I’m pivoting my agency to a "Website as a Service" for Therapists. Am I solving the right problem?

Hey everyone,

I’m a web developer with a background in building custom solutions, but I’ve recently decided to "niche down" completely. I’m shifting my entire focus to building websites specifically for therapists and private practices.

The Hypothesis: I’ve noticed a pattern: Most therapists seem stuck between two bad options. They either struggle with DIY builders like Wix/Squarespace (which are easy to start but often have poor SEO/performance) or they get quoted $5k+ by agencies, which is a huge barrier for a private practice.

My new model (CaringSites) is a "Website as a Service" (WaaS). Instead of a huge upfront fee, I provide a fully managed, hand-coded site for a monthly subscription.

Crucially, I’m trying to solve the non-tech headaches too:

Performance: Since these sites are hand-coded (no bulky page builders), they achieve near-perfect Google speed scores out of the box, which is a massive factor in getting better SEO rankings than competitors using Wix.
Copywriting: I realized most therapists hate writing "marketing fluff," so I include professional authentic client centric copywriting.
Compliance: I handle the HIPAA-compliant forms so they don't have to worry about patient data security.
Hands-off: It’s fully managed. They never have to touch a plugin or update a server.

Where I need help (The Challenge): I’m confident the product is better than a DIY Wix site, but I’m struggling to find the best way to reach this audience without being spammy. Cold emailing feels intrusive, and I know therapists value trust above everything else.

My questions for you:

For those who have serviced this niche: Is the "monthly subscription" model actually attractive to private practices, or do they prefer owning the asset upfront?
Is "writing the content" actually a major pain point, or am I overestimating that value?
Aside from generic directories, are there communities where practice owners actually hang out to discuss business operations?

The "Beta" Test: I don’t want to scale this until I know I’ve nailed the offer. I’m looking to build the first 3-5 sites at a steep discount (basically cost) to gather feedback and get some initial testimonials. I’d rather build for free and learn than build for money and miss the mark.

Any advice on validating this niche would be massive!

P.S. If you happen to be a therapist currently stressing over your website (or lack thereof), feel free to DM me. I’d love to ask you a few questions about your pain points, and I’d be happy to help you out in return.