I get a lot of questions from therapists about web marketing. Here are some brief answers to some common questions about having a website. (And yes, there are other aspects to web marketing, but I am trying to not overwhelm you right now!)
Do I need one?
You actually don’t HAVE to have a website right away. Don’t stress if you don’t have one. You CAN build a practice without one. It can be helpful to have one eventually, even to have a pretty one. But right out of the gates, you do not need to pay someone thousands of dollars to build a fancy, SEO-ified website for you. (Want to know what you do need on your site if you build one? Let’s talk.)
How do I build one?
Do you have a computer? Do you have a niece/nephew or child who is an adolescent? Just kidding. Yes, you can enlist a friend or family member to help if computers give you hives, but if you are at least a little open to a computer adventure, you can build a simple site yourself. If you’ve got a Mac, iweb is really simple to use. If you have a PC, I’m sorry. (Just kidding again, sort of, I am writing this email on a PC.) Whatever type of computer you have, you can use a program called wordpress (wordpress.org) to build a site that will be able to grow and evolve with your business. The program is free. They also offer recommendations for where to purchase hosting for your site, but generally, you’ll spend between $3 and $10/ month to host your site. That is it. Cheap, I know!
Should I hire someone else to build it for me?
If you have unlimited money and you don’t want a technical challenge/don’t have the time for it, it may make sense to have someone else build it for you. But make sure you understand yourself, your business and what your goals are before you hand anything over to a web designer.
However, if you’re looking for a middle ground (are intimidated by your computer), but don’t want to shell out a few thousand dollars, you could consider a program like WIX which simplifies plugging your information into a template and pressing launch.
BUT REALLY, keep in mind that 1) you DO NOT need a site right away, and 2) it is really important that you understand yourself, your business and your clients before you try to build anything (because if you build before then, you’ll end up with something fairly useless like I had and you’ll have to rebuild… like I did.)