Client: Lynda Britchford, The Online Trauma Therapist
Services: Messaging and copywriting, therapist website design and build, SEO foundations, analytics, ongoing website support
Platform: WordPress, Bricks Builder
Result: A website that finally shows what her clients already knew. Written in her voice, for the people she works with best.
Meet Lynda, The Online Trauma Therapist
Lynda is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist who works online with people affected by complex trauma, PTSD and dissociation. Many of the people who come to her have had difficult experiences with therapy before.
Most of Lynda’s enquiries come through therapist directories, and the majority of people who get in touch go on to work with her. So the website’s job was never to chase traffic. It needed to help the right people recognise that she’s the right therapist for them.
The challenge
Lynda had built her own website using WordPress and Divi. Tools like Divi give you a huge amount of design freedom, and that freedom makes it easy to end up with design and layout issues. Lynda had done her best, but the site was working against her:
- Colour: too many colours, and too many combinations that failed accessibility contrast guidelines. For an audience that includes neurodivergent and disabled people, that matters.
- Layout: page designs were inconsistent and didn’t guide visitors towards taking the next step.
- Structure: the navigation and URL structure were hard to follow, for visitors and search engines alike.
The bigger challenge was the messaging
Most business owners find it hard to write about themselves, and therapists find it harder than most. They often struggle to find their authentic voice and get out of their own way. On top of that, the copy is read by people who may be in distress, so it has to be written with care. Without a proper process, that’s very difficult to do yourself.
Lynda’s value was obvious to the people already working with her. The website just wasn’t showing it. That’s the recognition gap, and it was the real problem to solve.
Our approach
Starting with her words
Every project starts with our offer messaging workbook, a structured questionnaire that draws out how a business owner thinks, works and talks about what they do. Lynda put real thought into her answers, and it showed. We got her voice right on the first draft of the website copy.
Here’s what she said when she read it:
“OMG… HOW did you do that!? I LOVE it. You have somehow managed to capture me, and all my ramblings, and turn them into a much more succinct, but fitting load of info. The tone really feels like me, I was grinning reading it.”
The copy reads the way she speaks: warm, direct and conversational, with no therapy clichés. It’s honest about what she offers, making clear commitments rather than promises. Her inclusive, anti-oppressive approach is a natural part of how she talks.
Built for clarity and accessibility
We built a full colour palette from Lynda’s bold brand colours, with shades from light to dark, and checked that all text met accessibility guidelines.
The pages were wireframed first, so the copy and flow were right before any visual design began. A clear sitemap and URL structure gave the site a logical shape for visitors and search engines.
Every key page ends with a clear, low-pressure way to get in touch, so visitors always know what to do next.
When Lynda saw the design, she said:
“I love its simplicity and clarity! AND it works on a mobile without any squiffy bits. The layout feels very spacious, which sounds weird maybe, but I can’t think of a better word.”
SEO that fits the business
Because Lynda’s enquiries came through directories, we advised against a heavy upfront SEO investment. Instead, we set up solid foundations: keyword research to shape the page structure, plus well-written page titles, descriptions and headings. That gives her a base to build on.
We created a clean blog template that helps Lynda’s posts shine, with each one optimised for search.
Contact forms make it easy for people to get in touch, and Plausible Analytics tracks performance without compromising visitors’ privacy.
A handover document covered everything she needed to know.
The result
Six months after launch, Lynda put it simply:
“From my perspective, I’ve definitely had more interest since the sparkly new website has been up and running, and am currently full which is great.” Lynda Britchford
Lynda’s EMDR and therapy services pages rank near the top of the first page of Google. Visitors who arrive from search spend more than twice as long on the site as those from social media, which suggests the right people are finding her.
What’s next
We continue to support Lynda with maintenance and updates. Our six-month performance review set out a content plan to grow search into a second enquiry channel alongside her directory listings, focused on the kind of people she does her best work with, not on raw visitor numbers.