So you want a website for your private practice? 10 questions to answer before getting started.

So you’ve decided it’s time to have a website for your private practice. Maybe it’s the first time you have a web presence, or perhaps you have an existing site and are feeling it’s time for an upgrade. Before getting started, there are some important questions to answer so that the design process can be most efficient and your web designer can create a site that matches your vision and will attract the clients you most desire.

Here’s what I ask the therapists that I work with:

1. Tell me a little bit about your therapy business. Who is your target demographic? Do you have a specialty or niche? Who do you most want your site to connect to?

2. Do you have a website already? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it?

3. What image do you want to portray? For example, casual, modern, professional? Warm and nurturing? Tell me a little about the feeling you want to capture.

4. Tell me three adjectives that you hope will describe your site.

5. What colors do you like? Are there colors you definitely want to include? Colors that you dislike?

6. What fonts do you like? Modern, more traditional? Handwriting? Please visit Google Fonts for font ideas.

7. Are there any images in particular that you feel resonate with your practice? (trees, pathways, rivers, etc.) You can look at Shutterstock.com for image ideas.

8. List 5 websites (therapist websites or others) that you like. What do you like about each one? (This could be navigation method, color scheme, fonts etc.)

9. What sections/pages do you envision including on the site? (For example, Home, About, FAQ, Services, Contact, etc.)

10. What features do you want your website to have? For example, a blog, social media, appointment scheduling, online payments, mailing list?