Do doulas need websites? (Even if you’re only just starting out)
So today I wanna talk to the newest doulas of the bunch. Those of you who have just taken the plunge, completed your doula training and are ready to launch yourself out to the actual general public. Maybe you’re thinking, "I'll just rely on word of mouth and Instagram for now. I'll build a website when I've got a few births under my belt."
Maybe you’re even shouting at the screen “Laura I just don’t have time to build an entire website wtf are you talking about?” Ok, OK I get it.
You're balancing so much already - nearly every new doula has their own children, is trying to build their confidence, maybe taking on their first few births, figuring out their prices, the list goes on. A website feels like something you can put off until later.
But honestly, by not having a website, even at the very beginning of your journey as a doula, you’re doing yourself and kinda more importantly your potential clients a disservice.
Hear me out on this, because basically instead of wasting hours on creating social media content that’s gonna disappear into the abyss of irrelevance within a week MAX, you could decide right now to create a website that is going to serve you for years to come, show up in potential clients Google searches at the exact moment they need you and make you feel like the well trained pro that you are.
So today, I want to talk about:
how new doulas find clients;
why putting the work into building a website is a great long term strategy;
how having a website makes you feel profesh and gives others confidence in you;
what the most common types of resistance I come across when talking to new doulas about their businesses; and
what you need for a successful doula website.
How do expectant parents find doulas? - i.e. how to find doula clients.
Ok so let’s look at this backwards - you’ve completed your doula training and you want to support people in their births asap. To do that you need clients. To find clients you need to show up when they’re looking for a doula. When someone is pregnant and looking for doula support, they're usually doing one of two things: asking trusted friends for recommendations, or typing "doula near me" or “doula [your location]” into Google.
If you don't have a website, you're invisible to that second group. And that's a significant number of potential clients.
The brilliant thing about websites is that you put the effort in at the beginning and they actually only get better at doing their job over time. So as you’re building up your experience organically through referrals and some enquiries online, your website will be climbing the SEO rankings and building domain authority. Your website actually has to be in the game for this to happen, i.e. the longer you’ve had it the more people visit it and engage with it e.g. by filling in your form, the more Google thinks to itself - this is a useful site to send people to, I’ll rank it even higher for that search next time.
I think it’s probably true to say most doulas who aren’t super keen on getting a website straight away hope they’ll find clients on social media. Instagram is wonderful for building community and showing your personality, but it doesn't help you show up when someone searches for "doula in Hackney" or "birth support Bristol."
A website helps you to take yourself seriously (and others take you seriously too)
There's something about having a professional web presence that truly changes how people perceive you - and how you perceive yourself.
When you have a website that clearly articulates your services, your philosophy, your experience and your prices - you start to feel like the trained professional birth worker you are.
This matters when you're trying to charge appropriately for your skills and time. It matters when you're explaining to family members what you actually do. And it matters when an expectant parent is trying to decide between you and another doula who has a polished online presence.
You don’t need hundreds of births worth of experience to be ready to support families
I just want to start this by saying OF COURSE, the unpredictability of birth, the humbling that you will get from different birth experiences (as experienced by the doula in this case rather than the birthing person), the absolute uniqueness of every birth means that there is obviously a huge amount of value in the literal boots on the ground experience of having attended births. The OGs, the veteran birth workers hold a huge amount of wisdom that newbies just don’t have yet. That’s ok, that doesn’t mean you don’t get to take yourself seriously (lol in a good way).
Your website doesn’t need to be a CV listing every birth you've ever attended. It also doesn’t need to falsely position you as a super experienced, old hand at supporting birth to show how your training and passion can be of value to families at the very beginning of your career in birth work. It's a space to share who you are, what you believe about birth, and how you support families. That doesn't require years of experience - it requires authenticity and clarity.
All of the doula websites I've helped create are compelling to their ideal clients, but the ones that belong to newer birth workers shine when talking about their “why” and connecting with those who share their values/personal experience/beliefs.
If you get it right, you can start to gain experience with families you have an amazing connection with. I talk to a lot of doulas and one of the main things that people struggle with is either getting enquiries from or even taking on work with families who just aren’t the right fit for them. Obviously this can be a frustrating experience for both the doula and the client, time will tell whether the birthworkers who get their super aligned websites up at the beginning of their journey can leap frog this problem.
You don’t have to “show up” constantly
Here's the reality and the magic of having a website from day one: it's working for you 24/7.
While you're at a birth, while you're sleeping, while you're spending time with your own family, your website is introducing you to potential clients. It's answering their questions, showing them who you are, and helping them feel confident about reaching out.
It doesn’t have to be perfect straight away
I think this is what stops most new doulas from building their website: the fear that it needs to be absolutely perfect before anyone can see it. Even within The Doula Website Circle this can be a problem, but with my guidance and that of your peers we can hold you through the process and not let your need for perfection hold you back.
Your website should be a changing thing. That’s why, whether with my 1-2-1 clients or on the Doula Websitre Circle, I make it a total priority to make sure you know how to edit your website when required. It grows and evolves with your practice. But anyway, back to not letting perfect get in the way of really, really good - you can start with something simple and authentic rather than waiting months (or years) (or forever) to create something "perfect."
Add more client testimonials as you get them. Refine your service descriptions as you get clearer on what you offer (especially after you’ve started working with clients - you’re gonna learn so much. Update your photos as your practice develops.
But you have to start.
Hard work now - people finding you and your website forever
I’m not gonna lie, building a website is hard work but the good thing about it is that if you do all the right things (thorough SEO, copywriting that connects with clients, clear navigation to help visitors get where you want them to go i.e book in a call with you and articulating and pricing your services clearly) it’s gonna serve you for a very long time.
With a fully built out, functional, effective website you’ll start generating enquiries from local aligned clients and this will only improve over time.
There are a few ways you can get yourself a website:
Hire a website designer to do it for you
Get yaself on The Doula Website Circle and build it with my guidance as a website designer for doulas and with the support of a group of your peers
DIY it
There are pros and cons to each of these options, let’s take them in turns:
Hiring a web designer
Pros
The potential for beautiful design that goes above and beyond
Time saving for you as the client as you only have to do half the work of creating the website (that includes explaining your aims, what you need the website to do, understanding SEO to the extent that you can explain to your designer what searches you need to be found in, writing the content, collecting photos). The designer can take care of the building side of things and hopefully provide you with guidance as to how to do all the things in parentheses 🤞🏻
Potential for SEO to be done for you once you’ve provided a clear explanation of exactly who you are looking to get enquiries from.
Fairly guaranteed outcome of a live website at the end of it
Cons
You won’t spend any time working in the “back end” of the website which will mean you won’t be able to update and evolve your site as needed. (I’m speaking from experience here, as even when I’ve provided ample video based tutorials on how to use Squarespace to my 1-2-1 clients, it’s a huge ask to get them to go from never using it before to feeling confident making changes to a website they’ve paid ££s without a lot of practice and support)
Financial cost - compared to DIYing it where the costs are just your time, the cost of your platform subscription/domain/professional email address (and potentially depending on how difficult you find it your sanity)
Timeline defined by website designer (for better or worse!)
The Doula Website Circle
Pros
The capacity to create as beautiful and bespoke website as you want!
Expert guidance from someone extremely invested in birth work and activism
A supportive group of doulas working together, providing accountability, psychological support (you’d be surprised how making a website that requires a deep dive into your business and your values can bring some stuff up!) and different perspectives from differing levels of experience. Some real examples of this from the last round of The Doula Website Circle include discussions around pricing, shared activism, providing feedback to each other on the content of their websites and so much more. Check out my most recent testimonials for more examples.
Quick responses on a dedicated WhatsApp group. So whenever you have a question during the process you don’t have to send a million emails back and forth you can jump in the group and get an answer from me or one of your speedy fingered peers!
Lifetime access to all the materials guiding you through exactly how to get your site live and getting enquiries.
Office hours: a monthly group call for The Doula Website Circle Graduates to support you after the course itself is over - so as your practice evolves and you want to make changes big and small to your site you’ll have the professional support to do that.
Cons
Time cost - the 6 week course requires at least 5 hours a week of your precious time.
It’s not done for you, so if you don’t put in the work you’re not going to get a website.
DIY
Pros
Financial cost - this is definitely the most cost effective option as you only need to pay for the relevant subscriptions (website platform/photography/Google Workspace etc.)
If you like doing things super independently I guess?
Cons
No accountability
Step learning curve that might put you off
No specific, personal copywriting advice to help you connect with clients and turn visitors into customers
No one to ask questions to when you get stuck
So what do we think - do doulas, even new ones, need websites?
I hope I’ve convinced you that it is time and money well spent getting a website sorted from the get go in your doula-ing journey. More than that, I hope I’ve given you some things to think about when it comes to how to get a website, whether that’s through a web designer, course or DIY-ing it.
In my experience working 1-2-1 with clients and guiding doulas through the process of building their own websites in The Doula Website Circle having the ability to manage, maintain and update your website is crucial. Not only can you get in there and fix a little typo every now and then as you notice them but you can truly take control of your online presence and evolve your site as your business evolves which it inevitably will at this stage of your journey.
I think there's something powerful that happens when you build your own website. You’re in control of online presence and the way your doula practice is presented to the world, but especially at the beginning of your career it makes it real - not just to potential clients, but to you.
You're declaring to yourself and the world: this is my work, these are my values, and I'm here to serve families in this way. That act of showing up and being visible online, even when you're just starting, builds the confidence you need to thrive as a birth worker.
Your website isn't something you'll build "someday when you're ready." It's one of the tools that helps you become ready.
Syama Minien is a graduate of The Doula Website Circle, she signed up and got her website sorted on the course just after she’d finished training and before she’d even started taking on clients. Here’s what she has to say about building a site as a newly qualified doula:
I signed up for the DWC course with Laura in October after we had a discovery call in the summer. I instantly clicked with Laura as she understands the work of Doulas and as a bonus, is an expert in web designing. I had some time to think whether now would the best time for a website, whether I even needed one or not. And I decided to go for it, as if not now then when?! The process was a steep learning curve as I used the same few applications when I worked in an Investment Bank. I never needed to create new technology or understand how our website worked. But with Laura’s help I was able to put my ideas down and then translate them into a literal website. I value her guidance so much and whenever I got stuck, she was there to help. I am very proud of the website I created, especially for someone who failed AS Level IT lol. Since launching I can see how engagement on my site has gone up and the information is already public so things like my services, and prices aren’t hidden. I would recommend the course to other doulas as it is an investment that is worthwhile.
If you’re interested in building your own website with a supportive group of doula peers and my expert advice check out The Doula Website Circle, my 6-week guided group program helping doulas build authentic websites that attract aligned clients and grow their birth worker practice. If you’re ready to book in a connection call to discuss whether it’s right for you please do, I would love to get to know you and your practice!