Pages a therapist's website should have

Most therapists build a website once, in a rush, and then leave it alone. It sits there with a photo, a paragraph about "a safe space" and a phone number. Someone who needs help lands on it and has no idea whether you're the right person.

That's fixable. A good therapy website doesn't need to be big. It needs the right pages, each doing one clear job. Here's the list, in order, with what to put on each page and what to leave off.

Purpose: Tell a stranger within seconds who you are, what you do and what to do next.

Start with a plain statement. Your name, your job title, the town or area you work in, and whether you see people in person, online or both. Something like "Counselling for adults in [your town], in person and online." Short. Specific. No poetry.

Under that, add two or three lines on the sort of help you offer and who it suits. Then give the next step, close to the top: a button or link to your enquiry page. Repeat it lower down for people who scroll.

Add a plain line saying the practice is not an emergency service. Point people to the NHS website or their GP for urgent help. Don't add numbers or clinical advice; just the pointer.

Use a real photo of you if you're comfortable with that. It helps a visitor picture the first meeting. Keep the page light and quick to read on a phone, because that's where many people will see it.

Link to every other main page from here. Think of the home page as the front door with clear signs, not a place to explain everything.

Avoid long personal stories, stock photos of sunsets or pebbles, music that plays on its own, and vague lines like "Begin your journey". Avoid promising that people will feel better, be cured or get any particular result. Avoid a wall of text before the visitor learns what you actually do.

Purpose: Explain the types of therapy you provide, so the right people recognise themselves and the wrong ones don't waste your time.

List only what you're trained in and actually practise. If you trained in one approach and use it every week, say that. If you're also trained in a second, say that too. If you've done a weekend course in something, ask yourself honestly whether it belongs here. Usually it doesn't.

For each approach, write two or three plain sentences. What is it? What happens in the room, or on the screen? How does a session tend to feel or run? Describe the process rather than the outcome. "We talk through what's brought you here and look at patterns together" tells a reader far more than "I will help you heal".

Say whether you offer short-term or open-ended work, individual sessions, couples or groups, if that applies. Keep the language free of jargon. If you use a technical name for your approach, add a one-line explanation in ordinary words beside it.

Don't promise cures, treatment outcomes or results on this page or any other. Before you publish any claim about health, check the Advertising Standards Authority's current guidance on health claims. If you're unsure whether a sentence counts as a claim, rewrite it to describe what happens in a session instead.

Avoid listing every therapy you've ever heard of. Avoid borrowed claims about what a method "cures" or "fixes". Avoid copying wording from a training provider or another therapist's site. Your own plain sentences will serve you better.

Purpose: Help the right person feel recognised, and let the wrong fit find help elsewhere without frustration on either side.

Say who you see. Age range, if that matters. The kinds of difficulty you're experienced with, and the groups you're comfortable working with. Be specific rather than broad. "Adults dealing with anxiety, work stress and relationship difficulties" is clearer than "anyone who needs support".

Then say who you don't work with. This feels awkward to write, but it's one of the kindest things on the site. If you don't see children, or you're not the right person for severe crisis situations, or you don't work with certain conditions, say so plainly. A visitor who learns that early can look elsewhere instead of finding out after an enquiry.

Keep the tone respectful. You're describing the limits of your practice, not judging anyone. If you can, suggest that people speak to their GP or look at the register of their chosen professional body to find someone who fits better.

Only describe experience you genuinely have. If you've worked in a particular setting or with a particular group, say so in a sentence. If you haven't, leave it out.

Avoid trying to appeal to everyone. A page that says you can help with "everything" tells the reader nothing. Avoid labels that sound clinical or cold, and avoid language that makes a visitor feel they have to be "bad enough" or "well enough" to contact you.

Purpose: Take the fear out of the first session by saying exactly how it works, including fees and cancellation.

Walk the reader through it. Where do they go, or how do they join? How long is the first session? What will you ask? Will you take notes? What do they need to bring or prepare, if anything? Many people worry they'll have to say something dramatic straight away. If that isn't true, say so.

Describe what the first meeting is for: you both getting a feel for each other and deciding whether to continue. Describe what happens after, such as how you agree on a regular slot, how long sessions last and how often you usually meet.

Then be clear about money and cancellation, and make it your own. State your fee for a session, how and when you take payment, and what happens if someone cancels or misses a session. Use your actual terms, not wording copied from someone else's site. If you offer anything like a reduced rate, explain who it's for and how to ask.

Keep this honest and calm. People feel better when nothing is hidden.

Avoid vague phrases like "fees on request" if you can help it, and avoid burying cancellation terms in small print or a downloaded form nobody opens. Avoid promising how many sessions it will take or what the outcome will be. Avoid a cold, legal tone; you can be clear and still sound like a person.

Purpose: Show, in plain terms, that you're properly trained and that your standing can be checked.

List your training and qualifications, but only those that are real. Give the name of the qualification, the type of course and, if you like, the training provider. Add any ongoing training or supervision you do, if it's true and you want to include it.

Name your professional body, again only if you genuinely belong to it. Where that body has its own register or directory, link to your entry on it. That lets a visitor check for themselves, which is better than asking them to take your word.

Keep the wording factual. A short list is fine. Put the most relevant items first and don't pad it with every certificate you own.

Before you publish this page, check with your professional body what its rules say about how members advertise. Those rules differ between bodies, and they're theirs to state, not ours, so we won't guess at them here. Read them, then write the page to match.

Avoid stating or implying membership you don't hold, and avoid titles or letters you haven't earned. Avoid vague claims like "fully accredited" with nothing to back them up. Avoid links to a register that doesn't list you. If a detail is out of date, fix it or remove it.

Purpose: Make it easy for someone to take the first step, without pressure.

Keep this page short. A short form, an email address or a phone number. Pick whichever you actually use. Say what happens next: when you'll reply, and how. "I reply within two working days" is only worth writing if you really do. If you can't promise a timeframe, say you'll reply as soon as you can.

Tell people what to include. A name and a way to reach them is usually enough. Make clear they don't need to explain their whole situation in the first message.

Add the line again about being not an emergency service, with the pointer to the NHS website or their GP.

Make sure the form works on a phone. Test it yourself, from start to finish, with a real message. Check that it reaches you and that you'd know if it didn't.

Avoid long forms that ask for a full history. Avoid collecting more personal details than you need. Avoid hiding the page: link to it from the top menu and from the home page. Avoid forms that nobody checks. A missed enquiry is a person who gave up.

Purpose: Answer the questions people actually ask, so they don't have to guess or write to you to find out.

Start with what clients have genuinely asked you. Check your emails, your notes and the questions you hear in first calls. Write them down in the words people used, then answer each one briefly and honestly.

Typical areas include how sessions work, how long people usually come, what happens if they feel nervous, how online sessions run, and whether you can see them at a certain time. Only include the ones you really get asked.

Keep answers short. Two to four sentences each is plenty. If an answer would need a long explanation, link to the page that covers it, such as the first-session page or the fees section.

Update the page as new questions arrive. A living list is more useful than a polished one that never changes.

Don't use the FAQ page to make promises about results. If someone asks "Will this work?", describe what happens in a session and how you'll review things together, rather than guaranteeing an outcome.

Avoid inventing questions to fill space. Avoid answers that sound like a leaflet. Avoid repeating the same text you've already put on other pages word for word. Avoid questions nobody asks, such as "Why is therapy so wonderful?"

Purpose: Tell visitors, clearly, how you handle what they share, and how their details are looked after.

Visitors want to know their private information stays private. You'll want to describe, in plain words, how you handle confidentiality in your practice, and how you look after personal details collected through your website, such as enquiry forms.

We're not going to state any rules here. The rules that apply to you depend on your profession and how you work. Check with your professional body for its requirements on confidentiality, and check with the data regulator for what applies to how you collect and store personal information. Then write the page to reflect your real practice.

Keep the page readable. Short paragraphs, plain words. Say what you keep, why, and how a person can ask about it. If you use a booking system, a form tool or email, be honest that those exist and what they're used for.

If this page is detailed, give it a short summary at the top, then the full version underneath. Link it from the footer of every page and from your enquiry form.

Avoid copying a template without reading it, because it may describe things you don't do. Avoid legal-sounding language you don't understand yourself. Avoid promises you can't keep. Avoid hiding this page where nobody finds it.

Purpose: Tell people exactly where to go, or how to join, so nothing about the practicalities is a surprise.

If you see people in a room, give the full address, with the postcode. Say how to find the entrance, whether there's a waiting area, and what the access is like: steps, lifts, parking nearby, public transport. Add a map or clear directions if that helps. If you use more than one location, give each its own details and say which days you're at each.

If you work online, say which platform you use and how a client joins. What do they need? A quiet space, a device, headphones? What happens if the connection drops? Keep it simple and calm.

If you offer both, say how a client chooses, and whether they can switch.

Be honest about the room. A short line about the space, and whether it's private, helps people picture it. If you work from home, say that in a way you're comfortable with, and check what you want to share publicly about your address.

If you're a UK limited company, your website must show the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered (GOV.UK). Put those somewhere easy to find, such as the footer.

Avoid vague directions like "central location". Avoid giving an address on the site that you aren't happy to share with the public. Avoid promising a "calm, healing space" instead of describing it. Avoid leaving online clients guessing how to join.

Purpose: Let a visitor get a sense of you as a person, and show them how to reach you.

Write about yourself in plain, warm words. Who are you, how did you come to this work, and what's it like to work with you? Keep it short. A few paragraphs is plenty. Say what matters to a client, not your whole life story.

Include a bit about how you work in practice: your manner, your pace, what a client might notice about you. Honest and ordinary beats polished and impressive. If you've got a real photo, use it here as well.

Don't repeat your qualifications at length; link to that page instead.

Then make contact easy. Give the ways you can actually be reached, and say which you prefer. An email address or a phone number, whichever you genuinely check. If you only read messages on certain days, say so. Keep this consistent with your enquiry page and your Google Business Profile, because mismatched details look careless.

Add your business details in the footer, including the company details covered above if you're a limited company.

Avoid writing about yourself in the third person unless you really like it. Avoid a long list of interests that tells the reader nothing. Avoid grand statements about your "passion" with nothing concrete behind them. Avoid a contact page with only a form and no other way to reach you, if some people would prefer a phone call.

Purpose: Put your practice on Google's map and search results, so people searching nearby can find you and see the basics at a glance.

This isn't a page on your site; it's a free listing you set up and look after. UK monthly estimates from DataForSEO, taken 18 October 2026, put "therapist near me" at 33,100. That's a national figure, not per town, and it's an estimate. Treat it as a sign of how people look, nothing more.

Use your real-world business name, the one shown on your shopfront, website and stationery. Don't add keywords to the name. If your practice is called by your own name, use that. You can't pay for a better local ranking, so don't be tempted by anyone who says otherwise.

Fill in everything accurately: address or service area, opening hours, phone number, website link, a short description in plain words. Keep hours and holiday hours updated, as Google's guidelines ask. If your hours change at Christmas or over the summer, update the listing before you go away.

Check that your details match your website exactly. Same name, same address, same phone number.

Avoid stuffing the name with extra words. Avoid listing an address where you don't see clients, unless Google's rules allow it for your set-up; if unsure, read their guidelines. Avoid leaving old hours up. Avoid copying your whole home page into the description.

Don't try to write all of this in one go. Start with these, in this order:

1. Home page: who you are, what you do, where, and one clear next step.
2. What to expect: the first session, your fees and your cancellation terms, in your own words.
3. Booking or enquiry page: a short, working way to get in touch.
4. Google Business Profile: your free listing, with the right name, hours and details.
5. Qualifications and professional membership: your real training, with a link to your register entry.

The rest can follow, one page at a time. A small site that's clear and true beats a big one that's vague.

One more point on building pages. If you work from more than one town, resist the urge to copy the same page and swap the place name. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages made mainly to manipulate rankings as spam. So each area page must carry something genuinely different: a different room, different travel details, different days. If you can't say anything new, don't make the page.

Search figures for "therapist website" (320), "therapist website design" (140) and "therapist seo" (50) are UK monthly estimates from the same source and date. They're small, national and approximate.

You've now got a list of pages. The harder question is which of them your site already covers, and which topics are thin or missing.

Seracu offers a free snapshot that shows which topics your site lacks compared with competitors. It's a quick way to see where the gaps are before you decide what to write next.