A Minimalist Squarespace Website for a Massage Therapist
I first met Megan nearly 15 years ago.
We were both in completely different places in life; she wasn’t a massage therapist and I wasn’t a web designer…yet.
What I remember about Megan from all those years ago - the thing that has stayed exactly the same - was her warmth and gentleness. She’s the kind of person with whom you feel comfortable and safe.
It turns out I’m not the only one who feels that way. She’s built a thriving massage therapy business in Durham, North Carolina, and she is adored as a birth and postpartum doula. Megan also has a peaceful, calm office space that matches her calm approach to bodywork.
In fact, everything about Megan’s massage therapy and doula practice is a reflection of who she is as a person.
When Megan and I reconnected in the spring over her need for a new website, she’d had a website for massage on Wordpress for about ten years - since early in her career. She felt that it no longer reflected where she was in her business.
Megan had a couple of clear website goals in mind:
1. A website for massage that would allow her business to run more smoothly
Megan had all of the bodywork clients that she wanted, but running that side of her business - scheduling, sharing rates and policies, and collecting payment - required too much of her time. She wanted it to be easier for both her and her clients.
2. A website that helped grow her doula services
Megan wanted to grow her doula services, with an eye toward providing doula education. She had stunning images from her work as a doula, so we were excited to showcase the support she offers to birthing parents.
Jeremy and I also saw a lot of potential for improving Megan’s searchability on Google.
While basic SEO is included in every website we build, we added our targeted SEO service to Megan’s website package to help her climb in search rankings.
One of our other top priorities was designing Megan’s new website for bodywork around her calm, caring aesthetic.
We wanted for Megan’s website to be a place where someone would arrive and immediately feel welcomed. Megan’s website needed to be an accurate reflection of who she is and the experience she offers to her clients.
There were several elements that allowed us to achieve success with all of these goals:
1. Megan’s images
Her photographer captured Megan’s person and work beautifully. Her photos are simple, light-filled, and allow Megan’s serenity to be felt.
Jeremy used rounded corners and shapes to feature Megan’s images on her new website, creating an organic flow.
2. Colors that matched Megan’s aesthetic
Very few of our clients bring branding colors to their website project, so we often get to create a color palette based on their personality and photos.
Jeremy created a color palette for Megan’s website that used calm, grounded tones with a soft off-white. Her colors and images work well together.
3. Megan’s copy
Megan cares deeply about making each of her clients feel safe and cared for. When she wrote her copy for her website, she made sure that came through from her very first paragraph.
One of my favorite elements of her website is the massage FAQ section. It addresses questions people often have about massage but might not feel comfortable asking. It’s a brilliant, thoughtful way to help people understand a service and what to expect.
These touches make it clear that Megan’s work is considerate. They allow her to build an immediate sense of trust with potential clients.
Megan’s new website:
Megan was one of my favorite clients to work with in 2022; she brought clear priorities and communication to her website project.
And, it’s important to note here, “clear priorities” doesn’t mean knowing exactly what you need in a website; it means that you can explain your business goals in a clear way. Jeremy and I are able to translate those goals to a website that will help you get there more quickly.
We were delighted to hear that working with us was a positive experience for Megan:
“Even though my website was 10 years old and in desperate need of attention, I felt daunted by the task of updating it so I kept putting it off.
When I reached out to Janna, I immediately got the sense that I would be supported and guided carefully through the process. I was so impressed by her sense of organization, clear and prompt communication and the way tasks were broken up so that they felt manageable.”
Megan also had thoughts to share about her new website:
“The first time I got to see my website felt emotional--like a feeling of "wow! it's so beautiful and so 'me'" It felt clear to me that they had listened and integrated my desires and it was so beyond what I had even hoped.
I feel so grateful to have a website now that feels like a reflection of my business that I am proud of. I feel so grateful to Janna and Jeremy for making that happen with such ease (for me), skill and kindness.”
If you want a website like Megan’s:
If you’re a massage therapist, a bodyworker, a doula, or you provide another one-to-one service, your website is likely a vital piece of how you run your business.
It allows you to be found, educates potential clients about your services, creates a sense of trust, and has the potential to make your life easier with the use of scheduling and payment tools.
It’s worth investing in a website that does all of those things well - and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune.
Good web design can be affordable.
That doesn’t mean good web design can be cheap - you won’t see the results or have the support you want from a cheap website - but good web design CAN be affordable.
When we build a website for massage (or a similar service), we focus on the goals you have for your business. If you don’t need extra tools or integrations, we won’t recommend them.
A five-page website, built by us, will cost around $3000. We offer additional options like automated scheduling or email list building, and each of those cost around $650.
Here’s what you’ll need to bring to a web designer:
1. A clear sense of your business goals
This allows us to build exactly the website you need. A website has a lot of potential to help grow your business and make your life easier, and being clear about your goals will allow us to build exactly the right website for you.
We get to know you and your goals during our initial discovery call. This is also a great way to see if we’re the right fit for you - and for you to ask any questions you might have about a website.
2. Good photos
The photos on your website are what allow potential clients to get to know you and your business. They allow people to “window shop”...to feel like they can peek inside your business and see if it feels like the right fit.
There are great stock photography options out there, but for personal services like massage therapy, we recommend working with a good photographer. These photos will be worth every penny you spend; they’ll build trust and communicate your aesthetic and personality in a way that stock photos can’t.
When you are getting ready for your photo session, make sure your photographer knows that these images will be primarily for a website. Your photographer can focus on taking mostly landscape-mode photos rather than portrait-mode images (although we’ll use both).
Note: you don’t need photos before reaching out to talk with us! You’ll just want to plan on getting photos prior to your website project dates.
3. Clear communication and a willingness to meet deadlines together
We work with just one client at a time, which allows us to launch your website within two weeks of when we start building. What makes this successful is clear communication with you, as well as staying on schedule together.
There’s no guessing about what you should expect; we will outline everything clearly from the start.
What you DON’T need to bring to a web designer:
1. Branding
Wait! I’m not saying branding isn’t a good thing! Branding is a valuable part of your business and can be used very effectively.
However, having a logo and brand colors is not necessary for a great website. Most solo service providers don’t come to us with branding, and that’s completely fine. Most of the time, a clear sense of your goals and high-quality pictures are more important to a successful website than a branding package.
2. Copy
There’s no need to have your website copy written before you get started with a web designer.
When you work with us, you’ll receive our custom copy workbook, a bio template, and all of the other tools you need to make your content creation simple.
And, if you dread writing your own copy, we offer copy packages that will take care of this task for you.
3. Knowledge about the web design process
There’s a reason you want to turn this whole thing over to a professional. We assume that you have other things that require your time and attention. You don’t need to know anything about web design before reaching out.
We’ll share what you do need to know, and we’ll take care of the rest for you.
Want to learn more about working with us?
You can check out our portfolio or reach out to us to see if we’re the right fit to work together. You can also take this fun website quiz to see what kind of website is right for you (and what cost to expect).
You can also get to know us first through our email list; we occasionally share a 5-minute podcast or an article with helpful tips for managing your business and website with ease.
