Best website builder for therapists: an honest 2026 comparison
We compare Brighter Vision, SimplePractice, Wix, Squarespace, Hostinger, 10Web and WebNewBiz on setup, booking, cost and privacy, so you can pick the right home for your practice.
Most 'best website builder for therapists' lists are a few years old, and many of them earn a commission on the builders they recommend. This guide compares the two therapist-specific options most people shortlist, Brighter Vision and SimplePractice's built-in website, with general and AI builders: Wix, Squarespace, Hostinger, 10Web and WebNewBiz (our own product, so we point out its weaknesses too). We look at setup, booking, cost and how far you can personalise the site. We are also plain about privacy, because a therapy website receives more sensitive messages than almost any other small business site.
The short answer
No single builder is best for everyone. The right one depends on how you work:
- You already use SimplePractice and want a site live this week: use its included website. It is plain, but booking is built in and it costs nothing extra.
- You want someone to build it for you: Brighter Vision, if about $79 a month suits your budget.
- You want full control of the design: Wix or Squarespace, linked to your practice-management tool for booking and intake.
- You want a good draft fast at a low monthly cost: an AI builder such as Hostinger, 10Web or WebNewBiz, again linking out for anything clinical.
Whichever you pick, treat the website as the shop window and your practice-management system as the locked filing cabinet. Anything clinical goes in the filing cabinet.
What a therapy practice website needs
People looking for a therapist are often anxious and comparing several profiles in one sitting. They want four answers quickly: can you help with my problem, are you qualified, what does it cost, and how do I take the first step. A good practice site answers all four on the homepage.
- Who you help and how: the issues you work with and your approach (CBT, EMDR, person-centred, couples work) in plain words, plus whether you see adults, teenagers, couples or families.
- Credentials: qualifications, licence or registration number and professional body, so people can check you.
- Practical details: session length, fees, insurance, online or in person, location and hours.
- One clear first step: a short free consultation, a booking link or a very short enquiry form.
- A real photo of you: clients choose partly on whether they could imagine talking to you. A warm, natural portrait beats any stock image.
- A crisis note: a line saying the site and inbox are not monitored for emergencies, with the local emergency number or a crisis line.
- A privacy notice: what you collect, why, where it is kept and for how long.
Useful extras: a short FAQ, a page for each main service, and a few articles on topics you work with, which also help people find you on Google.
Privacy first: keep health details off ordinary forms
Most roundups skip this part. A message from a named person saying they want help with panic attacks is health information, even before they become a client. In the US, HIPAA's definition covers past, present and future health conditions, so an enquiry can count as protected health information. In the UK and EU, health data is 'special category' data under GDPR, which needs an extra legal condition and stronger safeguards. Brazil's LGPD also treats health data as sensitive, and most countries take a similar view.
Ordinary website forms are not built for this. Squarespace says its form blocks cannot be part of a HIPAA-compliant setup, and only its scheduling product, Acuity, is covered by a business associate agreement (BAA). Wix offers a HIPAA mode with a signed BAA, but only on its Business plan and above. Turning it on switches some things off: identifying visitor analytics, Facebook and Instagram chats in the inbox, and non-compliant apps.
A sensible setup has two steps:
- A minimal public enquiry form: name, email or phone, preferred contact method and perhaps 'online or in person'. Leave out any 'what brings you to therapy' box, and any questions about symptoms, medication or history. Add a line above the form: 'Please don't include health details here. We'll ask for those securely after we speak.'
- Secure intake in a dedicated tool: send intake forms, consent forms and questionnaires through a practice-management system that meets your local rules (in the US, one that signs a BAA). Link to its booking page or client portal from your site.
A short form and a disclaimer lower the risk, but they don't remove your obligations. If HIPAA applies to your practice, the safest choice is a form or scheduler covered by a BAA. A quick check with your professional body or a healthcare lawyer is also worth the time. This guide is practical advice, not legal advice.
Therapist-specific services: Brighter Vision and SimplePractice
Brighter Vision builds the site for you. At the time of writing (October 2026), Start is $79 a month on monthly billing, Grow is $149 and Flourish is $319 ($299 a month on annual billing). Every plan includes a site built by its design team, hosting, a domain, SSL, a pre-written content library and unlimited support. HIPAA-compliant forms and secure email (provided by Hushmail) only come with Flourish, or as a Hushmail add-on from $14.99 a month. Booking is not listed as a plan feature, so you would normally embed the scheduler from your practice-management system.
It suits therapists who want the work done for them and value support over control. The catch is cost: nearly $950 a year at the entry level before any secure forms, and you work within its designs.
SimplePractice's Professional Website comes with the practice-management subscription, which costs $49, $79 or $99 a month at the time of writing (with introductory discounts). SimplePractice's feature page says the website is included at no added cost. Some of its older material links it to the Essential and Plus plans, though, so confirm it is included in yours. Reviewers report that setup takes about 15 minutes because the site fills in from your profile. Appointment requests are built in, and intake stays inside SimplePractice, which is where it belongs.
The trade-off is customisation. There are three themes, the layouts are similar, there is no blog, and search settings are limited to page titles and descriptions. You buy and connect your own domain. If you later move to a more personal site elsewhere, note that the widget for adding SimplePractice booking to another website is only on the Plus plan ($99 a month).
General builders: Wix and Squarespace
Wix gives you the most design freedom of the mainstream builders and has its own booking system. At the time of writing, on annual billing, Light ($17) cannot take payments, Core ($29) can, and Business ($39) is the cheapest plan that can turn on Wix's HIPAA mode and BAA. That makes Wix one of the few general builders where a US practice can keep forms and bookings under a BAA, as long as you follow its rules (for example, no session notes on bookings). The downside is that you build and maintain the site yourself, and with that much freedom it is easy to end up with a cluttered page.
Squarespace has calm, polished templates that suit therapy practices, and it is pleasant to edit. Basic is $19 a month (with a 2% fee on store sales) and Core is $29. Booking runs through Acuity Scheduling, which Squarespace owns but bills separately: $16, $27 or $55 a month on annual billing, and only the $55 Premium plan includes a BAA. Keep the built-in form minimal, or embed a secure form from a specialist provider. Our Wix vs Squarespace comparison covers both in more depth.
AI builders: Hostinger, 10Web and WebNewBiz
AI builders are the fastest way from a blank page to a reasonable draft: you describe your practice and the tool writes and lays out the pages. The draft is a starting point, not a finished site, and every one of these tools needs your own words, photos and facts added. For a wider view, see our roundup of the best AI website builders.
Hostinger Website Builder looks cheapest at $2.99 a month, but only if you prepay 48 months, and it renews at $10.99. Its appointment feature handles free or paid sessions, buffer times and Google Calendar sync. Hostinger only offers booking on its business-level builder plan, though, so check before you pay. Use it for 'book a free 15-minute call', not for clinical detail.
10Web builds your site on WordPress, with AI Starter at $10 a month on annual billing. You can add booking and form plugins, which is flexible, but you have to choose, update and vet those plugins yourself. Smaller plans have visitor and storage limits.
WebNewBiz (our own product) drafts a complete site from a plain-language description of your practice. You then change it by chatting with the AI Copilot: 'make the homepage calmer', 'add a fees page', 'use my photo in the header'. Lite is $9 a month for one website with the AI builder, Copilot, hosting, SSL and a full WordPress CMS for articles. Starter at $29 adds the Design Studio visual editor and Brand Kit. Every plan is $1 for the first month, with no minimum contract (see pricing).
The honest limits: WebNewBiz is a young platform with a much smaller app ecosystem and community than Wix or Squarespace, and there is no free plan. It does not advertise HIPAA compliance or a BAA, so use it for the public site and send intake to your practice-management tool. Its CRM, with bookings and invoices, starts at Growth ($79 a month). Most solo therapists already have that covered by their practice system, so Lite or Starter is usually the sensible fit.
Side-by-side comparison
| Option | Setup | Booking | Price | Customisation | Health information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighter Vision | Built for you by its team | Embed your practice tool's scheduler | From $79/month | Moderate, within its designs | HIPAA forms on Flourish ($319/month) or Hushmail add-on from $14.99 |
| SimplePractice website | About 15 minutes from your profile | Built in | Included with plans from $49/month | Low: three themes, no blog | Intake stays inside SimplePractice |
| Wix | You build it from a template | Wix Bookings, paid sessions from Core ($29) | $29-39/month | High | HIPAA mode and BAA on Business ($39) and above |
| Squarespace | You build it from a template | Acuity Scheduling, separate plan ($16-55/month) | $19-29/month plus scheduling | Medium to high | Form blocks not suitable; BAA on Acuity Premium ($55) |
| Hostinger | AI draft in minutes | Built in on its business-level plan | $2.99/month on a 48-month prepay, renews at $10.99 | Medium | Keep forms minimal |
| 10Web | AI draft on WordPress | Through WordPress plugins | AI Starter $10/month | High, but you manage plugins | Depends on the plugins you choose |
| WebNewBiz | AI draft from a description, edit by chat | Link to your practice tool (CRM bookings from Growth, $79) | Lite $9, Starter $29; $1 first month | High: chat edits, Design Studio from Starter | Not advertised as HIPAA compliant; keep forms minimal |
Prices are in US dollars at the time of writing (October 2026). Wix, Squarespace, Acuity and 10Web figures are for annual billing. Brighter Vision and WebNewBiz figures are monthly prices (WebNewBiz is cheaper on yearly billing).
How to get a calm, credible site drafted by AI, then make it yours
- Write a specific description. The AI can only be as specific as you are. For example: 'Counsellor offering sessions in [your city] and online. I work with adults facing anxiety, burnout and grief, using person-centred and CBT approaches. 50-minute sessions, $90. Free 15-minute phone consultation. Calm and warm, soft natural colours, lots of white space. Pages: home, about, how I work, fees, FAQ, contact.' Our website prompt guide has more examples.
- Ask for calm, not clever. Use one or two fonts, generous spacing and short paragraphs. Avoid busy animation and stock photos of people in distress.
- Swap stock photos for real ones. Use a natural portrait in daylight, your therapy room and the building entrance, so first-time clients know where to go. A phone photo taken near a window is fine.
- Rewrite your About page and approach in your own voice. Add why you do this work, who you work best with and what a first session is like. Check every line: the AI must not invent qualifications, years of practice or specialisms.
- Add the practical details: fees, session length, cancellation policy, insurance, accessibility and which video platform you use.
- Connect the secure parts. Point 'Book a consultation' and 'New client forms' at your practice-management portal, and keep the on-site form to contact details only.
- Finish the trust details: a privacy notice, a crisis note in the footer and your registration or licence number. Check your professional code before adding client testimonials, as many codes restrict them.
- Read it on your phone. Make sure the booking button is visible without scrolling.
If you want to see a first draft before signing up for anything, try the free AI Website Preview: describe your practice in one sentence and it designs a homepage for you.
Quick answers
What is the best website builder for therapists?
There is no single winner. SimplePractice's included website is easiest if you already use SimplePractice, Brighter Vision suits therapists who want it built for them, Wix and Squarespace give the most design control, and AI builders such as WebNewBiz produce a draft quickly at a low monthly cost. Pair any of them with a practice-management tool for intake.
Can I use an ordinary contact form on my therapy website?
Only for minimal details: name, contact details and preferred contact method, with a note asking people not to share health information. Collect intake and clinical details in a dedicated practice-management tool. In the US, a form covered by a BAA is the safest choice.
Are Wix and Squarespace HIPAA compliant?
Wix offers a HIPAA mode with a signed BAA on its Business plan ($39 a month on annual billing) and above. Squarespace's form blocks are not suitable for health information, but its Acuity Scheduling Premium plan includes a BAA.
How much does a therapist website cost?
At the time of writing (October 2026), general and AI builders cost from about $3 to $40 a month (the lowest prices need long prepaid terms), SimplePractice costs $49-99 a month with a website included, and Brighter Vision starts at $79 a month. Add a domain and any secure form or scheduling tool.
Can AI write my therapy website?
It can draft the pages, layout and copy in minutes. You still need to add your own photos, check every fact and rewrite your About page and approach so they sound like you.
Do I need online booking?
It helps, because people can book a first call when they feel ready without having to phone. Use your practice-management tool's booking page so requests and any details stay in a secure system.
If you want to try an AI first draft
If you already use SimplePractice and its site does the job, keep it: a simple site that is live beats a perfect one that is not. If you want something more personal without starting from a blank page, see how the WebNewBiz AI website builder works, or start for $1 and cancel any time if it is not for you.