Hey there! Are you curious about Whitney Bateson’s program to create a fabulous, custom new website? I’m here to share my experiences with the program so that you can make a more informed decision. Let me help you decide if this might be the right program for you.

Overall? I loved it. 

As a registered dietitian and nutrition copywriter, I know how important having a “good” website is. I had a great experience with Whitney and her team upgrading my DIY Squarespace site to a fresh new site on WordPress. 

In this post, I’ll share my review of the Dietitian Website System (DWS), what it was like going through the program, and my experiences as a student and beyond. 

FYI, I have affiliate links in this blog post; that means I receive a commission at no cost to you – thanks for the support!

I’ll start with my website’s origin story on Squarespace. If you are not into that (no hurt feelings) jump ahead to the next section introducing The Dietitian Website System. 

Let’s dive in!

I started on Squarespace

I made my first website on Squarespace. When I was launching my copywriting business a few years ago, Squarespace felt doable and accessible with my then-limited knowledge of websites, SEO, and all the things. Squarespace was not very expensive and I was able to make and refine my website without too much trouble (or too many tears). 

But, there are limits to this kind of website. 

I now know that websites on Squarespace don’t perform as well in terms of SEO nor do they have the same functionality. I’m hosting a virtual conference this summer, so my Squarespace site wasn’t up to the task of hosting this massive project.

Even worse: the display of my blogs wasn’t all that great…and my business is in blogging, so that didn’t feel so hot.

I know that I’ll be doing this writing business for the long haul, so it was time to invest in a more robust website.

Enter: The Dietitian Website System.  

What is the Dietitian Website System?

The Dietitian Website System (DWS) is a program to provide you with structure and clear guidance on the creation of a brand-new website on WordPress, with minimal tears and frustrations. It’s made by an RD – the fabulous Whitney Bateson – for RDs.

For me, it was exactly what I was looking for. 

To make a new website, there are two main options:

1. DIY
2. Hire someone

I am a new mom and an entrepreneur working on several projects. My time is a lot more limited than it used to be. I didn’t feel like I had the time (or the frustration tolerance) to figure out a whole new website while scouring YouTube for relevant tutorials. 

But I also didn’t want to just hire someone to make my website for me…not only is that pretty darn expensive, but I also didn’t want to have a website that I had no clue how to operate. 

I have heard from more than one entrepreneur about how challenging they felt it was to make changes and updates to their website because they didn’t know how and it was expensive to hire their web developer to do each little change. 

The DWS was the perfect “just right” option – there was a ton of guidance and hand-holding with the really techy stuff –  but I also learned how to do a lot of it myself. 

Program Overview

The DWS is a six-week program that conquers a lot of content in a short period of time. 

Previous cohorts were actually only four weeks long, so I am glad that we got six weeks to work on our sites together. And while I wish I had had more time to really deep dive into each little thing, that isn’t the current season of my life. 

Before the program begins, you’ll either be sharing the details of your current site, or getting ready to launch a brand new site; this program works for people with and without a website. 

Once the course begins, you’ll be working through clear lessons so that you end up with a website that is a lead-generating machine. 

The modules cover a LOT, including:

• Thinking through your site layout
• Branding, color theory, and making a logo
• Creating an opt-in 
• Having a good user experience
• SEO and lead generation

Each week you’ll have the option to make progress on your website before it gets published. You’ll have a clear checklist of tasks to work on and get through.

Then, there are six live “general” office hours each week. You’ll chat through your own questions and get unstuck and also learn a lot from other dietitians’ questions. During these office hours, you’re working through things like site layout, branding, copy, and more. 

Halfway through the course, there are also tech office hours. As you really get into things with customizing your site, you’ll keep making progress because you won’t be lingering in feelings of being stuck and overwhelmed.

I don’t think that I’m very advanced with all of this techy stuff. I felt like Whitney and her team were incredibly patient and kind as they answered allllllll of our questions. We had a lot.

All of the office hours are recorded, so if the timing doesn’t match your schedule, you can submit questions in advance and listen to the recording later. 

In addition to the office hours, there is a community group where we can ask Whitney and her team, as well as our fellow students for questions and feedback on anything, 24/7. This support group was available while the program was live and in progress and ended with the completion of the program. 

Moving forward, I’ll always have access to all of the many course tutorials. This means that as I continue to modify and grow my website, I’ll have accurate, easy-to-understand tutorials on every step. No more surfing YouTube and hoping for the best. 

A good website is more than just pretty

I love how my new website looks and feels. 

A good website is more than just how it looks, it matters how it works to grow your business, 24/7. 

The DWS walks you through the steps to having a website that really pulls its weight to attract your dream clients right to your (virtual) door. 

This included:

• Creating a lead magnet
• Connecting your email service providers and scheduling tools
• Cohesive branding 
• Effective copy
• SEO strategy and blogging

How much time did this take?

I track all of my time working on my business, including client work and projects for my own business. While working on the DWS, I tracked my hours each week and the amount varied, both on how much time I had available to work on it as well as what we were working on. 

For example, I already had a lead magnet, so I didn’t need to spend time making that while a lot of folks were starting from scratch. And, I was already familiar with SEO and writing blogs, so that content wasn’t new to me. 

But making a cohesive brand color palette, a new logo, and learning how to navigate WordPress? Whew – that took some time. 

I spent anywhere from 2 to 10 hours per week working on this. 

I would have spent more time if I’d had it, but no one has endless time in the day. Published is better than working on a “perfect” draft any day of the week. 

That’s a wrap: Thumbs up for The Dietitian Website System

TLDR: I’d wholeheartedly recommend The Dietitian Website System. 

It is a robust, easy-to-understand program that guides you through the creation of a website that is clear and concise and works hard to grow your business. 

It is both an investment of time and money; make sure you have several hours each week to dedicate to the project if you decide to enroll in the program.

You’ll have plenty of support with the technical aspects of making a website and feel confident with how to keep making changes and adding new content moving forward. 

And in a short period of time, you’ll be excited to see the launch of your sparkling brand-new website!