Top 5 Therapist Web Design Mistakes to Avoid
Is your website attracting and magnetizing your ideal clients? Converting visitors into well-educated and loyal clients?
Or is it turning people away?
Knowing how to avoid web design mistakes can make the difference between a flourishing or faltering practice. You need to get this right. This isn’t as easy as it may seem.
Our web designers know how to spot common web design mistakes and create beautiful, profitable therapist sites. Sites that attract and convert visitors and help mental health professionals like you grow their practices. We know what works specifically in the therapy space.
But many website design companies focus on a broad range of businesses and heavy-duty sites that turn potential clients away. They don’t know what works in the therapy space. So, they falter.
Then there are the costly errors that invariably come with a do-it-yourself approach.
So, let’s look at the top 5 website design mistakes we see committed on therapy websites. Then you can ensure your site doesn’t fall into these traps, and instead of repelling your ideal clients, you’ll attract and build your network.
Web Design Mistake 1: Complicating Your Site Design by Adding Too Many Features
When designing a website for your private practice, striking the right balance between functionality and simplicity is key. You need a user-friendly platform that functions seamlessly.
Yet, it’s easy to be convinced that complexity is better. Most web design companies will happily encourage and cater to complicated. They’ll build unnecessary complexity because that is how they make more money. For most therapists, though, heightened intricacy costs more to build and more to maintain and doesn’t elevate success.
We get it; bells and whistles are tempting. But adding an excess of features, oodles of images, and other unnecessary components can hinder your website’s effectiveness, speed, and ease of use and turn potential clients away.
Some often unneeded features include:
- Too many plugins
- Autoplay video and audio
- Complex image sliders
- Multiple pop-ups
- Social media feeds
- Complicated navigation menus
Before adding these elements, carefully consider the pros and cons. Ask yourself: How will its addition benefit a visitor’s experience and contribute to my goals?
Cluttering your website with features risks diluting your message, distracting users from your primary call to action, and may harm your practice growth. Instead, focus on providing a clean and streamlined user experience. Highlight the most important aspects of your practice, make it super-easy for visitors to move around, and clearly communicate how you can help potential clients.
Remember, simplicity is key. Your website should be intuitive and easy to navigate, ensuring visitors can quickly find the information they seek. By avoiding an overly complex site design, you can create a website that effectively showcases your practice and expertise, establishes trust, and helps propel your practice growth.
Tip: Most website design companies are unfamiliar with the specific needs of therapists. This lack of knowledge can result in complex, feature-full sites that overwhelm, confuse, or frustrate visitors.
A confused visitor is a visitor who struggles to make a decision other than the decision to leave your site, never to return.
If you need a beautiful, functional site tailored for your therapy work and your clients, we’re here to help. Building sites that perfectly suit your business is what we do.
Web Design Mistake 2: Using Poor Quality Graphics
What would you do if you picked up a book whose cover image looked grainy or unclear?
There’s a good chance you’d put it down again.
Based on the graphic alone, the pages might hold transformative insights, but you will have already decided that it is a subpar book not worthy of your time. Your website visitors are the same.
Your website digitally represents your private practice, and first impressions matter. Yet, even when free options are available, we still see sites with poor-quality images. One of the biggest web design mistakes to avoid.
Using low-resolution, blurry or pixelated graphics doesn’t only detract from your visitor’s user experience. They create a sense of unpolished, unprofessional, and amateurish design. I promise you, this undermines the credibility you are otherwise working hard to establish.
Remember, your website is often the first point of contact for potential clients. You need to make a positive and lasting impression; to encourage visitors to stick around and return for more.
So, how can you avoid this common web design mistake?
- Invest in high-quality images and graphics that reflect your brand. For example, professional photos of yourself, your team, and your treatment rooms enable you to showcase your practice.
- Be mindful of your website images. Opt for inclusive, diverse, and culturally sensitive visual elements on your web pages to create a welcoming environment. Avoid low quality images or irrelevant images.
- Pay attention to your site’s overall design and layout. Choose a clean, modern design that complements your brand images.
- Be consistent in your graphic style to create a cohesive, visually appealing website.
Tip: PixaBay and Unsplash offer a range of quality, royalty-free, no-cost images.
Web Design Mistake 3: Neglecting the Use of Clear Calls-to-Action
Do you ask your visitors to do something, to take any steps?
If not, you must.
Your private practice website should be a powerful tool for engaging visitors and converting them into clients. At the end of the day, that’s what your site is for, right?
But often, therapists neglect this basic step. They believe that if they produce valuable content — if they help somehow — visitors will book a consultation. They’ll naturally take the next step.
Sadly, this is often untrue.
Someone might first need to “get to know you better.” So, adding a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages them to sign up for your newsletter makes sense.
They might wish to contact you to find out more. An instruction that says, “Contact Us,” might be all it takes for them to do so.
“Schedule Your Appointment” is an obvious CTA that should appear on your site.
You can also invite visitors to join a webinar, download an eBook, attend a virtual workshop, follow you on social media, or gain entry to a member’s only mental health library. Brainstorm ideas that would be valuable for your ideal clients, then create targeted offers and steer your visitors towards them with a strong CTA.
Without a strong call to action, people may be unsure about what steps to take or how to engage further with your practice. Neglecting to incorporate clear and strategically placed CTAs leads to missed opportunities.
So, ensure your CTAs stand out and are easy to find. Use concise, compelling language that clearly communicates the desired action’s value and benefits.
For example:
- “Download Your Free eBook: Your Natural Guide to Happiness!”
- “Attend Our Virtual Workshop and Learn 7 Ways to Boost Your Mood in Minutes”
- “Get Instant Access to our Grief Recovery Resource Library — Written by Mental Health Experts – Join Now!”
- “Take the Self-Care Challenge – 7 Days to a Foolproof, Customized Well-being Plan!”
Again, focus on your ideal client’s biggest problems. Create a tantalizing offer and CTA built to answer one of these problems. You could be amazed at the response!
Web Design Mistake 4: Failing to Optimize Your Site for Mobile Devices
Do you know if your site is mobile-friendly?
If not, stop. Yes, right now!
Visit our article, The Importance of a Mobile-Friendly Website, to learn how to find out.
Mobile users are ubiquitous. More than 55% of cyber traffic originates from mobile devices. If your website is not optimized for mobile visitors, it is failing you and the clients you are best qualified to serve.
See, neglecting to optimize for mobile can result in distorted layouts, slow load times, and difficulty navigating your site on smaller screens. When visitors encounter these problems, there is a good chance they’ll abandon your website and look elsewhere.
Plus, the search engines will penalize you for being mobile-unfriendly. Your rankings may plummet.
To avoid this mistake, website owners should prioritize a responsive website for mobile users. A mobile-responsive design ensures your site adapts to different screen sizes and maintains a user-friendly interface across devices. This includes adjusting font sizes, optimizing images, and rearranging content to fit smaller screens without compromising functionality or aesthetics.
If you want your site to work for you, embracing a mobile-friendly approach is the only option. The importance of a web designer well-versed in mobile optimization can’t be overstated. If you’re not mobile-ready, we can remedy this problem for you. Contact us to find out how.
Web Design Mistake 5: Inconsistent Design or Branding Across Your Site
Look at your website.
Is the design, font, color, and layout consistent? Are the images similar in style? Is your “voice” uniform?
Just like a good relationship, consistency is key. But because therapists are busy, this key component is often overlooked. Content is thrown up on a website without considering its overall impact. This is a mistake.
Inconsistencies can confuse visitors, damage your brand and messaging, create a disjointed, unprofessional impression, and hamper the user experience. You guessed it, this can cause visitors to leave.
Focusing on a cohesive web design is crucial for establishing trust and professionalism. Elements such as colors, fonts, and graphics should remain consistent across your website. As should placement and size. Each will reinforce brand recognition and help visitors intuitively trust and navigate your site.
At BrighterVision, we design every customer site with consistency in mind. This means your fonts, colors, template, and more are uniform by default. Yes, this makes your job infinitely easier!
Avoiding these 5 common website design mistakes will elevate your brand and allow your site to build trust with each website visitor. They’ll stick around for longer and be much more likely to take the step you want: to become valued clients.
Wait! You Don’t Have A Therapist Website Yet?
Brighter Vision is the ultimate marketing package for therapists, centered around the best therapist website you’ve ever had. Contact us today to get started.