The short answer
A practice website needs the pages patients would otherwise call to ask about. That means services, providers, insurance and payment, hours and location, and new-patient details and forms. It also needs a clear way to call or book. Each page should answer its question in plain words, on a phone. Then patients can find answers before they call.
Key takeaways
- Give each page one job. It answers one question a patient would otherwise call the front desk to ask.
- In my experience, hours, holiday closures and the insurance list are the pages that go out of date. Give them to the office manager.
- Make your website and your Google Business Profile say the same thing about your hours and address. Your Google Business Profile is how your practice shows up on Google Search and Maps.
- Each page must work on a phone and load fast. It must also work for people who use screen readers and other assistive tools.
- The contact form should never ask for health details.
What pages does a practice website need?
A practice website needs one page for each question patients call about. What do you treat? Who will they see? Do you take their plan? When and where are you open? What should new patients bring? How do they book? Test each page this way: can a patient on a phone find the answer without calling?
From my years on the billing and scheduling side, some calls come to mind first. They were calls that missing website details caused. Patients called about the hours and where the clinic was. They asked which services the clinic offered and what a visit would cost. They called to book a visit and to make a payment. A page can answer each of those questions.
| Page | The patient asks | The front-desk call it saves | Who keeps it up to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Do they treat my problem? How do I reach them? | Calls asking if the practice treats a problem at all | Practice owner |
| Services | Do they offer the service I need? | Calls asking if a treatment or test is done in the office | Practice owner, with the clinicians |
| Providers and about | Who will I see? What are they like? | Calls asking which provider to book with | Practice owner |
| Insurance and payment | Do they take my plan? How do I pay? | Calls about plans, cost estimates and paying a bill | Office manager |
| Hours and location | When are they open? How do I get there? | Calls asking if the office is open today, and where it is | Office manager |
| New patients | What do I bring? What happens first? | Calls asking what to bring and which forms to fill in | Office manager |
| Contact and booking | How do I book? | Calls made just to book a routine visit | Office manager |
If I had to pick five things to get right first, I would start with these. Clear details on all the things the practice treats. The working hours. Where the clinic is. An online payment portal. Details about the doctors. A payment portal is a place where patients pay their bill online. That is my starting point, not a rule. Your own front desk knows which calls come in most. Let those calls set the order.
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What should the home page show first?
The top of the home page should answer four things. What does the practice treat? Where is it? How do patients call or book? Does it take the patient’s plan? A patient may land there from a search. They may still be deciding whether to call at all.
Put the phone number and the booking link where a thumb can reach them without scrolling. Name the specialty in plain words, not a slogan. If the practice works with most plans in its specialty, say so near the top. Then link to the full insurance page.
How much detail belongs on the services pages?
Each service needs enough detail for a patient to know two things. Is it offered here? What does a visit involve? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has marketing advice for pediatric practices. In it, the AAP advises sharing health information on the topics that matter most to a practice’s patients. A services page is the natural home for this.
Here is a useful pattern for each service. Say what it is. Say what happens, step by step. Say why it matters, what to do at home, and when to call. Tamber Lake Family Dentistry (Concept site — fictional practice) uses this pattern on two pages. They are its checkups page and its children’s dentistry page. Each other service gets a one-line summary.
Let the clinician approve the medical wording. The website’s job is to say what the practice offers and what a visit looks like. Diagnosis belongs in the exam room.
Why do the provider and about pages matter to a new patient?
A new patient is choosing a person, not just a practice. So the provider pages should say who each clinician is, what they focus on and how they work. The AAP advises sharing the practice’s history, its mission and vision, and facts about the providers.
Doctor details were also on my own short list above. Give each clinician a short bio, with their credentials written out. It answers the “Which doctor should I see?” call. Look at Tamber Lake Family Dentistry (Concept site — fictional practice). Each dentist’s bio says how she works. One says she focuses on patients who feel nervous about the dentist.
What should the insurance and payment page say?
The insurance and payment page should cover three things. List the plans the practice accepts. Say what patients can expect to pay at the visit. Say how they can pay. The AAP advises listing the plans the practice takes, what copays to expect, and the ways patients can pay. For a step-by-step guide, see how to write your practice’s insurance page.
Cost estimates and payments were both on my list of calls that missing details caused. Add a plain line on how estimates work. If the practice has an online payment portal, link to it. Together, these can answer both questions before the phone rings.
The insurance list is also one of the pages I have seen go out of date. Put a date on it. Give it to the office manager to keep current. Some specialties need more than a list. The dental practice website page covers patients without insurance. It shows how a dental office can explain its in-house membership for them. An in-house membership is a plan the practice runs itself.
How do you keep hours, holiday hours and the address right everywhere?
Put one person in charge of hours, closures and the address. Have them update the website and the Google Business Profile at the same time. Patients may check either one. The two should never disagree.
The AAP advises listing regular and holiday office hours, the address, and phone and fax numbers. It also advises a link for directions, where you can. In a Google Business Profile, you can set special hours for holidays. Google suggests you confirm your hours for official holidays. Google also says to make the profile as complete as you can, with business hours and special hours.
I have seen these pages go out of date: the insurance list, clinic-closed notices, holiday hours and regular working hours. I think the office manager should keep them current. They are the one running the clinic. They are also the one who has these details.
What belongs on the new-patient page?
The new-patient page should cover the forms, what to bring and what the first visit looks like. The AAP suggests tabs for patients, such as registration forms and a “welcome to the practice” packet for new patients.
When new patients arrive unprepared, I would add one reminder to the page: bring your insurance card. It takes just one line.
Tamber Lake Family Dentistry (Concept site — fictional practice) splits its new-patient page into three parts: before, during and after. Before the visit, the page says: “Bring your insurance card, a photo ID and a list of medications.” The “during” part describes the exam. The “after” part promises a written plan, with costs explained before any treatment is booked.
Keep the forms themselves in the practice’s own secure system for patient forms. The website should link to them, not collect them.
Should the site offer online booking, a phone call, or both?
Offer both where you can. Put a click-to-call number on each page. If the practice has online booking, link to it too. Booking by phone was on my list of calls. A phone number also helps patients who would rather talk to someone.
If the practice has no online booking, the phone number does the whole job. Make it large and repeat it on each page. If it does have online booking, the booking link should open the scheduling tool itself. It should not open a page that explains how to book.
How does the page set change by specialty?
The core pages stay the same in each specialty. What changes is the extra pages and sections. The table below covers the twelve portfolio specialties. For each one, it shows what its two concept sites give their own page or section. These are design choices for fictional practices, not a rule. Check them against the questions your own patients ask.
| Specialty | Extra pages or sections on its two concept sites | Concept site — fictional practice |
|---|---|---|
| Podiatry | Diabetic foot care, custom orthotics, running and sports injuries, children’s feet | Marlow Springs Foot & Ankle; Wrenstep Podiatry |
| Chiropractic | Pregnancy back care, posture and desk setup, sports and active recovery | Palmetto Reach Chiropractic; Vantora Chiropractic |
| Physical Therapy | Joint replacement rehab, balance and fall prevention, work injuries, return-to-sport testing, virtual check-ins | Bellmere Physical Therapy; Kinetic Loop PT |
| Dental | Urgent visits, children’s dentistry, clear aligners, an in-house membership for patients without insurance | Tamber Lake Family Dentistry; Brightfold Dental |
| Optometry | Contact lens fittings, children’s vision and myopia management, urgent eye care, an eyewear shop | Sable Cove Eye Care; Farrowby Optometry |
| Dermatology | Skin checks and mole mapping, acne, eczema, virtual follow-ups | Kestrel Bay Dermatology; Skinward Dermatology |
| Family Medicine | Same-day sick visits, virtual visits, children’s checkups and vaccines, care for older adults | Marlow Springs Family Medicine; Kindlepath Primary Care |
| Pediatrics | Newborn care, vaccines, sick visits, school and sports forms, teen visits | Orlanby Pediatrics; Merrowdale Pediatrics |
| Counseling | Online sessions, couples counseling, sessions in Spanish, a crisis notice beside the contact options | Palmetto Reach Counseling Center; Anselby Counseling |
| Audiology | Hearing tests, hearing aid checks and repairs, remote adjustments, tinnitus support, hearing protection | Sable Cove Hearing Center; Hushwell Audiology |
| Orthopedics | Services organized by body area, fracture care, concussion checks, sports physicals | Tamber Lake Orthopedics & Sports Medicine; Talvera Orthopedics |
| Pain Management | Image-guided injections, movement and rehab, pain self-management | Kestrel Bay Pain & Spine; Easeline Pain Clinic |
Some specialties also have a page of their own. The counseling practice website page covers the fit call, fees, the Good Faith Estimate notice and the crisis notice. A fit call is a short first call to see if the counselor is a good match. A Good Faith Estimate is an estimate of expected charges. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says providers usually must give one to people who aren’t using health insurance to pay. That applies when the person asks for one, or books care at least 3 business days ahead. The dental page covers insurance, membership plans and emergencies.
What must every page do?
Each page must work on a phone. It must load fast. It must also work for people who use assistive technology, such as screen readers. A screen reader reads the page out loud.
Google says its core ranking systems look to reward content with a good page experience. But Google also says relevance comes first. Page experience means how easy a page is to use. Relevance means how well it answers the search. So speed helps good answers. It does not replace them.
Accessibility means people with disabilities can use your site. One standard to check against is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.1. WCAG is a set of advice for making web content easier for people with disabilities to use. It has three levels: A (lowest), AA and AAA (highest).
Some practices also have a legal deadline. It comes from the Section 504 rule in the Code of Federal Regulations. Section 504 is a federal law against disability discrimination. The rule covers those who receive financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). They must make their web content and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA. HHS extended the compliance dates in a rule published on May 11, 2026. Those with 15 or more employees now have until May 11, 2027. Those with fewer than 15 have until May 10, 2028. Ask your own adviser whether the rule covers your practice. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should the site never ask for?
The website’s contact form should never ask for health details. It needs a name, a way to call back and a short message. Add a line asking patients to keep anything about their health for the call.
Palmetto Reach Counseling Center (Concept site — fictional practice) keeps the form even shorter. Its consultation form asks for only three things. They are a first name, a phone number or email address, and a choice of in-person or online sessions. It also asks people not to share personal or health details in the form. Intake should happen later, in the practice’s own secure system. Intake is the full set of questions a new patient answers.
A copyable checklist for your own site
Copy this list. Open your site on a phone and go through it page by page. The name in parentheses is who keeps that item up to date.
Next step
Want a second pair of eyes on this list? Get a free, no-obligation review of your practice’s current online presence, page by page.