The therapist in this case is acupuncturist Claire Tindall but many of the issues faced by her apply to other therapies
Problems you need to solve when making an acupuncturist's website
Some people don't like needles
Calm and authority are essential for a therapist's website
The website mustn't look like anyone else's, a generic site will lack the integrity essential to a therapist's site
The site needs to be easy to use. People shouldn’t have to work too hard to find a solution to their problem
The site needs to project the character of the acupuncturist (she's the one giving the treatment) onto the site
How these problems were solved on Claire Tindall's website
1. Needlephobia
We decided against a photograph of needles sticking out of someone’s body.
Instead I photographed a plant (growing close to Claire's clinic) which had the spikiness of needles but by using a very narrow focus, I've created a feeling of gentleness.
The photograph was then tinted to match the jade green (allusion to Chinese jade) of the website.
2. Calm and Authority
Calm - comes from order and harmony. The limited range of tones on the website makes reading the content a straightforward experience with very little unnecessary or distracting visual information.
Authority - comes from confidence. The pared-down nature of the information on this website indicates that the therapist has no need to oversell or to over-explain. No bluster, no bluff. Straight talking, directness, honesty.
3. Site needs not to look like anyone else's
A website should communicate what's particular and interesting about your approach to your work, so that's how it must look. Particular and interesting
Photography - the photos for the site were taken specially for the site with the look and feel of the website in mind. Visual congruence the whole way through and a no one else will have photographs likes these
4. Ease of Use
Mobile-friendly - As more and more people use their phone to access information, allowing people to find most of the information they need on a scrolling-down Home page will satisfy immediate requirements for information-gathering but also allow them to look further into the site if they need to by offering links to the rest of the site.
Less is more - this website provides enough information to prompt a visitor to make contact but not so much they get lost or frustrated and move on to someone else
5. Communicating Character
People will infer (so much more powerful than being told) that acupuncturist Claire Tindall pays attention to her clients because she has clearly paid attention to her website.
The careful choice of colours, the information she had selected, the fact that she has commissioned photography specially for this site and made sure the site is easy for her customers to use.
All of this will make her site visitors feel welcome, well-informed and reassured by what she offers. And safe
A warm, friendly photograph taken outside of the building where she practices, with beautiful light, completes the welcome
