What to put on a dietitian website: a simple checklist

What should go on a dietitian website? Enough to answer four questions within seconds: who you help, what you specialize in, where you see clients, and how to book. Below is the 10-point checklist with what to write and where, a site map for a solo practice, the mobile, accessibility and privacy basics, and a list to copy. The example lines are for a fictional practice, [Your Name], RDN, an IBS dietitian in Austin.

The 10-point checklist: what to write, and where

1. A first screen that says who you help

At the top of your home page, before anyone scrolls, name your credential, who you help, where you see them, and add a booking button. Use the words clients use. Google's SEO Starter Guide notes that people search differently depending on how much they know, and suggests writing with your readers in mind.

• Example headline: Registered dietitian in Austin helping adults with IBS and ongoing gut symptoms. In person and by telehealth across Texas.

2. One page for each specialty

Give each main specialty its own page, linked from a "Who I help" section on your home page and from your menu. People search for one problem at a time, such as "PCOS dietitian", and a dedicated page gives that search a clear place to land. Google's starter guide says a good title is unique, clear, concise and accurate, and can include your business name and location.

• Example page title: IBS Dietitian in Austin, TX | [Your Name], RDN

Our guide on how to write a dietitian specialty page has the full template.

3. Credentials, spelled out once

Write your credential in words once on your home page and in full on your about page, then use the letters. The Commission on Dietetic Registration's credential placement guidelines say written text should use "registered dietitian" or "registered dietitian nutritionist". After your name, CDR's order is graduate degree, RD or RDN, CDR specialty certifications, licensure letters, then other certifications such as CDCES. Repeat the string in your footer.

• Example line: [Your Name], MS, RDN, [license letters if your state uses them], is a registered dietitian nutritionist licensed in Texas.

For more wording, see how to explain your credentials on your website.

4. Location, telehealth states and service area

Name your city in the first screen, your office address on the contact page, and every state you see telehealth clients in, but only states where you're allowed to practice. If you see clients in person, use the exact name and address from your Google Business Profile.

• Example line: Office in East Austin. Telehealth for clients located in Texas.

5. How payment works

On a services and fees page, say whether you're cash-pay, in network, or both, and name the plans. Say whether you provide superbills, the itemized receipt clients submit for out-of-network reimbursement. Add a one-line version to each specialty page.

• Example line: Private pay, with superbills available. In network with [plans you accept].

6. An answer-first FAQ

Collect the questions clients ask on discovery calls. Answer each in its first sentence, in about 40 to 60 words. Short, direct answers are easy to read on a phone and easy for search tools to quote, which is part of how dietitians get found by AI assistants. That improves your odds but can't guarantee a mention.

• Example answer: "Do you take insurance? Yes, I'm in network with [plans]. If your plan isn't listed, I can give you a superbill for out-of-network reimbursement."

7. An about page in your own voice

Share your training, your approach and why you do this work, in plain first-person language, with a real photo. Include the full credentials paragraph and your licensed states. Describe how you work, never an outcome.

• Example opening: I'm [Your Name], a registered dietitian who works with people who are tired of cutting out foods and still not knowing what sets off their symptoms.

8. Your booking link, not a new system

Link every booking button to the scheduler or practice-management tool you already use, such as Practice Better, Healthie, Acuity or Calendly. Put one near the top and one at the bottom of each page, with the same label. That keeps appointments, payments and intake in the tool, not on your website.

• Example button: Book a 15-minute discovery call

9. Honest reviews only

Show only real testimonials you have permission to use, exactly as written, without health details. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews and testimonials, and courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations. No testimonials at all is fine.

• Example caption: Shared with permission. First name only.

10. Real text that reads well on a phone

Keep your words as real text, not only inside images or designed graphics, so search engines and AI assistants can read them. Give each photo alt text, a short description the starter guide says helps search engines understand the image.

• Example alt text: [Your Name], registered dietitian, at the Austin office

A page-by-page site map for a solo practice

A solo practice usually needs six to ten pages.

Put your name, credential, licensed states and a privacy link in the footer. A blog is optional. Add one only if you'll keep it up.

Mobile and speed basics

Check the phone version first. Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking, which it calls mobile-first indexing. Show the same content and headings on mobile as on desktop, and don't make main content load only after a tap or swipe, because Google says it won't load it.

Google's page experience guide says there's no single page experience signal, and relevant content can still rank when page experience is weak. Its self-check is still worth passing: HTTPS, a site that displays well on phones, and no intrusive pop-ups.

For speed, Google's Core Web Vitals set three targets:

• Loading (LCP): main content appears within 2.5 seconds.
• Responsiveness (INP): under 200 milliseconds.
• Visual stability (CLS): a score under 0.1, so buttons don't jump as the page loads.

Check them in Search Console's Core Web Vitals report or Google's free PageSpeed Insights. On a small site, the usual fixes are resizing photos before upload, skipping autoplay video and removing unused widgets.

Accessibility basics

Run the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Easy Checks on your home page and one specialty page. The ones that matter most:

• Page titles: each page has its own title in the browser tab.
• Alt text and headings: photos are described, and headlines are real headings, in order.
• Contrast: normal text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. Pale text on pastel often fails.
• Zoom: at 200%, nothing overlaps or disappears.
• Keyboard: pressing Tab reaches every link and the booking button, visibly.
• Forms and video: fields have labels, and videos have captions.

W3C says a page "could seem to pass these checks, yet still have significant accessibility barriers." Treat them as a floor.

Privacy basics: keep client health information off your website

Your website is for marketing. Health information belongs in a tool built to handle it. This is general information, not legal advice.

HIPAA. HHS says HIPAA applies to covered entities and business associates. A provider is covered only if it transmits information electronically in a transaction HHS has set a standard for, which for most RDs means billing insurance. A covered practice needs a written business associate contract with vendors that handle protected health information, so confirm your booking tool will sign one.

Cash-pay practices. The FTC's health information guidance says the FTC Act applies even without HIPAA. It counts browsing data as possible health information, says sharing it for advertising without affirmative express consent may be unfair, and warns against false "HIPAA Compliant" claims.

Tracking. HHS's tracking bulletin says tracking tools on login pages, such as client portals, generally have access to protected health information. A court vacated part of it in June 2024, the part about some public pages that don't need a login. Either way, keep ad pixels and session recording off booking, intake and portal pages.

On the site itself, that means no client names, photos, stories or food logs, no intake forms, a note on your contact form and a plain privacy page.

• Example contact form note: Please don't include health details here. We'll ask about that securely after you book.
• Example privacy line: This website doesn't collect health information. Booking and intake happen in [your booking tool].

Common mistakes

• A slogan-only first screen, such as "Nourish your body", with no credential, city or booking button.
• One "Services" page listing ten specialties.
• "Telehealth available" with no states.
• Key words inside images that search tools can't read.
• Keyword stuffing. Google's starter guide says it's tiring for readers and against its spam policies.
• A "HIPAA compliant" badge on a site that doesn't handle client information.
• A broken booking link. Click yours once a month.

Your copy-paste website checklist

• First screen names my credential, who I help, where, and has a booking button
• Each main specialty has its own page, linked from home and the menu
• "Registered dietitian nutritionist" is spelled out once
• Credentials follow CDR's order and match my other profiles
• My city and every telehealth state are listed
• Name and address match my Google Business Profile
• Payment is clear: cash-pay or in network, plans named, superbills mentioned
• FAQ answers lead with the answer, in about 40 to 60 words
• About page is in my voice, with a real photo and no outcome promises
• Booking buttons sit near the top and bottom of every page
• Testimonials, if any, are real, permitted and unedited
• Important words are real text, not images
• Every photo has alt text
• The site uses HTTPS and reads well on my phone
• No pop-up covers the page on arrival
• PageSpeed Insights shows no major problems
• Easy Checks pass: titles, headings, contrast, zoom, keyboard
• No intake forms, client details or ad pixels on booking pages
• A privacy page says what the site collects and where booking happens

How to check your own site

Open your site on your phone: within five seconds, can a stranger tell who you help, where you work, and how to book? Ask a friend to book a test appointment without help, and watch where they get stuck. Then check whether AI assistants mention your practice, remembering that answers vary from run to run. If you'd rather start from a complete draft, you can draft a free preview of your site from five short answers.