Websites for Therapists: Your Dictionary of Terms
Website dictionary for therapists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors
Updated Feb 3, 2023
Are you looking for more than a dictionary? Check out our free Website for Therapists checklist.
The truth is, unless you’re already established as a therapist in private practice, are getting the right referrals, and are getting ready to retire, you probably need a website.
Today, we’re going to share some definitions and terms to help orient you to the beautiful vocabulary of the internet, websites, and marketing!
Website Terms for Therapists 101
Website
A website is simply a set of web pages you access through the Internet that allows anyone, anywhere to be able to read the same material, in the same format. The primary purpose of a website is to allow anyone, anywhere to easily access the same material and see the same thing.
Blog
"A blog is a website, but a website isn't necessarily a blog." A blog is a way to create a collection of articles. It’s a pre-made format or template that allows you to create articles or posts over time within your websites. Blog formats allow you to easily organize posts by date, topic, keyword, or category. Most blogs are a specific format that can easily be read by search engines and shared, accessed, and curated through something called an RSS feed (more on that later).
Many therapists assume a blog is something separate from your website, but in most instances, a blog integrated into your website is the best solution. In fact, we recommend that every therapist website should have great blogging capabilities — even if you don't think you’ll ever need them. Because getting a website without a blog would be like paying to "upgrade" your car to take out power steering, it would be silly!
Mobile Websites
As people have started carrying computers in their pockets, in the form of smart phones and tablets, the language of the Internet has had to catch up. About 60% of views of the site you’re reading right now are done from mobile phones, and this is a pretty common percentage.
Many website builders now integrate the mobile website language, but not all of them do. If you don't choose the right place or way to build your site, you could end up losing 60% of potential clients. You used to have to pay a person another fee to build a separate mobile site, but that’s mostly been eliminated due to responsive design.
Fortunately, many website builders today are also mobile friendly.
Responsive Design
This is related to the same concept as mobile websites. A responsive website design is one that, as you’re building your site, the computer programmers have built in a process that allows the design to adjust no matter what size of a screen someone is using to view your site.
If you want a visual of what that might look like, change the size of this browser window (if you know how). Drag the width of the browser window slowly and see how things shift around until you can see the same thing someone would see if they were looking at this site on a mobile phone. Responsive design eliminates the need to design, build, or buy a mobile site separately. A great responsive design is one that allows you to easily view the content without squinting!
Website Platforms and Content Management Systems (CMS)
There are many different ways to build your website. Choosing a place to build your website is kind of like choosing between Word or WordPerfect or even choosing whether you want an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. Many of them may have similar features, but they’re NOT all created equally!
In modern content management systems, as you add a page to your site, it easily adds your menu bar and keeps everything perfectly spaced. Content management systems can make updating, tweaking, or expanding your website as easy as making a PowerPoint or updating a Word document. Before content management systems, websites had to be hardcoded. Examples of CMS systems include WordPress.org, Squarespace, and WordPress.com.
Hardcoded or HTML Site
When websites were first developed, each one was handwritten using a special language. In order to build a website, you had to either learn the language HTML or hire someone who knew the language. Making updates could be time-consuming and expensive! Now, websites can be built and updated much the same way you might use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.
Hardcoded websites are the most expensive to build, maintain, and update. There are still website designers out in the world who prefer to build hardcoded sites. When choosing a web designer, be sure to clarify what platform they’re building on, and make sure it’s the right platform for your needs.
Website Hosting
Websites are really just a visual representation of a computer code being accessed. These codes are housed and stored on computers. Hosting is the service that keeps that code running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and ensures that your website doesn't "crash" (turn off) if you get a lot of people trying to access your website at the same time.
Some platforms include hosting as part of their service, other platforms require you to get hosting separately. Some hosts keep your information really secure and can handle a lot of traffic, and some do not. One issue that’s been seen consistently with certain hosting platforms that host WordPress is those security vulnerabilities (that we’ll discuss later) that can lead to your website being hacked.
You want to choose a website host that takes security seriously and has extra precautions in place to make sure that someone else's oversight doesn't lead to your website being hacked.
CSS Design
When Miranda first started building websites, if she wanted to change the font on my site, she had to go into each page and change each part manually, via HTML code - yuck! Now, they have something called cascading style sheets (CSS). This allows you to make broad changes to your site that easily update the entire look and feel of your site. Sort of like putting a new cover on your iPhone or using one of the themes in PowerPoint.
The information stays the same, but you can make changes to the look with a few clicks. So, when you’re writing your website, you can really focus on your content and organization, and then later go in and make a few changes that make your new site look fantastic.
Domain Name
A domain name is like a phone number. It’s what people type in to be able to see your website. Like your home phone number or mobile phone number, domains can be pointed to any site. Your domain name is a piece of your branding and the ease of use of your site.
Some platforms may also register a domain name for you. Others may require you to buy your domain name elsewhere. Some platforms actually buy the domain name you want in their own name and sell it back to you if you decide to leave.
Having an easy-to-spell, type-and-remember domain name is quite useful. Hover.com is our FAVORITE place to buy domain names. Why? Because they answer the phone and resolve issues quickly. Some domain registrars (that’s the fancy name for anyone who can sell you a domain name) charge you for silly things like keeping your home address private. Hover doesn't do that. Plus, if you’re moving your domain for some reason, they have a service called "valet transfer" where they’ll take care of the whole move process for you, down to all the nitty-gritty technical pieces. Your domain shouldn't cost you more than $15 a year.
WordPress.org
This is a TOUGH one for therapists to conceptualize. "WordPress" in the vernacular often refers to WordPress.org which is a free piece of open-source software that you can download and install into your website hosting system. Some web hosting centers have 1-click installs of the WordPress.org content management system. WordPress.org is an open-source software, meaning anyone can see exactly what’s under the hood. In other words, mean hackers and good people are constantly working against each other to keep the software safe and secure.
WordPress.org REQUIRES constant security updates to keep your site working and minimize the risk of hacking. You must research, choose, install, and update standalone pieces of software (plugins) to allow for auto-updates and backups of your site.
Are your eyes glazing over? If so, we get it. Most therapists who choose this route will need to get outside training and/or pay for ongoing support to keep their website up to date. This is also a reason you might want to consider getting a website designer to get things set up properly if you want to use WordPress.org.
WordPress.com
This platform is something completely different. It starts as a free service and is a stripped-down version of the WordPress.org CMS that’s hosted at WordPress.com We've consistently found our clients get frustrated with the limitations as they attempt to expand the effectiveness of their website. Some of the coolest free tools we use on our site, you just can't use them on this platform. We also think it’s interesting that as you start to turn on different features, many therapists end up spending more annually than they would with other platforms.
WordPress Themes
If you have a WordPress.org site, the way your site looks to your viewer is determined by your theme. There are free and paid themes, but many free themes have limitations (like they advertise the theme). It’s worth it to invest in a paid theme. However, realize that most of these themes can't be "tweaked" very much.
You’ll replace the information and images that are there, but you won't be able to customize beyond the capabilities of the theme. In some cases, this could include something as simple as changing certain colors or fonts. Each theme has different capabilities for change. Each theme may also have updates that may be related to security concerns, upgrades, etc.
If the theme updates, you’ll need to make sure it doesn't conflict with any of your plugins and your website still functions properly. If your theme doesn't update, as your plugins and security updates to the entire site are integrated, you’ll need to make sure your theme doesn't break, and you may need an updated theme (look) that works with your newly updated software.
WordPress Plugins
If you go with a WordPress site, you’ll need to research and integrate WordPress plugins that work best for you. A plugin is a mini piece of software that adds new features to your WordPress site. There are many free plugins for WordPress sites. However, there’s no guarantee that the plugins you’re using are secure or will continue to be updated in the future.
Certain plugins also don’t work with certain themes, and they can break the functionality of the others. At the same time, there are plugins that can allow you to do amazing things with your site, and they’re expanding and updating these plugins all the time.
Plugins can include malware or bad software in them and are often vehicles for website hacking and security vulnerabilities. You need to make sure plugins you add are trustworthy.
WordPress Security Updates
Due to the open-source nature of WordPress.org, it’s constantly in a state of change. It’s also very vulnerable to hacking. Over 70% of WordPress sites today are vulnerable to hacking. Estimates report that only 11-20% of WordPress sites are updated to the most secure version.
If you build your website on WordPress, you must develop a plan or purchase a service that allows making security updates and ensure those updates don't break your site. It’s also important to note (again) that if your website host uses shared servers — more than 1 person's website hosted on the same computer — your website could be at risk if the proper safeguards aren't put in place.
As of September 21, 2021, there’s yet another WordPress security vulnerability, and WordPress advises that any custom changes made to the site will be overwritten when making the updates needed to secure your site. Again, we advise you use an outside person who manages these issues for you on a monthly basis or just use a secure website builder like Squarespace with fewer vulnerabilities and lots of fail-safes you can put into place for added peace of mind.
Self-Hosted Sites
If you go with WordPress.org, Drupal, or Joomla, you’ll have what’s referred to as a "self-hosted site." This means you’ll have access to a shared computer out in the cloud somewhere where you store your website data. You’re not responsible for the maintenance of this computer. However, you are responsible for ensuring that your website and files are backed up to a location not on that site. If you want to move your hosting company because of security or service issues, you can simply back up the site and then upload it to a new hosting site.
WYSIWYG
This is a funny little term that stands for "what you see is what you get." This is a feature of certain content management systems (platforms) that means as you’re working on your site, what you see is what your visitors will see. WordPress.org, for example, is NOT a WYSIWYG platform. Unless you have some extra plugins (standalone pieces of free or paid software that integrate with WordPress), you’ll be editing text and have to switch between two screens to see what your visitor will see. Some other platforms like Squarespace allow you to make edits and see what your visitors will see as you’re making changes.
Flash Design Websites
Flash is a programming language, like HTML. While Flash is, well, flashy, it has some major disadvantages. Most notably, you can't access Flash directly on Apple iPhones. Many therapists who initially built a beautiful website using Flash website designs found their websites were blank. Wix, which was one of the most popular Flash website designers for therapists, has switched over from Flash due to the ongoing limitations.
At the beginning of 2021, Adobe ended support of Flash technology. Wix websites no longer use flash technology.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a website and blogging platform. This platform includes hosting, blogging, WYSIWYG editing, editable themes, integrated plugins, customer service, and domain registration (if you purchase annual service). You’re looking at a Squarespace site right now.
We like that we can have the drag-and-drop functionality and have a beautiful, modern, responsive design that we can easily tweak and change as our needs change. Squarespace ensures our websites are backed-up redundantly in different places. And we can export our website into a file to import into WordPress.
Squarespace Templates
A Squarespace template is similar to a WordPress theme. All Squarespace templates have the ability to change colors, fonts, change out images, and have drag-and-drop functionality.
Export
This is when you take your website and attempt to suck everything out so you can "import" it elsewhere. Some blog platforms need to be exported in a manual backup and then uploaded manually. Some systems allow you to simply login to your old account for a 1-step export/import.
Import
You can import a WordPress site into Squarespace and vice versa. However, the "look" of the site and any custom coding won't transfer back and forth. Both WordPress and Squarespace allow you to import many blogs on standalone sites like WordPress.com, Blogger.com, and others.
If you have an established blog, definitely check to see if you can import it easily to your new private practice website. It can save a lot of time and energy!
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Here’s the details about SEO for therapists: the idea is to make sure your website is set up (optimized) so that the little Internet gremlins (that might not be the official name) understand what it is you really do, so they can show your website to people who will really benefit from it.
Some website platforms have major limitations when it comes to SEO. WordPress and Squarespace both have extensive options for setting up your website to make sure it’s findable. The real question is, what do you want to be findable for? Who do you want to find you? What are those people typing into Google?
A few technical things your platform needs: a blog feature with an RSS feed integrated into the system, the ability to write descriptions for each page on your site, and backend details set up properly. WordPress will require you to get a free plugin like Yoast that helps you make sure your site is properly set up for search engine optimization.
No platform, however, will make you magically appear on the first page of Google for every search term on the planet. You need to clarify what you really want to be found for, what people are typing in, how many times they’re typing it per month (is there enough demand?), and you need to write awesome content that people want to read when they discover it.
Email Hosting
Your email is usually set up and maintained separately from your website. So, this too, in most cases, is best handled as a separate conversation. Google Workspace, for example, can be set up no matter what website platform you use, but make sure the apps you’re using are HIPAA-compliant!
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For more support creating a client-centered website you love, be sure to check out Business School for Therapists where we go over website creation 101!
