# Websites for counsellors & therapists

> Websites for private counsellors and psychotherapists that feel calm, make it easy to take a first step, and are clear about fees, approach, registration and availability.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/industries/counsellors
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-27

There are 27,165 other health practices across 376 UK local authorities (ONS UK Business Counts, SIC 86900, 2025, OGL v3.0).

## How customers choose

Someone looking for a counsellor has often been thinking about it for a long time, and the website visit is a big step. They may have been referred by a GP, found you on a directory such as the BACP register, Counselling Directory or Psychology Today, or searched for "counsellor" plus a town or a specific concern. They read slowly and carefully, often late at night, and they are trying to answer quiet questions: will this person understand me, do they work with what I am going through, can I afford it, can I be seen online or somewhere private, and what actually happens in the first session. Many people check the counsellor’s registration with a professional body. The decision to get in touch is often about feeling safe, so tone, a real photograph and a gentle, low-pressure contact route matter enormously.

## What most websites in this trade get wrong

Counselling websites fail in two opposite ways. Some are clinical and wordy, full of modality names that mean nothing to the reader. Others are vague and soothing without ever saying what you work with, what it costs or how to book. The reader needs both warmth and plain facts: fees and session length, online or in-person, your registration, the areas you work with, and exactly what the first contact looks like. The site must avoid claims of outcomes or cures, and it must be clear that you are not an emergency service, with signposting to Samaritans and NHS 111 for anyone in crisis. Privacy matters too: a contact form that asks for a lot of personal detail, or sends it insecurely, is inappropriate for this kind of information.

## What the website has to do

- **First contact or free introductory call** - A small, low-pressure step is what most clients can manage.
- **Directory visitors confirming fit** - Many clients arrive from a directory and use the site to decide.
- **Online session enquiries** - Widens the area you can serve and suits many clients’ privacy needs.

## Pages

- **Home** - Who you are, how you work, and a gentle first step.
- **What I work with** - Areas such as anxiety, bereavement or relationships, described plainly.
- **How I work** - Your approach in everyday words, with any modality named simply.
- **Fees and sessions** - Cost, length, cancellation and any concession places.
- **The first session** - What happens, what to expect, and confidentiality.
- **About me** - Training, registration and a real photograph.
- **Contact** - Minimal form, availability, and crisis signposting.

## Features that matter

- **Fees, session length and cancellation policy stated plainly** - Uncertainty about cost stops people from getting in touch.
- **Professional body registration with a link to the register** - Counselling is not statutorily regulated, so voluntary registration is the key trust signal.
- **A minimal, secure contact form** - Clients should not have to share sensitive details before the first conversation.
- **Clear crisis signposting** - You are not an emergency service, and the site should say where to go.
- **Online and in-person availability shown clearly** - Location and privacy often decide who a client chooses.
- **Calm, uncluttered design with a real photograph** - Clients are choosing a person they feel safe with.

Trust signals: Membership or registration with BACP, UKCP or NCPS; Qualifications and training; Clear fees and confidentiality information; Clinical supervision, described accurately; Professional indemnity insurance.

Seasonality: Enquiries tend to rise in January and after holiday periods, and in September as routines restart.

## Local authorities with the most

| Local authority | Businesses |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | 720 |
| Westminster | 435 |
| Leeds | 395 |
| Manchester | 360 |
| Camden | 345 |
| Bradford | 330 |
| Kirklees | 330 |
| Barnet | 300 |
| Buckinghamshire | 270 |
| Hackney | 255 |

## The offer

- **Monthly**: £299 upfront, £99/month (the upfront is a setup fee), 12-month minimum term. We build it, host it and look after it - and after 24 monthly payments, it is yours.
- **Own It**: £1,795 upfront, £49/month, no minimum term. Buy the website outright. It is yours to keep, move or cancel.
- **Pro**: £6,950 upfront, £299/month, 12-month minimum term. No limits. For large, multi-site and fast-growing businesses.
- Payment: The setup fee is paid when you book, and it starts the design. Monthly fees are collected by Direct Debit, covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee, from the day your site goes live.
- Guarantee: You see your finished design on your phone and approve it before anything goes live, with two full rounds of changes included. Nothing launches until you are happy with it. The Monthly plan runs for 12 months from launch.
- Bolt-ons: Google Business Profile management £29/month; Local SEO pack £49/month; Business email £5/month. Coming soon, not yet on sale: Missed-call text back, Review booster.
- VAT: We are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT to add to these prices.

## Questions

### What can I say about my work on a counselling website?

Describe what you work with and how you work, but avoid promising outcomes or cures. Plain descriptions of areas such as anxiety, bereavement or relationships, your approach in everyday language, and your registration are both helpful and appropriate. Your professional body’s ethical framework is the best guide to what is acceptable.

### How should the contact form work on a therapist’s website?

Keep the contact form short and ask only for what you need to reply. A name, a way to get in touch and an optional short message is enough, with a note not to include anything sensitive. The form should be sent securely, and the page should signpost Samaritans and NHS 111 for anyone who needs help urgently.

### What can we legally claim on a healthcare or legal website?

Less than most people assume. Advertising rules restrict claims about outcomes, and professional regulators add their own requirements on price transparency and registration details. We build to those constraints rather than around them, and we will tell you if something you want to say is likely to cause a problem.

### Should individual staff have their own pages?

If customers choose a person rather than a business, yes. In salons, dental practices and professional firms people are picking an individual, and giving each one a page with their own work, qualifications and booking link converts noticeably better than a single team photograph.