25: language, and

129

holy cow, do your words

matter here, right?

130

Showing them that they're in the right

place, meeting them at that point of need.

131

But also just the feel of that website.

132

We know that people are making a judgment

about your site in less than one second.

133

Before they can even read the

words, they are noting what's

134

happening subconsciously.

135

So that means that everything about

this experience has to be thought about.

136

The pace and the tone and the imagery,

the amount of white space, all of

137

these types of things are creating an

experience, and that experience has

138

to meet that client in that tender

139

Speaker 23: headspace and

140

invite them into that website to

continue scrolling and to ultimately

141

determine if you're the right fit for

142

Speaker 21: them.

143

If

144

you were to use, for instance, some of

the frameworks I see out there for coaches

145

on a homepage of a website, for instance,

we're gonna be hitting your clients with

146

some big, bold claims and energy and hooks

that are strategically very, very good

147

for someone booking a coaching service.

148

If we were to borrow that exact

framework and put it on a therapy

149

site, it could actually come off

as aggressive and off-putting to

150

the nervous system that probably is

already a little bit dysregulated.

151

Now, let me be clear.

152

It's not that you can't be big, bold,

and have energy and punchiness in

153

your website, but the actual strategic

framework of what's happening there,

154

that's what has to be informed by

the therapy industry in particular,

155

and the needs of a therapy client

versus a coaching client or a interior

156

design client or some other service

157

Speaker 19: provider.

158

Templates,

159

for instance, built for other industries,

and there are some amazingly gorgeous

160

templates out there, holy cow, in all

types of website platforms and industries.

161

They don't know this.

162

They can't know this because that

therapy experience is so unique.

163

Now, another thing that makes

a therapy website different

164

is the actual structure of it.

165

So I'm talking about the pages.

166

I'm talking about the

sections on those pages.

167

Every service business, therapy,

interior design, hair salon,

168

whatever, they need an About page.

169

They need some sort of service page.

170

They need a contact page, yeah, whatever.

171

But therapy needs specific versions

of these and some additional ones.

172

And a lot of websites, if they aren't

informed by a therapy industry, are

173

either skipping them or they're getting

them wrong, which again, is almost

174

worse than skipping them entirely.

175

So, like, a therapist About page, right?

176

Not just a resume, not just about

the story of why you're a therapist.

177

There has to be some trust-building,

some expectation-setting, some

178

authority-building that happens there.

179

We cannot have a services page that's just

a list of the different modalities that

180

you offer or things that you treat, right?

181

This is not the same as going to the

services page of a day spa where I see

182

facials and nail services and massages.

183

'Kay?

184

The services section, holy cow, that

has to pull almost more weight than any

185

other section of your website, but it has

to be specific to the therapy industry.

186

Where your fees go, it's

not a pricing grid, right?

187

This isn't a coaching package

that you're purchasing.

188

So the way that we're talking about fees

and positioning those has to be different.

189

Those specialty pages or method pages,

which most templates or other website

190

frameworks aren't even going to have

one, these are some of the most important

191

pages of the website in general that

I see a lot of clinicians missing.

192

And not just this page being

present, but the actual

193

structure of these pages, right?

194

What comes first?

195

What comes next?

196

Where's that conversion

call to action added in?

197

What's left out?

198

All of these specific to therapy

and meeting that client's nervous

199

system at its point of need when

200

Speaker 15: night that

201

it's ready to find a therapist.

202

Each one of these pages has to be

present and has to be structured

203

in such a way that meets them

204

Speaker 16: there.

205

So

206

if you were to look at, like, a coach's

website that's objectively gorgeous,

207

but has this, like, splashy portfolio

and all these testimonials and a Book

208

a Strategy Call button, you force

that into a therapy practice, and

209

you're not just changing copy there.

210

You are missing the structural

211

Speaker 17: pieces that

212

are ultimately going to turn

someone from a visitor into

213

an inquiry in the first place.

214

Because that strategy and framework

absolutely applies to that coach

215

and does not adapt one-to-one

over into a therapy space.

216

The last thing that makes a therapy

website different is the ultimate

217

conversion flow of how someone

decides that they want to work with

218

you, and this is closely tied to the

structure that I just talked about.

219

But it's that path

essentially, and I view it

220

Speaker 14: as kind

221

of like a

222

Speaker 12: slide.

223

That

224

slide from landing on this website,

sliding all the way down to filled out

225

the contact form or booked the consult.

226

That process is pretty different,

uh, than, than other services, right?

227

A lot of other services are gonna

catch the attention of the user.

228

They're gonna make an offer.

229

They're gonna drive to a sales page.

230

That sales page is gonna have really

specific marketing psychology and sales

231

psychology installed in it, and then

they're con- gonna convert, right?

232

It's very fast.

233

It's direct.

234

It's high energy.

235

There's a lot of momentum there.

236

A therapy website, sometimes

people are gonna make the

237

decision quickly, absolutely.

238

But that slide, it's a little bit longer.

239

It's a little bit more nuanced, right?

240

We are meeting your client at their

point of need with the language that

241

they have for their issues, even

if it's actually relational trauma.

242

They don't know that yet, right?

243

So we're meeting them where

they are at their point of need.

244

We're building enough trust that they can

actually imagine you as the person that

245

they're gonna sit down in a room with.

246

We're gonna answer some questions that

they probably are too embarrassed to ask

247

or reflect back to them some experiences

that they've never said out loud.

248

Okay, we're gonna make the next

step feel small and feel safe.

249

This isn't go change your life,

although there is a time and

250

a place to cast that vision.

251

But the first step, we're gonna

present as small and easy and doable,

252

and then we're gonna convert them.

253

So it's a slower, warmer,

more layered approach here.

254

That conversion flow is a

lot different than other

255

Speaker 11: industries.

256

And

257

if you were to take a website that was

built for that first flow, it's never

258

gonna do the second one, no matter how

hard you try, unless you fundamentally

259

just redo the entire thing, right?

260

Can you see here how a therapy website,

the experience there has to be different?

261

And if your website isn't doing

that yet, then here are the things

262

that we need to be changing.

263

This is exactly why we built our

Squarespace templates the way that we did.

264

Now, we have Confident Copy, and

that is the proven framework that

265

we have seen work and are continuing

to see work in our industry,

266

particularly in the full fee space.

267

But I created these Squarespace

templates back in twenty twenty-one

268

and have since grown that library

and optimized them even further.

269

But I created these because

people said, "Great, I have the

270

words, but how do I lay them out?

271

What do the pages look like?

272

Where do I put this, that,

and the other thing?"

273

And so we built Squarespace

templates on top of the same

274

framework as Confident Copy.

275

So the same client conversion system

we know is working, now there's that

276

design and tech element layered on top.

277

So it means that the bones are right.

278

It means that the conversion

cues are already in place.

279

It means that you have starting

points for all of the key pages,

280

specialty, method, about, home, right?

281

We have our add-on pages for groups

and for intensives and for supervision.

282

All of these actually

built for our industry.

283

Right?

284

The ultimate client experience we

are keeping in mind as we build

285

out these templates is designed

for the emotional state that a

286

therapy client actually lands in.

287

And while, yes, some of our

templates are absolutely the more

288

stereotypical kind of calm, soothing,

lighter colored experiences, there

289

are also some in there that are…

290

Zoe is super punchy and bold.

291

West is dark and moody.

292

So it's not that we have to

abide by a certain aesthetic.

293

What I'm talking about here is deeper.

294

This is not just aesthetic, this

is structure, and this is strategy.

295

So the structure includes the

296

Speaker 13: pages that

297

a therapist is actually gonna need.

298

That flow is built to convert

the way that therapy converts.

299

So rather than shoehorning your practice

into a structure built for someone else's

300

industry, you're plugging into a structure

that's really built for yours, right?

301

And that's what we hear so often is

people love that they didn't have to

302

think about this piece, that when they

looked at the landscape of creating a

303

website, at least this part could be

taken off their plate, and they could know

304

that what they were using was actually

designed to work for them So maybe you're

305

sitting here with a website that your

n- niece's girlfriend's cousin's best

306

friend built, and maybe it's fine, but

is it built with these things in mind?

307

Or maybe you are checking out one of

those beautiful templates out there in the

308

Speaker 4: world, that

309

aren't necessarily built

with these things in mind.

310

Could it be adapted to fit?

311

Yeah, absolutely.

312

Do you need to know what

you're doing in order to do it?

313

Yeah.

314

That's something that Confident

Copy is really useful for.

315

But if you know that you need a starting

point, if you know that you need that

316

conversion flow, and you need that

experience to meet your client's nervous

317

system at their point of need, that's why

our Squarespace templates are so powerful.

318

You can get a website out there in a

couple days, couple weeks maybe, rather

319

than the months or years of wasting

time wondering if the one that you

320

have is working, or if you don't have

a website yet, this can kickstart that.

321

You can get something out there sooner

rather than later and not spin your

322

wheels So if you're looking at a website,

whether it's one of ours or, or elsewhere

323

on the internet, look at who built it.

324

Look at who else is using it.

325

Is this specific to the therapy industry?

326

Do they understand the specific

conversion needs of your field?

327

Have they thought about what

a nervous, hesitant, a little

328

bit hopeful person needs to

329

Speaker 7: experience in

330

the first five seconds and

deeper in the experience before

331

they decide to reach out?

332

If the answer to those questions

is no, then you are likely going

333

to be doing a lot of work to make

that website do something it maybe

334

wasn't originally built to do.

335

Is it possible?

336

Totally.

337

Might it be easier to start with something

that you know was built for your industry?

338

Yeah, absolutely.

339

That's why, like I said, we

love our Squarespace templates,

340

walkerstrategyco.com/templates.

341

If you've never looked at the shop,

uh, as I mentioned, there's a lot of

342

different aesthetics to choose from, all

built on a framework and a system, right?

343

A strategy, a structure

that we know works.

344

One of the best things about our

Squarespace templates other than being

345

one hundred percent customizable,

so every color, font, image, button,

346

whatever you see there is totally

347

Speaker 2: customizable.

348

There's

349

nothing you see there that you can't

touch or change, but that it's actually

350

very, very easy to switch, right?

351

So we've had people move away from

Brighter Vision, for instance, over to

352

one of our Squarespace templates and do

that even if they aren't a techy person.

353

Or maybe they have an existing Squarespace

website, but they're ready to up-level it.

354

Very easy to move that over.

355

If you're built on Wix or

some other platform right now,

356

Squarespace makes it incredibly

easy to keep that domain, right?

357

Keep that therapypractice.com

358

domain that you have and just connect it

to a website that has those key elements

359

in place that we know are gonna support

people as they land there and as they

360

decide if you're the therapist for them.

361

Our launch course that comes with each of

our templates shows you how to do this.

362

We have that free template support in

the event you have questions, so you're

363

not doing this alone, 'cause holy

364

Speaker 28: cow, can

365

that be crazy-making when it's

just you and ChatGPT trying to

366

figure something out, right?

367

So like I said, one of the reasons

we love our Squarespace template.

368

But above all, I hope you're walking away

from this episode realizing how unique

369

your industry is, proud of the way that it

stands apart, but also knowing that your

370

website, if it's going to do its job for

your therapy client in particular, then

371

it needs to be built differently, right?

372

And if our Squarespace templates

can help you do that, awesome.

373

If our done-for-you services

might be helpful, reach out.

374

I'd love to chat with you.

375

Or if you just needed these couple

of things, take them, put them

376

into action, and see what changes.

377

I'll see you in our next episode.