Costs for Websites for Therapists
Updated Feb 3, 2023
You want to get a website for your private practice but what is this really going to cost?
Doing research online you can find sites ranging from free, to a lifetime membership fee to several thousands of dollars for a custom designed site (sometimes more than $10,000) That is a huge range, so let's break down what you need to know.
Therapist Website Costs
Domain Name (Free to $13/year)
Your domain name is what people type in to reach your website. This is an ongoing cost. Most therapists pay this annually. If you go with a service like TherapySites, the cost of the domain is built into your monthly fee. However, you will not own your domain and if you stop using TherapySites you will need to purchase it from them. Squarespace gives you a free domain name if you do an annual account, but it is registered under your name and you can transfer out without paying any additional fees to Squarespace.
You can pay several years in advance to keep the domain registered with your name. You can choose a domain based on your name, area, or expertise. Whatever you choose, you need to be sure to stay current with payments or you could lose your domain name (and your placement in Google).
You can get your domain free when you pay for a service like Squarespace or you can pay just a couple of bucks per year with Godaddy or Namecheap. We however recommend Hover for $13/yr because they have great customer service (a live person picks up the phone and helps) and will help you with set up or any other issues you might have.
Investment $0 to $13 per year.
Website Hosting ($4 to 20/month)
This is a monthly or annual fee you pay. Think of your domain as your phone number to your house, and hosting as the lot on which your site sits. Weebly, wordpress.com, Wix, and Squarespace are services where you can host and design your website. They provide templates for you to use and you design your website on their platform.
Please be aware that if you use the free plans with some of these companies, you don't get to have your own domain without their name being included (Kellyhigdon.weebly.com). It is worth the extra money to have a professional domain, so pay for hosting. Whereas, a Wordpress.org site is a piece of software that needs to be hosted at a place of your choosing. For Wordpress.org the host is simply an off-site computer you are paying to store files on. We recommend Blue Host or Pressable.
Investment: $4 to $20 per month.
Are you feeling a bit lost when talking about terms like domain, platform, hosting, etc Check out the Websites for Therapists Checklist and then come back here to look at costs.
Website Template or Theme (free to $199)
Many website builders and content management systems have templates or themes that give you the basic look and feel of your site. Wordpress.org templates are called themes. They are a piece of software that you download, pay for, and install separately. Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, and others integrate their templates into their monthly hosting costs (no extra fee).
Wordpress themes out of the box can range from very simple to very complex. Some themes integrate mobile or responsive designs, while others require a separate plugin.
Also, watch out for free themes that can house malware or have a funky link back to the designer that you can't remove without paying them. Each theme or template also builds in specific changes you can, or cannot make. For example, in Squarespace, you can change the color of every item on your website. Certain Wordpress themes require coding knowledge to make color or font changes. For Wordpress themes, you might check out StudioPress, but there are many options out there.
Additional Investment: Free to $199.
Custom Design (free to $2,000)
You can spend a lot of money on the design of websites for therapists. Professional designers may charge by the hour or with packaged rates. Also, some website designers don't provide custom design. They simply help you choose a theme and install the theme and text for you.
Be sure you really understand what you are (and are not) purchasing when you review quotes for therapy websites. A few of our favorite designers include CounselingWise.com, and BrighterVision.com
Investment: Free to $2,000+ (we've talked to therapists who've been spent more than $5,000 for a not-great website).
Website Content (free to $2,000)
You may write your own content for free or you may choose to have a copywriter help you out. This is an important part of your website because it is how you convey your value and your services to the visitor of your site.
Investment: Free to $2,000.
Website Maintenance (free to $20/month)
If you have a service website you do not need to back up your website. However, if you have a Wordpress site you need to make sure your hosting company provides backups and security. This can be an additional cost for a wordpress.org site.
Investment: Free to $20 per month.
SEO (free to $3,000+)
It really shouldn't cost any more to have your website show up on Google placements, unless you’re running Google ads. However, sometimes you might need some extra support in understanding how search engines work, knowing what words you should be focusing on, and developing a plan that will get your website where you need it to be.
Be wary of paying search engine gurus who will get your website to the top of Google too fast. Some of theme use "blackhat" or sneaky tactics that can actually get your website "blacklisted" by Google. Blacklisted is bad for your website, and your business. A few people we trust to learn about SEO for therapists include Cathy Hanville, CounselingWise, and Simplified SEO Consulting.
Investment: $free to $3,000+ depending on your needs.
We also teach therapists about SEO as part of the Business School for Therapists.
How about you? How much has your website cost you? Share below and let's learn from each other.
