Launching the new website

The new website is up now at www.emdrsolutions.com. The old one was out of date and I didn't have the expertise to modify it so I paid a site-building company to help me. Here are the questions we tried to answer. Click on the colored links to see the pages.

1. Who is it for? I wanted to be easy to find and easy to contact on line by any potential client, consultee or trainee, old school friend, conference planner or people interested in my books. 
2. What's it for? The above and providing information to people before they talk to me or who might want to link to other information sources. I want people to find out who I am, what I do, that I have this blog, and something about the books. I wanted them to have an easy way to sign up for my infrequent newsletter.  
3. What's it do? The above and save time. New clients can read the Client Information sheet online before their first session. Consultees can find out how my groups and individual consultations work and how much they cost. I plan to spend much less time on the phone and on email when I can refer people to these pages. 
4. How does it work? I have a small home page that has links to everything I do. The main links show at the top of every page so it's easy to navigate. Most links go to pages on the website. Some go to other sites. I'm on the EMDR-Humanitarian Assistance Program board and I link to them. There is a whole page of links to trauma websites and organizational sites. There are links on the book page for people to buy the books.

Why go through all this? The entire culture is moving to the web. If you want to be found, you'll move there too. Many people don't use phone books anymore, they type names and hit "search". People who teach, or work with other professionals, or who offer services like psychotherapy need to get their faces into the marketplace. Authors who have web pages support their books by creating easy online access to them.

My father was a business owner, selling industrial supplies. He sold everything from nuts and bolts to forklifts. From the ages of 8 to 16, I pasted hand-typed mailing labels and stamps on his catalogs to let other businesses know what he was selling. I'm doing something similar. By having a website, I'm letting people know that I'm here, what I'm selling, and how to get in touch. If you want to promote your practice, you may want to do the same.

My website was built by CHS Internet Development. I paid them $2000, met once in person, provided all the content, and had many phone calls, discussion, and some conflict. It is possible to do a simple website by yourself. Mine is a hybrid, developed by CHS, but I can modify it myself, as my professional life changes.