The Booked Doula Website Framework
My approach to doula websites so you can be Found, Trusted & Booked.
Discover the framework that guides my care as The Website Doula, and learn how to apply it to your own website! This is evidence-based website care, shaped by working with hundreds doulas & midwives like you.
Dear Doulas,
Figuring out how to build the best possible doula website is a lot, I know. I've been fine-tuning my design and strategy skills over the past 15+ years, and continually grow in expertise from industry experts on best practices in web design and strategy.
The Booked Doula Website Framework was created for you. It provides the foundation you need to identify gaps in your current website, and it informs everything I do as The Website Doula.
The elements needed for a successful doula website are different from those of a local plumber, cafe, or yoga studio. The very nature of birth and postpartum work is that your clients grow beyond your care, and you have to find new clients - over and over again.
I'm sharing the framework for you here so you can use it as a guide for your own website, and even do a full site review using my Website Audit workbook!
Sarah Juliusson
THE WEBSITE DOULA
The Booked Doula Website Framework
FIND
Can people find you? Google & AI have to understand where you are, what you do, and why you're an expert.
FEEL
How does your website make them feel? Do your design, website copy, and testimonials build trust?
FLOW
Is it easy for them to take the next step? Do your site menu, buttons and forms serve as an invitation or a barrier?
FUNCTION
Does your site run smoothly? Slow loading, poor mobile design & broken links lose trust with Google & families.
The experience of site visitors in each of these layers will determine if they take the next step towards hiring you - or not.
TRUTH: Your website is the key link between your birth or postpartum practice and all the lovely people out there who would love to work with you but just don’t know about you yet.
HARD TRUTH: If your website design, content, or functionality aren’t working for you, those lovely people either can’t find you, or won’t feel inspired to take the next step. Ouch, I know.
Want to apply the framework to your own website?
Excellent! Doing a detailed review of your site using the Booked Doula Website Framework will give you key insights into what your website needs. I hear from many doulas who have invested long hours into trying this - and that - trying to improve their site, only to feel unclear on what, if anything will help them reach more families.
The PDF workbook includes key checklist item for each section of your website audit, and AI prompts to help you get more detailed feedback.
Want an expert lens? Book my Overdue Website Package and I'll take care of the deep dive, with a detailed checklist of recommended updates for the 5-10 most important pages on your website!
LAYER 1: FIND
Can people find you?
Before anyone can fall in love with your website, they have to find it. There are key signals that tell Google (and now AI tools like ChatGPT) that your site exists, that it’s relevant, and that it should show up when families in your area go looking. Too often, doulas and midwives are missing these signals on their sites and even with years of experience, their sites aren't showing up the way they should. The Overdue Website Audit will provide key guidance for SEO & AI to establish your services, location, and your authority as a local expert.
SEO BASICS
Does your website have the core SEO settings it needs to have a good chance of showing up in search for local families?
Before anyone can fall in love with your website, they have to find it. These are the signals that tell Google (and now AI tools like Claude & ChatGPT) that you exist and should show up when local families go looking. You don't need to master SEO. But if the basics aren't in place, you're going to be pretty much invisible.
→ Read more: Doula Keywords & SEO: A simple guide to finding and using keywords on your birth or postpartum doula website
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Can Google, and site visitors, tell where you are based? What your service area is?
Most birth doula websites are oddly shy about this with broad statements like "I serve the greater [city] area" with no towns named, or even miss mentioning a location altogether! There are so many simple ways to weave in your location so that Google (and now AI tools like ChatGPT) know to show you to local families. Google Business Pages are also an important part of your location SEO, and have to be set up correctly to work for you.
→ Read more: How to rank for "near me" local keywords
SHOW GOOGLE YOU ARE AN EXPERT
You know you're an expert. Do Google & AI?
Did you know Google and AI show you more in search results if they can tell you are an expert? They look for proof, and there are lots of simple ways we can provide evidence of just how awesome you are, from your years of experience, to that podcast you were featured on 2 years ago. Many doula & midwife sites do a great job of listing everything their care includes, but miss showing Google how they are the local expert families are looking for.
→ Read more: How to show Google you are an expert doula
LAYER 2: FEEL
How does your website make families feel?
I want you to imagine the pregnant or postpartum family that just found your website. They are truly hoping you are the one that will be the perfect match for what they are seeking. Your website has to close the gap between “they look nice” and “I really want to hire this doula.”
I believe their user experience on your website should match their experience of your in-person care. The Overdue Website Audit identifies ways to use your design, testimonials, and copy to help families exhale with relief at having found you.
EMPATHY
Do site visitors feel themselves reflected in your site? Are they excited to meet you?
The most common missing piece on birth worker websites is connection. When a pregnant or new family is looking for a doula or midwife, they are likely feeling some degree of overwhelm. This is an important choice, and it's hard to know where to start and who to trust. They need to feel seen before they’re ready to hear about your services, as though you are already sitting down together with a mug of hot tea. We're looking for them to exhale with relief, confident that you might just be the one they've been hoping to find.
→ Read more: Warm, connected & cared for: Building relationships online
TESTIMONIALS
Your work is life-changing, but do your testimonials help tell your story?
Your clients love you. You have the glowing reviews to prove it. But when I look at doula & midwife websites, I often see 10 lovely but too-long testimonials on one page that nobody clicks on, and none anywhere else.
Testimonials are your strongest trust signal. But only when they're specific and in the right place. "She was amazing!" is sweet, but what we need is "She helped me feel calm and heard," so families can understand the power of your care.
→ Read more: How to Get Great Testimonials for Your Doula Website
DESIGN
When was the last time you looked at your website with fresh eyes? Does it feel fresh? Open? Modern? If you were to share the design with friends / beloved clients for HONEST feedback – what would they say?
Pay close attention to how your website makes you – and people you trust – FEEL. Remember site visitors form their first opinion of your website in a mere 3 seconds – and will leave if they don’t like what they see. Harsh, I know, but your design matters.
If the very first experience of a site makes a user feel overwhelmed, or it feels amateurish or unprofessional, they will leave. Elements such as poorly chosen stock photos, no white space, colors that don’t work together, or design elements that simply don’t work as a cohesive whole can quickly ruin a perfectly good website.
→ Read more: The importance of whitespace in your website.
Want to apply the framework to your own website?
Download my free PDF guide with checklists for each section of your website audit, and AI prompts to help you get more detailed feedback.
LAYER 3: FLOW
Is it easy for site visitors to take the next step?
You likely know your business so well that it’s easy to forget that site visitors are starting from zero and need you to guide them clearly as they get to know your business and services. The Overdue Website Audit reviews your site navigation, copy, buttons & forms to ensure your site provides a clear pathway to hiring you.
WEBSITE COPY
People don't read websites. They scan. Is your website easy to read?
You may be brilliant when talking 1:1 with a pregnant couple about what you offer, but when it comes to your website copy most doulas & midwifes feel stuck. Clients worry they are sharing too much, or too little, or that it will come across as too "salesy". Too often, we veer into writing our website copy like a highly informative generic brochure. It ends up being overwhelming, instead of informative.
Even if your website copy is wonderfully written, the way it is formatted may be causing people to click away instead of taking their time to learn more.
→ Read more: Are you stuck at 6cm? Why it’s so hard to write website copy for your doula website.
LAYER 4: FUNCTION
Is your website experience clunky or smooth?
When people land on your website, they are interested to learn more about you and your services. When they start bumping into broken links, clunky mobile design, and slow loading times, their frustration can outweigh their excitement. Simple updates to the mobile experience, image formatting, and backend maintenance support a positive user experience - so they are more likely to reach out and hire you!
THE PHONE TEST
If a potential client only saw your website on their phone, would they still call you?
Approximately 39% of Millennials (ages 28–43) rely entirely on their cellphones to access the internet. While most website platforms will convert your site to mobile, the way your site looks and functions on mobile isn't always as smooth as it needs to be. Any frustrations people may have with your site are amplified when trying to navigate it on a tiny screen.
→ Read more: 3 Quick Fixes to Improve the Mobile Design of your Doula Website
SITE SPEED
Have your website images been optimized for site speed & SEO?
Oversized images are one of the main causes of slow websites. A slow website will lose you potential clients, especially on phones. Each extra second of load time can cost you about 7% of your conversions. Simple changes to how you format and size the images can make a big difference, and using proper image names & alt tags provides a boost to your SEO and site accessibility.
→ Read more: Stock photos for Doulas: How to Choose & Format your Website Images
THE MESS
This is the techy part of your website audit, revealing hidden problems that shouldn't be ignored.
The site backend disaster that is behind the scenes on your website can quickly cause site visitors to lose trust. A site might look lovely on the surface, but hidden within are often broken links, missing settings, pages that no longer exist, pages that you built halfway and then abandoned but are still showing as live, or important service pages that were never indexed by Google, and out-of-date tools. Site maintenance isn't glamorous, but fixing these elements has a high impact on your site quality.
→ Read more: How to Audit Your Doula Website for Broken Links
Your website is the front door to your practice. Helping you see your website clearly is my job as a website strategist, and your Website Doula. Your work is too good to hide behind a website that doesn't reflect it.
Let me help the right families find you, understand you, and say "yes, her."
"Every time I looked at my website I felt overwhelmed. Sarah helped me get everything running smoothly again, and found problems I didn’t even know I had that were easy to fix."
- Catherine, POSTPARTUM DOULA