Some of the people looking for a therapist today will read your website with larger text turned on. Some will use a screen reader. Some will be tired, upset or reading on a cracked phone screen at the end of a long day.
An accessible website is simply one that works for all of them. For a therapy practice, that matters twice over: the first thing a visitor learns about you is whether your site makes them feel welcome or shut out.
We build websites for therapists, and most of the fixes below take minutes, not a redesign. No jargon, no scores. Just eight checks you can do yourself this week.
Eight checks you can do today
Open your site on your phone and on a laptop, and go through each one.
1. Text is big enough to read without zooming
Body text that is too small, or too light, makes people squint or give up. On a phone, you should be able to read a full paragraph comfortably at arm’s length.
2. Text stands out from the background
Pale grey on white, or white on a soft pastel, can look elegant and still be hard to read. If you have to tilt your screen to read a line, so will your visitors. Darker text on a light background is the safe choice.
3. Links say where they go
“Click here” and “Read more” tell a screen reader user nothing when they are read out in a list. “See my fees”, “Book a free 15-minute call” and “Read about couples counselling” say exactly what will happen.
4. Images have a short description
Every meaningful image should have alt text, a short line that a screen reader reads out. “Therapy room with two armchairs and a window” is better than “IMG_2041”. Purely decorative images can be left blank so they are skipped.
5. Headings are real headings
Visitors who use screen readers often jump from heading to heading to find what they need. That only works if your headings are set as headings, not just bold text made bigger. Check that each page has one main heading and clear subheadings in order.
6. Your contact form is easy to fill in
Each box should have a visible label above it, not just faint grey words inside it that disappear when you start typing. Error messages should say what went wrong in plain words, such as “Please add an email address”.
7. Video and audio have captions or a transcript
If you have a welcome video, add captions. They help people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and anyone watching on a bus with the sound off.
8. Nothing important is only in an image or a PDF
Opening hours, fees or directions inside a picture or a downloadable PDF cannot be read aloud or enlarged easily. Put the key details on the page as normal text, and keep the PDF as an extra if you like it.
A quick test anyone can run
Turn your phone’s text size up to the largest setting and open your homepage. Can you still find your fees, your location and your contact button without anything overlapping or disappearing off the edge? If yes, you are in good shape. If not, that is your first fix.
Common trips we see
Text in the header photo. A lovely hero image with your key message written into the picture itself. Screen readers cannot read it, and on a phone it is often cropped. Keep headline text as real text.
Colour as the only signal. “Required fields are in red” does not help someone who cannot tell red from green. Add a word or a symbol as well.
Pop-ups that are hard to close. If a newsletter box covers the page on a phone and the close button is tiny, many people leave. Make it easy to dismiss, or remove it.
Moving text and auto-playing sound. Sliders that change every few seconds and music that starts on its own are hard for many visitors. A still image and a quiet page are easier for everyone.
What clients notice
Accessibility is not only about other people. It is also about you being able to make changes quickly when you spot a problem. As one client wrote on our reviews page: “Changing content is also very easy for someone like me who is not so good with technology.”
Small fixes, wider welcome
Most of these checks are wording and settings, not a rebuild. Rewrite vague links, add alt text to your main images, check your form labels and move key details out of images.
If you already have a managed website with us, you can make most of these edits yourself, and we are happy to help if you would like a second pair of eyes. If your current site is hard to read on a phone or hard for you to update, tell us what is getting in the way and we can talk through a new or rebuilt website.
Short answers
What is alt text?
A short written description of an image. Screen readers read it aloud, and it shows if the image fails to load.
Do I need to check every page?
Start with the pages visitors use most: home, about, services, fees and contact. Then work through the rest.
Is a separate “accessible version” of my site a good idea?
Usually not. One site that works well for everyone is easier to keep accurate than two.
Does a template take care of all this?
A good one helps, but much of it depends on what you write and upload, such as link wording, alt text and captions.
Thanks for reading. May every visitor find your website easy to read and easy to reach out from.