Fewer pages, better ones
A dental practice website does not need forty pages. It needs nine kinds of page, done properly, several of which are a template repeated for each treatment or clinician. Here is the list, what each page must contain, and the order to build them if you are launching in stages.
1. Home
The page that decides whether a visitor stays. Above the fold on a phone: who you are, where, and a Book button. Then: the treatments you most want patients for (linking to their pages), the team (faces, linking to profiles), why patients choose you (three specifics, not adjectives), reviews with reserved space, opening hours and location, and a second Book button. One hero image of your real practice, sized and prioritised for speed. No slider, no video background.
2. Treatments (one page each)
The search and conversion engine. A page per treatment you want patients for: what it is, who it is for, what happens, who does it here, what it costs, FAQs, Book. Ten to twenty pages, built from a template on structured content so the practice can add and edit them. Covered in detail in the treatment pages article.
3. Fees
A table generated from the price fields on each treatment: standard items with exact prices, variable treatments with "from" prices and what affects them, membership plan pricing, finance options, effective date. In the main menu. No PDF.
4. Our team (with a profile per clinician)
The team page lists everyone with a photo, name, role and one line. Each clinician has a profile: photo, registration number with regulator link, qualifications, what they do and who they are good with, a short personal bio, languages, and a Book-with button. Support staff have simpler entries. Consistent photography.
5. New patients
The page for someone who has never visited. What the first appointment involves and how long it takes, what to bring, whether you are accepting new patients, how registration works, the new-patient exam fee, membership plan options, parking and access, and a Book button pre-selecting the new-patient exam. This page answers the questions reception hears most from first-time callers.
6. Emergency
Can I be seen today, how to book it now (deep-linked to the emergency appointment type), what counts as an emergency and what to do meanwhile, the fee, and out-of-hours instructions. Linked from the header on every page. The fastest page on the site.
7. About the practice
The story and the proof. When and why the practice was founded, the philosophy in plain words, the building and facilities with real photos, accreditations and the practice's regulator registration and inspection result, community involvement if any, and awards if genuine. Where a visitor goes to decide you are real; keep it factual and visual.
8. Contact and find us
Address with a map link, tappable phone with hours beside it, email, opening hours including any late or Saturday sessions, parking and public transport, step-free access and other accessibility information, a minimal contact form (name, contact, message) delivering to a monitored inbox, and a Book button for those who came here to book. Structured data for the practice lives here and on the home page.
9. Patient information
The practical and legal collection: privacy notice, complaints procedure, cancellation and missed appointment policy, payment and finance terms, plan terms, accessibility statement, and any regulator-required notices. Linked from the footer. Each item a plain page, not a PDF, so it can be updated and found.
Optional, when justified
- Blog or advice, if someone will write it: patient questions answered at length rank well and feed the treatment pages.
- Smile gallery, with consent and without implying typical results.
- Careers, when hiring.
- Referrals, for practices accepting referrals from other dentists.
- Location pages, only for genuinely multi-site practices; one page per real location.
What to leave off
Separate pages for "mission", "values", "technology" and "testimonials" that nobody visits. A news section that stopped in 2022. Anything the regulator would question. PDFs that will go stale.
Building in stages
If content or budget arrives over time:
Stage 1, launch: Home, Contact, Emergency, New patients, Fees, Team (even with brief profiles), and the six most valuable treatment pages. This is a complete, bookable site.
Stage 2, first quarter: the remaining treatment pages, full clinician profiles, About.
Stage 3, ongoing: patient information filled out, blog if wanted, gallery with consent.
The Book button, the speed, the tracking and the structured data are in from stage 1; they are not content, they are the site working.
The structure underneath
Treatments, clinicians and prices as records with fields, rendered by templates, so page nine looks like page one, the fees page is always right, and the practice manager can add a treatment without calling anyone. That structure is what makes nine pages enough and what makes the twentieth treatment page take twenty minutes.
Where this sits
These nine are the page list for every dental practice site we build, at a fixed price that includes the structured content model, the booking integration and the speed and tracking work. Practices arrive expecting to need more pages and leave with fewer, each doing a job.