Dental websites
Dental website design for Southampton and UK practices, with the GDC rules built in
A dental practice website has to do what any good site does, and also show what the General Dental Council requires: every dentist's qualification, its country and their GDC number, the complaints route, a link to the GDC and the date the site was last updated. We build those requirements into the templates, so they are there on day one and stay correct when a dentist joins or leaves. Fixed prices from £599.
On every clinician profile
- Name and role together, so a courtesy ‘Dr’ is never mistaken for a medical doctor
- Professional qualification and the country it was gained in
- GDC registration number, linked to the online register
- ‘Specialist’ only where the dentist is on a GDC specialist list
- The treatments they provide, each linking to its page
The GDC list
What the GDC requires of a practice website, and where we put it
The left column is the GDC's own wording from its Guidance on Advertising. The right column is how our templates meet it, so nothing depends on someone remembering.
| The practice website must display | How the template handles it |
|---|---|
| The name and geographic address at which the dental service is provided | On every page, in the footer, matching the Google profile exactly. |
| Contact details of the dental service, including e-mail address and telephone number | In the footer and on the contact page, as tappable links. |
| The GDC's address and other contact details, or a link to the GDC website | A link in the footer of every page. |
| Details of the practice's complaints procedure and who patients may contact if not satisfied: the relevant NHS body for NHS treatment and the Dental Complaints Service for private treatment | A complaints page linked from the footer, naming both routes, so it is never missing when the policy changes. |
| The date the website was last updated | Generated from the site itself, so it changes whenever a page changes and can never go stale by accident. |
Elsewhere the same guidance says practice publicity must make clear whether the practice is NHS, mixed or wholly private, which our templates state in the header of the fees and new-patient pages. It also says the information must be updated regularly so that it accurately reflects the people at the practice and the services offered, and that the site must not compare one dental professional's skills or qualifications with another's. The full line-by-line version, with examples of what passes and what fails, is in our GDC website requirements checklist.
The rest of the site
Pages patients search for, and the booking path
Compliance gets a practice website to the starting line. What fills the diary is the same as any business: a page for each treatment people search for, a clear answer to whether you are taking new patients, prices, and booking that is one tap away.
Ranking those pages month by month is covered on SEO for clinics and dental practices.
- New patients
- A page that says plainly whether you are accepting NHS and private patients, what the first appointment costs and how to book. It is often the most searched page a practice has.
- Treatments
- A page per treatment: check-ups, hygiene, whitening, implants, aligners, emergency appointments. Each opens with what it is, who it suits, the price or range and the process.
- Prices
- A fee list with NHS bands and private prices, and what each price includes.
- Booking
- Your existing online booking link or widget on every treatment page and clinician profile, not only on the contact page.
Price and process
Fixed prices, built remotely
The same published prices as every build. Most practices choose the Business site.
Starter
£599
The smallest site we build: home, a page for every service, your work or your menu, who you are, and a form that reaches your phone. Not a one-page site
Business site
£1,200
The full site: fourteen to eighteen pages, every service, the areas from Ocean Village to Totton, the people, an enquiry path on every page, and more pages over time with the monthly work
Everything included is on the pricing page. The build is remote, from our studio in Wrexham: a call to agree the pages, a shared folder for clinician details and photographs, drafts in the browser, and a walkthrough before launch.
Questions practices ask about their website
What must a dental practice website show?
Under the GDC's Guidance on Advertising, a practice website must display the practice's name and address, its contact details including email and phone, the GDC's contact details or a link to the GDC website, the complaints procedure with who to contact if a patient is not satisfied (the NHS body for NHS treatment, the Dental Complaints Service for private treatment), and the date the site was last updated. Every dental professional named on the site needs their qualification, the country it was gained in, and their GDC number, and the practice's publicity must make clear whether it is NHS, mixed or wholly private.
Can a dentist be called a specialist on our website?
Only if they are on one of the GDC's specialist lists. A dentist who is not must not use a title that implies specialist status, such as Orthodontist, Periodontist or Endodontist. Nor may they say they are 'specialising in' a treatment. They can say they have a special interest in an area, are experienced in it, or that their practice is limited to it. In our templates 'specialist' is a field checked against the GDC register when the profile is set up, not free text, so the wording cannot drift.
Can our dentists use 'Dr'?
Dentists may use 'Dr' as a courtesy title, but the GDC says they must not imply they are medical doctors, and recommends making it clear, for example 'Dr A Smith, Dentist'. Every clinician profile on our sites shows the role next to the name for that reason.
Does a dental website need a CQC rating?
No. The CQC registers and inspects dental practices in England but does not give them ratings, so the rating-display rule that applies to rated clinics does not apply. A practice can still show that it is CQC registered, and we link to its CQC page if it wants to.
What about offers and social media?
The GDC says that if you promote treatment on marketing or social networking sites, you must make clear that it may not be appropriate for every patient and depends on a satisfactory assessment. If the practice also offers facial aesthetics, the ASA's rules on prescription-only medicines apply to that part of the site as well; our guide on Botox advertising covers them.
How much does a dental website cost?
Builds start at £599; most practices need the Business site at £1200, which covers a page per treatment, every clinician, the regulated details, booking, and hosting and care for the first year. The prices are published on the pricing page.
Is your current site GDC-compliant?
Send your practice website. You get a line-by-line check against the GDC's website requirements, the treatment searches you could be winning, and a fixed price to fix or rebuild.