Websites and local SEO for Birmingham therapists, built to appear when a client nearby searches for what you do. Live in 14 days. You own it.
Short answer
| Builder | Cost / year | HIPAA-aware forms | Speed | SEO control | Your effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | $200–$400 | No native; use external intake tool | Good | Moderate | Low | Solo practice, DIY, wants it done this weekend |
| WordPress + Elementor | $150–$600 + maintenance | Yes with the right plugin | Depends on setup | Full | High unless managed | Practices that want to rank and grow |
| Wix | $200–$400 | No native | Fair | Limited | Low | Small practice, no search ambitions |
| TherapySites / Brighter Vision | $600–$1,200 | Partial | Fair | Limited | Low | Wants everything in one bill, accepts template look |
| Done-for-you (Therapeia) | $1,500 once, optional $750/mo | Yes | Optimised | Full | None | Wants clients from search without touching the site |
Contact forms must not store health information on the site. Every builder can do a form; few tell you the form is the problem.
EMDR, couples, anxiety, trauma. Each is its own search. The builder must let you create clean pages with their own titles and URLs.
Schema, a Google Business Profile link, consistent name and address, city in the right places. Some builders hide this behind add-ons.
A booking button that goes straight to your scheduler, on every page, on mobile. Sounds simple. Check it on your phone.
Squarespace is the right answer for most solo therapists who want to build it themselves. The templates are clean, the editor is hard to break, hosting and SSL are included, and it loads fast without any tuning.
Where it falls short is depth. You can add title tags and meta descriptions, but structured data, advanced redirects and fine control over page speed are limited. It’s enough to rank in a small city with weak competition. It’s rarely enough to win a competitive metro.
Choose Squarespace if: you’re solo, you’ll build it yourself this month, and you’d rather spend on a good intake tool than on a developer.
WordPress is what we build on when a practice wants to grow. Full control over SEO, any plugin you need for HIPAA-aware forms, unlimited pages for modalities and locations, and the largest pool of people who can help when something breaks.
The cost is maintenance. Plugins need updates, security needs attention, and a badly built WordPress site is slower than a default Squarespace one. If nobody is looking after it, it degrades. That is why WordPress practices either pay a maintenance plan or eventually move.
Choose WordPress if: you want search traffic to be a real client source, you have (or will pay for) someone to maintain it, and you might add locations or clinicians.
Wix has closed most of the gap on looks and has improved its SEO tools, but it’s still the platform we get asked to migrate away from most often. Page speed is inconsistent, URL structure is rigid, and exporting your content to move elsewhere is not really possible. You rebuild.
Choose Wix if: you need a simple, attractive site quickly, referrals fill your practice, and you’re fine starting over if you ever leave.
TherapySites, Brighter Vision and similar services bundle hosting, templates and support into a monthly fee. For a therapist who wants one bill and no decisions, it’s a fair trade. The drawbacks: the templates are shared by thousands of practices, SEO is basic, and if you leave, the site doesn’t come with you. Over five years you’ll pay more than a custom build and own nothing.
Choose one if: the monthly-fee model suits you and you don’t expect search to be a major client source.
We build on WordPress or Squarespace depending on your practice, with therapist-specific templates, HIPAA-aware forms, telehealth booking, local SEO and schema done on day one. You own the site. Setup is $1,500 and takes 14 days. Growth, the optional monthly plan, handles content, local SEO and maintenance so you never log in.
Choose this if: you want clients from search and would rather spend your time with clients than in a page editor.
Squarespace. Add a compliant intake tool. Revisit in a year.
WordPress, built and maintained by someone who does therapist sites. Or our Setup + Growth.
WordPress, no debate. Location pages, clinician pages and schema need it.
Squarespace itself doesn’t sign a BAA, so you can’t collect health information through its forms. Use it for the site and a HIPAA-compliant tool like SimplePractice or Jotform HIPAA for intake. That’s fine for most solo practices.
Yes, on your own. Updates, backups and security need attention every month. That’s exactly what a maintenance plan covers, and why most growing practices either pay for it or move back to Squarespace.
Send us the URL. We’ll tell you what platform it’s on, how fast it loads, and the five things we’d fix first. Free, no pitch attached.
