Editorial rating:
TherapySites is a full-service website builder for mental health professionals, offering tools for website creation and management. A subscription to TherapySites includes access to professional website design templates and tools, full hosting of your website, a domain, and HIPAA-compliant content. Costs start at $59 monthly, with add-on features available at additional costs.
Rating of TherapySites Website Builder
I have dedicated a great deal of time and attention to each website builder that I review. I aim to help you make decisions that will guide your practice into helping as many of your clients as possible while avoiding as many administrative hiccups as you can. I’ve spent countless hours using some of the best website builders available, and also some of the worst. Throughout my time in private practice and community mental healthcare, I’ve learned the needs of mental health practices, and what website builders would be most useful. After carefully reviewing and extensively testing the TherapySites platform over a 2 week period, I found that it is a poor-quality website-building platform. While it is designed for therapists, TherapySites fails to offer a modern website-building experience and offers far less value compared to its competitors. As such, TherapySites scored highly in relevance to therapists but scored lower in areas of ease of use, degree of customization, and relative cost & value in our scoring rubric.
Pros & Cons of TherapySites
TherapySites offers a number of benefits to practices, including mental-health-specific resources and tools to help manage your website, as well as options for full-service, professional set-up of your website. TherapySites also suffers from many drawbacks in its service, such as the DIY customization options being rudimentary and not robust enough to suit the needs of many practices.
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TherapySites Review – Key Takeaways
- TherapySites offers monthly subscription based full-service web design specifically for mental health practices.
- TherapySites provides DIY web building tools included in their monthly subscription cost or full-service web design for $199 upfront.
- Features offered through TherapySites include design, hosting, email services, ongoing support, and premium add-ons like SEO and marketing support.
- DIY customization with TherapySites is lacking in quality, useability, and options.
- Most practices will find better value with other website builders.
TherapySites – Our Final Verdict
Despite its affordable monthly cost, I would not, in most instances, recommend this platform for your therapy practice’s website. However, if you pay the extra fee for concierge onboarding, you will have a much better experience with the service and be able to create a better website.
Throughout my experience using TherapySites, I was consistently disappointed with the lack of functionality available in its tools. While the professional help provided to get your website up and running is valuable, the customization options are far too limited to be of much value. Coupled with the aggressive sales tactics the representatives employ, the platform was far more frustrating than it was productive.
You should consider signing up for TherapySites’s free trial if you:
- Want a web builder that is specifically made for mental health professionals
- Need hands-on guidance for building your website
You should consider looking for an alternative to TherapySites if you:
- Would like to have control over the design of your website. Wix offers complete control of the process. Read our review of Wix for more insight.
- Want a DIY solution. A better option may be Weebly. Take a look at our Weebly review.
- Prefer a modern set of tools to edit your website.
What Is TherapySites?
TherapySites is a company that helps mental health practices create professional websites. TherapySites provides the practice with various website-building tools, such as full-service hosting management, SEO, and marketing. The base cost of TherapySites is $59 monthly, however, this price can increase rapidly depending on additional features added.
Types of Website Builders
Website builders can range from a do-it-yourself interface where you build the website from a template to white glove design consultants that handle the website-building process from beginning to end. For our purposes, all web builders should assume no technical or coding skill on the part of the user – all issues of hosting, domains, or backend processes should be handled by the website builder system.
TherapySites falls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, allowing you to build the website yourself or have an expert handle set up for you for a fee. Regardless of the setup process, TherapySites will handle all aspects of hosting the website, renewing domains, and the backend management of the website.
TherapySites Specs
Free Version | No |
Monthly Cost | $59+ monthly |
Site Ownership | Owned by TherapySites, but transferrable |
Blogging Tool | Yes |
Email Tools | Yes |
Basic Image Editing | Yes |
SSL Certificate | Yes |
How Easy Is TherapySites to Use?
TherapySites is easy to use, if you choose the option for concierge onboarding. Concierge onboarding costs $199 and offers a complete set-up of your website by a professional. However, if you choose to set up your own website, TherapySites comes off as painfully unintuitive.
TherapySites lacks some of the most common web builder features, such as a simple, drag-and-drop interface, or even the ability to swap out design elements independently. Overall, I would not recommend using TherapySites as a DIY web builder. However, if you pay the extra fee for concierge onboarding, you will have a much better experience with the service and be able to create a better website.
SimplePractice - EHR & Marketing
SimplePractice is the top-rated EHR for practices that bill insurance.* It has everything you need to run your practice—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing. The Essential Plan includes an easy-to-use website builder and profile listing in the Meet Monarch directory. Try SimplePractice free for up to two months!**
*According to Best Mental Health EHRs. **Offer valid only for new clients.
How Much Does TherapySites Cost?
TherapySites costs $59 monthly to gain access to basic features and full-service hosting. An optional $199 one-time set-up fee buys you concierge onboarding to get the site off the ground. Advanced SEO, marketing, and a telehealth platform are available for extra fees.
Here are the costs for TherapySites Website Builder:
Set-up Fee (Optional) | $199 one time fee |
Basic Editing & Hosting | $59 monthly |
SEO Boost | $40 monthly |
Social Media Boost | $40 monthly |
Telehealth Platform | $50 monthly |
Facebook Ad campaigns, Reimbursify, E-commerce features | Variable Pricing |
Estimated Annual Cost | $708 - $2,268 (depending on features used) |
Resources For Your New Practice
SimplePractice – EHR For Therapists has everything you need to run your practice—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing. Try SimplePractice free for up to two months!* Free Trial
Grow Therapy – Easy Insurance Acceptance & Client Referrals Get paneled for free with the major payors in your state so you can also start seeing insurance clients. Don’t worry about unpaid claims! Any insurance claims that you submit are guaranteed. Schedule A Call To Learn More
* Offer valid only for new clients.
How to Get Started with TherapySites
To get started with TherapySites, you can navigate to the TherapySites website and click one of the free trial buttons. After entering a bit of information about your practice, you can schedule your first call with a Website Specialist to get started creating your website. During this call, the specialist will inform you about all the features available and help you pick a domain name.
When I signed up with TherapySites, a free startup option was not presented to me – instead, the sales rep emphasized the indeed to pay a $199 set-up fee. However, it is possible to get started with TherapySites with no upfront cost. Simply state that you would prefer to opt out of the full-service onboarding process that costs $199 for a set-up fee. TherapySites will allow you to take a DIY approach at no cost.
TherapySites Website Builder Core Features
TherapySites core features include management of your website’s hosting and domain registration, an initial website template with mental health resources for clients, and hands-on customer service. TherapySites also includes features for managing marketing campaigns and SEO. Costs for TherapySites include an ongoing monthly fee of $59 and an optional, one-time setup fee of $199.
TherapySites Templates
TherapySites only offers ten website templates to choose from, in comparison to Wix, which offers more than 800 templates. However, TherapySites’ templates were designed expressly for mental health websites, while only a small portion of templates from more general website builders are specialized for this.
Prior to customizing your website, you must select one of the templates to use as a starting point. While there are aesthetic differences, the templates all hold the same general layout, so the choice is almost entirely based on visual preference. The visual design of these templates ranges from dated styles to more modern, sleek styles. For my review, I chose the image-heavy, minimalist design titled “Growth.”
All of the available templates utilize a horizontal menu bar toward the top of the page that floats as the user scrolls the page. In all of the templates, each menu bar is structured with the same page layouts but can be customized to your individual needs or preferences.
Design Customization
TherapySites’ website editor does not provide users with very much customization or flexibility. Once a website theme is assigned, this cannot be changed by the user. On the user’s side of things, the customization that can be implemented to change the look, feel, or even layout of the website is very limited.
Users are able to change the general color theme of the website – my template allowed for four different color theme options – but changing the individual color of each design element is not possible on the user side of the website builder. When you’re unable to change icons, colors, certain text, and other elements it feels very restrictive.
It is possible to make more adjustments within the body text. You can change fonts (there are five font options), font size and color, and also add custom HTML. Regrettably, these customizations are limited, as they are only available when customizing individual text blocks, and significant customization is only achievable if you have knowledge of HTML.
If you’d like to pay the additional $199 set-up fee at the beginning of your “trial,” ideas for customization can be discussed with your assigned web designer, who will then edit the page on your behalf. If you’d like more control over how to customize your website, this is the route you will want to take.
Without purchasing premium onboarding, TherapySites either makes design options incredibly difficult to implement or lacks them entirely.
Website elements that a user can customize with TherapySites:
- Changing/uploading images
- Changing text content
- Customizing submittable forms
- Creating new pages from a template
- Sitewide color scheme (pick from 4 options)
- Font size and color
Website elements that a user cannot customize with TherapySites:
- Overall flow of the website
- The template the website is using
- Recoloring individual design elements
- Moving text, images, or other items around on a page
While I can see the value in personalized service regarding building your website, it feels like TherapySites is trying to force you into paying $199 upfront, and severely limiting your options if you don’t want to pay. If TherapySites wants to include an option for DIY service, they need to provide you with the tools to effectively do that, and as of this writing, the features just don’t hold up.
Website Integrations
My TherapySites website specialist assured me that it is possible to integrate your EHR, as well as any other features that you may need for your website. However, the only real integrations the user can add are submittable forms.
Website templates come standard with an example of a contact form. It is possible to change most aspects of this, and even create new ones. Results from this contact form can be set to be sent to specific email addresses. Leads generated from the form can be found in the website management portal.
Other possible integrations with TherapySites include some e-commerce tools, such as credit card processing and a shopping cart. Another is a feature called Reimbursify, which allows clients to request reimbursement from their insurance if your practice is out-of-network for them. When working with a designer to build your website, more in-depth or custom integrations are likely possible but were not covered during our review of TherapySites.
SEO Tools
TherapySites includes some limited SEO features included in the basic monthly plan. This includes the ability to change your meta-title, slug, and tags on a page-by-page basis. TherapySites also includes integration with Google Analytics which allows you to monitor your site’s performance over time.
Add-On Feature: SEO Boost ($40 monthly)
For an additional $40 monthly, TherapySites will help manage the SEO of your website. This includes SEO advice, and personalized modification of content to help boost your site’s SEO performance. TherapySites will also manually create search engine and data aggregate submissions on your behalf. Most therapists likely don’t have much knowledge about SEO best practices, so this could be a very valuable feature to help your practice get more attention.
Marketing
In addition to managing your website, TherapySites also offers options to help market your practice. Automated newsletter and email campaign features are included in the base cost. The newsletter builder tool is a nice solution to help practices come up with a visually appealing newsletter to send to clients or client leads.
Add-On Feature: Social Boost ($40 monthly)
For an additional $40 monthly, TherapySites will help manage your social media profiles, providing tailored designs and advice to help your practice gain traction on social media. TherapySites can also help you set up Facebook Marketing campaigns tailored to your demographic – the price for this service will vary depending on the type of ads you will be running.
Additional Tools & Functionality
TherapySites offers a few additional pieces of functionality including an optional telehealth platform, blogging tool, an analytics dashboard, and a listing with the Psychology Today therapist directory.
Telehealth Platform
For an additional $50 monthly, TherapySites will provide your practice with a HIPAA-compliant telehealth video and messaging platform that integrates with your EHR and website.
Blogging Tool
A simple blogging tool is included with the base cost of your TherapySites subscription and allows you to create engaging mental health content. This tool is rudimentary in its features but is included at no extra cost and could help your practice gain an online following.
Practice and Site Growth Tools
It is also worth noting that, included with the base subscription price, TherapySites will include a listing for your practice on Psychology Today’s therapist directory. An analytics dashboard to monitor the performance of the website is also included at no cost.
Marketing Resources
Wix – Create A Website For Your Private Practice. Get Started with a free plan. Upgrade to have your own custom domain ( www.yourpracticename.com) for as little as $16 per month. Start Building
Choosing Therapy Directory (FREE) – Thousands of potential patients come to the directory each month. Once your profile on the Choosing Therapy Directory is active, you will have leads emailed to you when a potential client is interested. Sign Up
TherapySites Domains & Hosting
TherapySites completely manages the process of hosting your website and keeping up with the domain name. Hosting and managing a domain name can be two of the most intimidating parts of setting up a site for the first time, so TherapySites’ management of this is very valuable.
TherapySites will handle all aspects of domain registration and hosting on your behalf. Your website specialist will work with you to determine the best URL for your needs while considering lengths and other factors. Your domain will be renewed annually for you. Along with keeping the domain name up to date, TherapySites will help you create an email that is specific to this domain name.
TherapySites states that it guarantees to keep your website up and running 24/7, offering support the entire time. TherapySites offers an unlimited number of pages on your website, so the site can expand if needed.
Who Is TherapySites Right For?
TherapySites offers a lot of value for practices that are looking for a therapist-specific web builder. Practices that don’t need a lot of customization, and want full-service onboarding and design might also find TherapySites appealing.
Practices that Don’t Need Much Customization
TherapySites offers a fairly straightforward method for getting a website up and running with minimal effort on the part of the practice. However, this comes with a major drawback wherein very little customization will be able to be performed by you. While it is limiting, some people may value a simpler approach.
Practices That Want Full-Service Onboarding
For $199 upfront, TherapySites will help you layout and design your website with minimal manual effort on your part. Practices that aren’t keen on working hands-on with a web builder can save a lot of time with TherapySites’ concierge onboarding.
Practices Needing a Therapist-Specific Platform
TherapySites offers good resources for your therapy practice’s website that just aren’t offered elsewhere. General web builders like Wix or Weebly are very popular in just about every industry imaginable, but they can’t offer the same sort of support to therapists that more specialized platforms can.
Who May Want an Alternative to TherapySites?
TherapySites does have several drawbacks, mainly around the lack of customization. If your practice needs a wide degree of customization that can be completed self-service, TherapySites is not a good option. The lengthy and sales-heavy onboarding process is overly complicated and time-consuming, leading to an unintuitive product.
Practices That Want Comprehensive DIY Customization
A major drawback to TherapySites is the poor variety of options for customizing your site on your own. While the option to get help from a professional is appreciated, it can’t completely bridge the gap for people that like to do things for themselves.
Practices That Want Quick, Self-Service Onboarding
For some, the thought of scheduling just one more phone call in the day is too much to ask. Those people may gravitate more toward self-service options such as Wix, whereas TherapySites requires a lot of upfront interaction with aggressive salespeople.
TherapySites Vs. Wix
Wix is the veritable king of DIY web builders. It offers a huge number of templates and great ease of use in customizing websites. While it has a lot to offer, Wix is not tailor-made for mental health practices like TherapySites. TherapySites has a number of therapist-centric options, like client resources and a telehealth platform that help it stand out among generalists.
It is also worth considering that TherapySites, while still a DIY web-builder, offers a lot more in the way of custom website design with their design consultants that work specifically with mental health practitioners. Meanwhile, Wix offers its AI-assisted website-building features that emulate this hands-on customer service.
In terms of cost, Wix is more affordable considering what value is being offered. A freelancer can set up a website for only $22 monthly with Wix, whereas something similar would cost $59 monthly with TherapySites.
Wix - Create A Website For Your Private Practice
Named Best Website Builder for Affordability and Ease of Use* Get Started with a free plan. Upgrade to have your own custom domain (www.yourpracticename.com) for as little as $16 per month. Start Building
TherapySites Vs. Brighter Vision
While TherapySites does offer some DIY web-building options, building a website with Brighter Vision is exclusively handled by a web design specialist. Both Brighter Vision and TherapySites offer platforms that are tailored to therapy practice’s needs and may be better options compared to general web builders.
Brighter Vision is more expensive than TherapySites at every subscription level but may offer your practice more value with its hands-on approach. The monthly costs of Brighter Vision range from $69-159, and all pricing tiers require a $100 setup fee.
History of TherapySites
According to the copyright notice at the bottom of any TherapySites-owned page, TherapySites is owned by MH Sub I, LLC, which is owned by Internet Brands – the parent company of websites like WebMD, CarsDirect, and Nolo. TherapySites is headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, and is a relatively small company; the TherapySites LinkedIn profile lists the company size as between 11-50 employees.
TherapySites also has a sister company called CoachingWebsites. Both of these brands share the same functionality, however, CoachingWebsites is built for wellness coaches and other unlicensed mental health professionals.
FAQs for TherapySites
Is TherapySites HIPAA-Compliant?
Yes. TherapySites was built from the ground up to be HIPAA-compliant.
Is TherapySites Free to Use?
No, TherapySites is not free to use and does not offer a free pricing option.
What Type of Service is TherapySites?
TherapySites is a hybrid DIY and managed website-building platform. For a fee, a consultant will help set up your website, but it can be customized by you – albeit to a lesser degree than we’d like to see.
How Easy is it to Get Set Up with TherapySites?
If you elect to pay for concierge onboarding, setting up a website with TherapySites is very painless. If you’d like to set it up yourself, it becomes significantly more time-consuming and frustrating.
Does TherapySites Own Your Content?
TherapySites owns the domain name, but states they will transfer the domain to your ownership if you elect to leave TherapySites. You own your content, except for any resources or elements such as stock images that are used on the website.
What Security and Safety Features Do TherapySites Offer?
One of the unique aspects of the TherapySites system is that it is built to be HIPAA-compliant. Along with providing an SSL certificate and an HTTPS-secured control panel, TherapySites handles all aspects of the safety and security of both your website and the people who visit it.
Does TherapySites offer Help and Support?
TherapySites’ customer service certainly attempts to go the extra mile. From the initial inquiry, a customer is greeted by a “website specialist” who will help them through the onboarding process. Unfortunately, during my review, I was confounded by the aggressive sales techniques my website specialist used.
Overall, my website specialist did a decent job of getting my website set up, but once it was made clear that I did not wish to pay the $199 set-up fee in favor of a DIY setup, they seemed far less interested in helping me. The TherapySites self-service help center is adequate, however, the actual software – as we have seen – does not lend itself well to self-service.
Does TherapySites Have E-Commerce Features?
Yes. The TherapySites website states that e-commerce features can be integrated such as a shopping cart widget and payment processing.
What are the Disadvantages of TherapySites?
Some disadvantages of TherapySites include the lack of options for customizing on your own; despite this being a DIY web builder, there are far fewer options for self-service options when compared to platforms like Wix.
Additional Website Builder FAQs
What is Web Hosting?
Web hosting, in layperson’s terms, is the process of making your website’s data available and accessible to the internet. Web hosting companies provide the storage needed on a physical server, which you would then rent to store your website’s data. 1
What is a Domain Name?
Domain names are human-readable addresses for any given web server accessible on the internet.2 This address corresponds to a computer’s IP address which your web browser will use to access the page you’d like to view. Domain names are a way to make these IP addresses easier to read for humans.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the process of optimizing a website to be more visible on the results page of a search engine like Google or DuckDuckGo.3
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
Grow Therapy – Easy Insurance Acceptance & Client Referrals Get paneled for free with the major payors in your state so you can also start seeing insurance clients. Don’t worry about unpaid claims! Any insurance claims that you submit are guaranteed. Schedule A Call To Learn More
EHR For Therapists
SimplePractice has everything you need to run your practice—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing. Try SimplePractice free for up to two months!* Free Trial
Practice Website
TherapySites – Websites For Therapists Made Simple. Choose from a selection of high-end, mobile-friendly website designs created just for therapists. Attracting new clients is easy with a professional online presence. The first two months of website hosting services are Free. Learn More
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*Offer valid for new clients only.
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