Website Builder Awards

I Tried 6 Website Builders For Therapists. Here’s What Actually Worked.

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Hey, I’m Kayla. I build sites for therapists. I also fix them when they break. I’ve used Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, Webflow, Brighter Vision, and the SimplePractice website tool. I touched the messy parts, like forms and booking. And yes, the HIPAA stuff too. You know what? Some tools made my day easy. Others made me want snacks and a nap.
(If you’d like the full, unfiltered play-by-play of how I compared the 6 website builders for therapists, you can read it right here.)

Below is what I found, with real setups I made for real practices.

What Therapists Need (In Plain Talk)

  • Looks safe and warm. Like a calm room, not a tech ad.
  • Simple contact that doesn’t share private health info.
  • Online booking, or at least a “Request a consult” flow.
  • Local SEO so folks near you can find you.
  • Easy edits. You should change a fee or photo without stress.

Quick note: I’m not a lawyer. For privacy, I keep health details out of contact forms. For client info, I use a secure tool (like a client portal) or a HIPAA-friendly form add-on.

My Winners At A Glance

  • Best for most therapists: Squarespace (clean, fast, easy to run)
  • Best if you use SimplePractice already: SimplePractice Websites
  • Best done-for-you, therapy-only: Brighter Vision
  • Best for full control and big SEO: WordPress
  • Best for custom design flair: Webflow
  • Best budget all-rounder: Wix

For a data-driven look at how these and other platforms stack up, you can also browse the annual rankings on Website Builder Awards.

Are you a life coach rather than a therapist? I ran a separate experiment and tested the best website builders for life coaches so you don’t have to spend your Sunday tinkering.

Now the real talk, with examples.

Squarespace: My Default Pick For Most Therapists

I built a site on Squarespace 7.1 for my friend Maya, an LMFT in Portland. We picked a soft beige template and a simple serif font. We added 5 pages: Home, About, Services, Fees, Contact. I embedded her SimplePractice booking link and used a Hushmail secure form for inquiries. We added three local pages: “Couples Therapy in SE Portland,” “Premarital Counseling,” and “Anxiety Support.”

  • What I loved:

    • The site looked calm in one night.
    • Changes were dead simple. She updates fees herself.
    • Local SEO worked. She got 8 consults the first week after we added “Portland + service” keywords and a few client questions as H2s.

  • What bugged me:

    • The built-in forms aren’t for health info. So I used Hushmail for secure forms.
    • Acuity (owned by Squarespace) is nice, but not HIPAA. We stuck with SimplePractice for booking.

Best for: Therapists who want a classy site fast. You’ll be fine if you link to a secure portal or embed a HIPAA-friendly form.

SimplePractice Websites: Easiest If You Already Use SP

I set this up for Amir, a child therapist in Chicago. He already used SimplePractice for notes and billing. We turned on the website add-on, picked a warm theme, and hooked the booking flow to his client portal. He wrote his copy in one sitting. I tweaked headings for local search and added a short FAQ.

  • What I loved:

    • It fits right into the tools he uses daily.
    • The booking and messaging live in one safe place.
    • No “too many tools” headache.

  • What bugged me:

    • Design is basic. It won’t wow a brand snob.
    • Fewer layout choices than Squarespace or Webflow.

Best for: Therapists who want simple, safe, and done this week, and already run their practice on SimplePractice.

Brighter Vision: Therapy-Specific, Done For You

I hired Brighter Vision for a trauma group in Austin that had no time. They handled design, stock photos, blog posts, and set up service pages with the right tone. It’s WordPress under the hood, but they manage it.

  • What I loved:

    • They know therapy language. Less “tech speak,” more “care.”
    • They built fast and then handled edits for the team.
    • Came with blog content we could adapt.

  • What bugged me:

    • Monthly cost adds up over a year.
    • If you want wild custom stuff, you’ll hit limits unless you pay more.

Best for: Groups or solo folks who want someone to steer and keep things tidy.

WordPress: Power And SEO, But You Gotta Drive

I built a WordPress site for Dr. Lina P., CBT in Denver. We used Astra + Elementor, Rank Math for SEO, WP Rocket for speed, and backups on the host. For forms, we embedded Hushmail and used her SimplePractice link for booking.
The same WordPress muscle helped when I built six different coaching sites recently—spoiler: plugins make or break the experience.

  • What I loved:
    • You can build anything. Blogs, landing pages, quizzes.
    • Strong SEO tools. We built city pages and got steady traffic in 2 months.

For instance, many clinicians use their WordPress blog to tackle nuanced topics their clients are already Googling. If you want inspiration for an evidence-informed post on maintaining healthy boundaries in a friends-with-benefits setup, this detailed breakdown of the FWB relationship dynamic friends-with-benefits relationship guide offers clear definitions, common pitfalls, and communication tips you can reference in your own writing.
Or, say a portion of your clientele struggles with the fast-moving hookup culture in Rhode Island—for localized color you can skim the user experiences collected on Skip the Games listings for Woonsocket to see how casual dating actually unfolds on the ground, which can inform examples and safety tips you include in session or on your blog.

  • What bugged me:
    • Maintenance. Updates, backups, and weird plugin clashes.
    • Forms are tricky. Standard plugins aren’t HIPAA. I avoid client health info on the site and send it to secure tools.

Best for: Folks who want full control, or hire help for upkeep.

Webflow: Gorgeous, But A Learning Curve

I used Webflow for a boutique practice in Brooklyn. They wanted gentle motion, custom icons, and a deep blog. It looked amazing. We still sent intake to Hushmail and booking to SimplePractice.

  • What I loved:

    • Pixel-clean design. Smooth page speed.
    • Great CMS for blogging.

  • What bugged me:

    • Editing is harder for beginners than Squarespace.
    • Forms are not for health info. Same rule: keep it off the site.

Best for: Brand-driven practices who care about design and don’t mind a steeper tool.

Wix: Big Feature List. A Bit Messy, Still Good.

I built a quick Wix site for a new LCSW in Phoenix who needed leads fast. We used a simple template, added service pages, and turned on the blog. I disabled Wix’s built-in bookings and linked to SimplePractice.
(I even applied the same quick-start approach when I spun up a few massage therapy websites for a local body-work studio—speed matters there, too.)

  • What I loved:

    • Lots of templates. Easy drag-and-drop.
    • You can get a starter site live in a day.

  • What bugged me:

    • The editor can feel busy.
    • Like others, built-in forms and bookings aren’t for health info.

Best for: Tight budgets or “I need it live now” cases.

Real Setup Examples (What I Actually Did)

  • Couples therapy in Portland (Squarespace):

    • Colors: sand, moss green, off-white.
    • Photos: real office sprinkled in, plus soft stock.
    • Hushmail form for consults.
    • SimplePractice link for booking.
    • Result: 8 consults in week one, steady 3–5 per week after month one.

  • Child therapy in Chicago (SimplePractice Websites):

    • Home + Services + About + FAQs + Contact.
    • Parent-friendly copy with short lines.
    • Booking inside the SP portal.
    • Result: Less phone tag, fewer no-shows.

  • Trauma group in Austin (Brighter Vision):

    • They handled design and blog.
    • I added location pages for Round Rock and South Austin.
    • Result: Calls from both suburbs within two weeks.

  • CBT in Denver (WordPress):

    • Astra + Elementor; Rank

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