The 5 pages every counselling website needs
If you're planning a website for your counselling practice, it's easy to think you need lots of pages before you can launch. You might wonder whether you need a separate page for every issue you work with, pages explaining each counselling approach you've trained in, or a long list of blog posts before anyone will take you seriously.
Most counselling websites don't need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler your website is, the easier it usually is for potential clients to use. When someone visits your website, they're often looking for answers to these questions:
Can this person help me?
Do they feel like someone I could talk to?
How do I get in touch?
If your website answers those questions clearly, you're already most of the way there.
In this post, I'll walk through the five pages I think every counselling website should have and explain why each one matters.
1. Home
Your homepage is often the first thing someone sees, so it's worth spending some time getting it right.
The job of your homepage isn't to tell visitors everything about your practice. It's simply to help them understand, quite quickly, that they're in the right place.
Within a few seconds, someone should be able to tell:
who you work with
what kind of support you offer
whether you work online, in person, or both
how they can take the next step
One mistake I sometimes see is therapists trying to fit too much onto their homepage. It can be tempting to include every qualification, every approach you've trained in and every service you offer.
In reality, people rarely read websites from top to bottom. Most visitors scan first, looking for the information that's most relevant to them.
A clear headline, a short introduction, a friendly photo and some simple signposts to the rest of your website are often all you need. The rest of your website can fill in the detail.
2. About
Your About page is usually where people go when they're seriously considering getting in touch. By this point they've probably decided that your services sound relevant. Now they're trying to get a feel for who you are.
Therapy is a very personal experience, so choosing a therapist is different from choosing most other services. People aren't just looking for qualifications. They're looking for someone they feel comfortable talking to. Your About page is a chance to help them make that judgement.
You don't need to tell your whole life story, and you certainly don't need to share anything you're not comfortable sharing. Instead, focus on introducing yourself as the person they'll be working with. You might talk about what drew you to counselling, how you work, what clients can expect from sessions and the values that shape your practice.
Try to write as you speak. If something sounds formal or doesn't feel like you, it's probably worth rewriting.
3. Services
This is where you explain what you actually offer.
For many therapists, this page ends up trying to do too much. Rather than listing every counselling approach you've ever trained in, think about what a potential client actually wants to know.
They're probably wondering things like:
Is this right for me?
What happens in a session?
Do they work online?
How much does it cost?
Answering those questions clearly is usually much more helpful than explaining different therapeutic models. If you do mention your approach, try to describe what it means in practice. For example, instead of saying you use an integrative approach, explain that you adapt your way of working to the individual sitting in front of you. That's much easier for someone with no counselling background to understand.
This is also a good place to include practical information such as your fees, session length and how people can work with you.
4. FAQs
An FAQ page can quietly do a lot of work.
By the time someone reaches it, they may already feel that you're the right therapist. They just have one or two questions that are stopping them from getting in touch.
Those questions are often surprisingly similar. Things like:
What happens in the first session?
How long does therapy usually last?
Will I know what to say?
Do you offer online sessions?
Is everything confidential?
If you've noticed the same questions coming up in introductory calls or first sessions, they're probably worth including here. Keep your answers short, reassuring and written in everyday language; you don't need to write an essay for each one.
5. Contact
It sounds obvious, but your Contact page should make getting in touch feel as easy as possible.
For many people, contacting a therapist is a big step, and so the less uncertainty there is, the easier it becomes. Explain how people can contact you and, just as importantly, what happens afterwards. For example, you might let visitors know that you'll reply within two working days, or that the first conversation is simply a chance to see whether you're a good fit.
Small details like this can make the whole process feel much less daunting. If you offer a free introductory call, explain what it's for and reassure people that there's no obligation to continue.
Do counselling websites need more than five pages?
Many successful counselling websites consist of these five pages and nothing more.
As your practice develops, you might decide to add things like:
a blog
information about supervision
workshop pages
location pages if you work across different areas
resources for existing clients
The important thing is that every page has a purpose. If you're creating pages simply because you feel like you should have them, it's usually worth asking whether they add anything for the people visiting your website.
Often, a smaller website that's easy to navigate is far more helpful than a larger one with lots of overlapping information.
Try not to overcomplicate things, your website isn't there to answer every possible question, its job is to help someone decide whether they'd like to take the next step.
If your website helps visitors understand who you work with, how you work and how they can get in touch, it's already doing what it needs to do.
Start simple
Your website doesn't have to be perfect before it goes live, and it probably never will be! Your practice will change over time, and your website will change with it. You'll find better ways to describe your work, perhaps develop a particular niche or decide to add new services.
It's much better to launch a simple website that feels warm, clear and welcoming than spend months trying to make every page perfect.
Final thoughts
If you're planning your counselling website, I'd encourage you to keep things as simple as possible.
Start with these five pages:
Home
About
Services
FAQs
Contact
Think about the questions a potential client might have as they move through your website, and try to answer them in a calm, reassuring way. You can always add more pages later if your practice grows or your needs change. A clear website that helps people take the first step will almost always be more effective than a complicated one.
Download my free guide
If you'd like a step-by-step introduction to planning your counselling website, you can download my free guide to help you get started.
Looking for more detailed guidance?
If you're ready to plan your website in more depth, my Website Content Planning Guide for Therapists walks you through the entire process of planning what to include on your website. It includes practical exercises, prompts and worksheets to help you define your ideal client, plan each page and write content that speaks directly to the people you want to work with.
Learn more about the Website Content Planning Guide for Therapists →