WebsiteTherapy

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you want to know about WebsiteTherapy — how it works, what it costs, whether it's right for your practice, and what makes it different from everything else out there.

Getting Started

How does the free trial work?

Sign up with your email — no credit card required. You get full access to your chosen plan for 14 days. Your AI assistant will help you build your site during the trial. If you don't subscribe after 14 days, your site stays live in read-only mode. Nothing is deleted. You can come back and activate anytime.

How long does it take to set up a site?

Most therapists have a live site within an hour. Sign up takes 30 seconds, chatting with your assistant about your practice takes 5-10 minutes, picking a theme takes 60 seconds, and reviewing your pages takes 15-30 minutes. Domain connection is 2 minutes. If you're migrating an existing site, we handle the migration for you — most sites are rebuilt within a day.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You never touch code, never see code, and never need to understand anything technical. You communicate in plain English: "Add a page for EMDR therapy." "Change the hero image." "How many leads this week?" That's it.

Can I try it before committing?

Yes — start the 14-day free trial and build your actual site. No credit card required. You can also chat with the AI assistant right here on this site to see how the conversation experience works.

What do I need to get started?

Just your email address. Everything else — your practice info, your logo, your photos — you can provide through chat during setup. Don't have a logo? Your assistant can work without one. Don't have professional photos? Upload a selfie and your assistant will enhance it.

How It Works

How do I make changes to my site?

You chat with your AI assistant. Type what you want: "Update my bio," "Add a new service page," "Change the green to blue." Your assistant makes the change and shows you a preview. You approve, request changes, or discard. Approved changes go live in seconds.

Where do I access my assistant?

Two places, both on your own domain. /admin gives you a full admin chat with a split preview panel — for focused work sessions. When you're logged in and browsing your live site, a floating chat appears on every page — for quick edits in context.

Does my assistant remember things between conversations?

Yes. It remembers your preferences (you always ask about leads first), your ongoing projects (the blog series you're working on), your facts (your vacation dates), and your communication style. It gets better the longer you use it.

What can my assistant actually do?

Update any page, create new pages, write blog posts, maintain social presence across 9 platforms, draft newsletters, check your leads, manage your waitlist, send review requests, generate images, update your Google Business Profile, schedule content, query your analytics, generate superbills, and more. If it can't do something, it'll tell you and offer to submit a feature request.

What's the preview system?

Every change gets a visual preview before going live. In admin mode, the preview appears in a split panel next to the chat. On your live site, the page transitions to a preview version with an approve/edit/discard bar. You see exactly what your visitors will see — same theme, same layout, same components. Nothing goes live without your approval.

How much time does it take each week?

About 5 minutes. Most of that is reading blog post drafts and tapping "approve." If you set preferences (auto-approve blog images, auto-publish certain content types), it can be even less. The weekly summary email takes 30 seconds to scan.

Migration

Can I bring my existing website?

Yes. Give your assistant your current URL and it reads your entire site — pages, blog posts, images, navigation, colors. It rebuilds everything using our component library and theme system. You review the result page by page, then connect your domain. Same URL, zero downtime.

Will I lose my Google rankings?

No. Your domain stays the same, your URLs stay the same, and your content migrates with proper redirects. Rankings typically improve because the new site is faster (static generation), has richer structured data (25+ JSON-LD types), and has better-optimized content.

How long does migration take?

We handle the migration for you. Most therapists are live on the new site within a day or two — the review process with your assistant takes as long as you want. DNS propagation takes 5-10 minutes with Vercel nameservers.

What about my blog posts?

All migrated. Converted to clean markdown format, properly formatted, with SEO preserved and often improved.

What about my images?

All migrated to cloud storage. Your assistant can also enhance your headshot and generate new illustrations matching your theme.

Can I migrate from any platform?

Yes. WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Brighter Vision, TherapySites, or any site with a public URL. WordPress sites get the smoothest migration (via the WordPress API), but the crawler works on any site.

Pricing & Billing

How much does it cost?

Three plans: Standard ($99/month), Premium ($149/month), and Custom ($199/month + $500 one-time setup). All plans include the AI-managed website, AI assistant, visitor agent, blog creation, lead capture, booking integration, SEO + AI discoverability, review management, and a 14-day free trial.

Can I switch plans?

Yes. Upgrade or downgrade anytime — changes take effect on your next billing cycle. All your content and data stays the same regardless of plan changes.

What happens if I cancel?

Your site stays live in read-only mode for 90 days. Your assistant won't be available, but your existing pages continue serving visitors. You can export everything — your full website, subscriber lists, lead data, conversation history — as CSV, JSON, or a GitHub repo download. Nothing is deleted for 90 days. You can reactivate anytime within that window.

Is there a per-seat charge for group practices?

No. Every plan supports unlimited clinician profiles and unlimited admin logins at no extra cost. A 12-person group practice pays the same $99-199/month as a solo practitioner.

Are there any hidden costs?

No. Custom domain, SSL, hosting, analytics, AI assistant, visitor agent — all included. The only additional costs are if you choose to integrate paid third-party tools (like a specific booking platform), which are billed separately by those services.

Do you offer annual billing?

Yes — save 2 months free when you pay annually. Standard is $990/year ($82.50/month), Premium is $1,490/year ($124.17/month). You can switch between monthly and annual anytime.

Your Website

Will my site look professional?

Yes. You choose from 10 therapist-designed themes, each a complete visual identity — colors, fonts, spacing, mood. Your assistant composes each page from a professional component library. Every site meets WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.

Can I customize the design?

Yes. Tell your assistant: "Make the corners rounder," "Use a warmer green," "Switch to a serif font." It modifies your theme and shows you a preview. For full custom design, the Custom plan ($199/month) includes a bespoke theme built by our team.

How fast is my site?

Pages load in under 1.5 seconds. Your site is statically generated and served from a global CDN (70+ edge locations). Images are automatically optimized. Core Web Vitals targets: LCP <1.5s, FID <50ms, CLS <0.05.

Is my site mobile-friendly?

Yes. Every component is responsive by default. Your site also works as a PWA (Progressive Web App) — visitors can add it to their home screen.

Can I add any page I want?

"I need a page for my book" or "Create a page for my meditation workshop" — your assistant scaffolds it from the component library, adds it to navigation, and optimizes it for search.

Content & AI

Does the AI actually write well?

Yes. Your assistant writes blog posts, social post captions, newsletters, and page content in a natural, professional voice. It grounds its writing in your credentials, your approach, and your site's existing content. Every piece of content gets a preview — you read it and approve before anything publishes.

What if the AI says something wrong?

Nothing publishes without your approval. Your assistant shows you a full preview of every blog post, social post, newsletter, and page change before it goes live. For your visitor agent (which responds in real time), answers are grounded in your actual site content — it doesn't make things up.

How does the visitor agent work?

An AI chat widget on your live site answers visitor questions in real time — insurance, services, booking, hours. It's grounded in your actual site content, captures leads conversationally, and books appointments through your calendar. It never provides clinical advice and always surfaces crisis resources when needed.

Can the visitor agent book appointments?

Yes, if you've connected a booking integration (Cal.com, SimplePractice, Calendly, Acuity). Your visitor agent checks availability and walks visitors through booking.

What about AI-generated images?

Your assistant generates illustrations and graphics matching your theme's visual style. All images use illustration/abstract styles (not photorealistic) to avoid uncanny valley issues. You can regenerate, adjust, or upload your own photos instead.

Privacy & Compliance

Is this HIPAA compliant?

Our platform is HIPAA-aware — meaning we never collect, store, or process protected health information (PHI). Your visitor agent is explicitly instructed to never ask for health details. If a visitor volunteers health information, it's scrubbed from logs before storage. Contact forms include HIPAA disclaimers. Clinical data stays in your EHR, not on our platform.

Does the visitor agent collect health information?

No. The visitor agent is instructed to never ask for symptoms, diagnoses, medications, or treatment details. If a visitor shares health information unprompted, the agent acknowledges it empathetically without repeating specifics, and the content is scrubbed from conversation logs before storage.

What about crisis situations?

If a visitor mentions self-harm, suicide, or immediate danger, your visitor agent immediately responds with crisis resources: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) and Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741). This behavior is non-negotiable and always active.

Is my site accessible?

Yes. WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is built into every component via React Aria accessibility primitives. Screen readers, keyboard navigation, focus management, color contrast — all handled. Not through an overlay plugin, but through proper semantic HTML and accessibility patterns.

What data do you collect from my visitors?

Standard web analytics (page views, referrer, device type — no cookies required). Visitor agent conversations are logged for your reporting. Contact info is only collected when the visitor voluntarily provides it. No tracking pixels, no third-party ad networks.

Data & Ownership

Do I own my website?

Yes. Your website lives in a GitHub repository. You can download the entire thing as a ZIP anytime — it's a standard Next.js project that any developer could work with.

Can I export my data?

Yes, everything: your website as a GitHub repository, subscriber lists as CSV, lead data as CSV or JSON, form submissions as CSV, conversation history as JSON, all uploaded files as direct downloads. One message to your assistant: "Export all my data."

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Your site stays live in read-only mode for 90 days. All data remains accessible for export. After 90 days, we archive (not delete) your data — contact us to restore. We never sell, share, or use your data for any purpose other than running your website.

Can I move to another platform later?

Yes. Your website is standard React/Next.js code. Your content is in standard formats. Any web developer could take your exported repo and host it elsewhere. We designed it this way intentionally — no lock-in.

SEO & AI Discoverability

What is AI discoverability?

It's the new frontier of getting found online. When someone asks ChatGPT "find me a therapist in Austin who specializes in anxiety," ChatGPT searches the web and recommends therapists based on their website content, structured data, reviews, and listing consistency. AI discoverability means engineering your site to be one of those recommendations.

How is AI discoverability different from SEO?

SEO gets you ranked on Google search results. AI discoverability gets you cited in AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews). The overlap between top Google results and AI-cited sources is less than 20% — they require different optimization strategies. We handle both.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is the discipline of optimizing content for AI citation. It's different from traditional SEO: AI engines prefer content with statistics (35-40% visibility increase), FAQ sections (47% of cited pages), comparison tables (39%), and question-format headers (58%). Your assistant writes all content using these patterns automatically.

What about voice search?

Over 50% of mobile searches are now voice-based. Your assistant writes content that answers both: traditional keyword-optimized pages AND natural conversational queries. Speakable schema marks the key answers so voice assistants can read them directly.

What structured data do you generate?

25+ types of JSON-LD schema, auto-generated on every page: MedicalBusiness, Person, Organization, Service, FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Course, AggregateRating, Review, BreadcrumbList, Speakable, and more. Content with proper schema has a 2.5x higher chance of appearing in AI-generated answers.

Do you submit my site to search engines?

Yes. Your sitemap is submitted to both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools after every content publish. Bing is especially important because ChatGPT Search uses Bing's index, not Google's. We also use the IndexNow protocol for instant Bing indexing.

Comparisons

How is this different from WordPress?

No plugins to manage, no security patches, no developer to email for text changes, no hosting to configure. Your site updates in seconds via chat, not days via email. Plus: AI assistant, visitor agent, done-for-you content, AI discoverability — things WordPress doesn't offer.

How is this different from Squarespace or Wix?

Same DIY problem: they give you tools, not time. Your blog is empty, your bio is outdated, and your social profiles are dormant — because running a website is a part-time job. WebsiteTherapy removes the time requirement. Plus AI discoverability, which neither offers.

How is this different from Psychology Today?

Psychology Today is a directory listing. ChatGPT can't read it. Your WebsiteTherapy site is a full website with structured data that AI engines understand. Plus blog, social, newsletters, lead capture, booking, courses — everything PT doesn't offer.

How is this different from Brighter Vision or TherapySites?

They were built for 2015 — before AI search, before GEO, before ChatGPT. No visitor agent, no AI assistant, no done-for-you content, no structured data, no AI discoverability. WebsiteTherapy includes better versions of everything they offer, plus everything they can't architecturally add.

Should I cancel Psychology Today?

Not necessarily. If PT still sends you meaningful leads, keep it. But PT referrals are down 77-94% since 2023, and AI-referred traffic is growing 527% year over year. Having your own AI-optimized website ensures you're found regardless of how clients search.

Group Practices

Do I pay more for a group practice?

No. Every plan includes unlimited clinician profiles and unlimited admin logins at no extra cost.

Can the visitor agent match clients to the right therapist?

Yes. Your visitor agent asks screening questions (specialty needed, insurance, availability, language preference) and recommends the best-fit clinician from your team.

Can we have different booking tools for different clinicians?

Yes. Dr. Miller can use Cal.com while Dr. Rivera uses SimplePractice. Your visitor agent routes to the right calendar regardless of the tool behind it.

How do team headshots work?

Each team member uploads whatever photo they have. Your assistant normalizes all photos to a consistent style — same background, lighting, framing, and color tone. Your team page looks like a coordinated photo shoot.

Can individual therapists manage their own profiles?

All changes go through the AI assistant, which any admin can use. Invite clinicians as admins if you want them to make their own updates. Everything stays consistent because the assistant maintains the patterns.

Technical

What technology is my site built on?

Next.js (React) with static generation, served from Vercel's global CDN. Tailwind CSS for styling. Supabase for data (leads, subscribers, analytics). GitHub for version-controlled content. Every site meets modern web performance and security standards.

Can my developer work on my WebsiteTherapy site?

Yes. Every site is a standard Next.js project in a GitHub repository. Any React developer can clone it, read the code, and make changes. Though with the AI assistant, you probably won't need a developer.

Is my site secure?

Yes. Static site architecture means there's no server to hack, no database exposed to the public, and no plugins to exploit. SSL is auto-provisioned and auto-renewed.

What's the uptime?

99.9%+. Your site is static HTML served from 70+ global edge nodes. Even if our management layer has a temporary issue, your site stays live — it's independent of any server.

What happens if the AI is temporarily unavailable?

Your site continues serving visitors normally (it's static HTML). Your assistant and visitor agent show a graceful "back shortly" message. Scheduled content pauses until restored. Your site never goes down because of an AI outage.

Still have questions?

Chat with our AI assistant — it's the same technology that powers your website. Or start your free trial and experience it firsthand.