What a new patient checks on your website before they call

Most new patients decide whether to call before anyone at your practice hears from them. They decide on your website, usually on a phone, often in the evening.

What patients look for on a practice website comes down to a short list of practical questions. If the site answers them quickly, they book. If it doesn't, they go back to the search results and try the next practice.

Here are those questions, in the order patients tend to ask them.

1. Do you offer what I need?

A patient arrives with one thing in mind: an implant consultation, a skin check, clear aligners. They want to see that treatment named, in the words they searched for.

• Give each main treatment its own page, or at least its own heading.
• Use the patient's words first: "replacing a missing tooth" next to "dental implants", "straightening teeth" next to "orthodontics".
• Say who the treatment is for and what the first appointment is for.

A single services page with a long list makes the patient do the work. Many won't.

2. Who will I see?

Patients choose a person as much as a practice. They want a name, a face and a reason to trust that person.

• Show each doctor by name, with a real photo.
• List training and credentials as the practice states them: board certification, residency, memberships.
• Say which doctor sees which treatment, so a patient can ask for them when they book.

"Our experienced team" tells a patient nothing. "Dr. Lee, a board-certified dermatologist, sees every new skin-check patient" tells them who to expect.

3. What will it cost, and how do I pay?

For a cash-pay practice, this question comes early. Patients aren't always looking for a full price list. They want to know whether they can afford to find out.

• Say whether the first consultation is free, or what it costs.
• Give a starting price or a typical range, where the practice is comfortable doing so.
• Name the ways to pay: card, financing, payment plans.
• If you don't take insurance, say so plainly. Patients would rather know before they call.

If payment is only explained on the phone, the front desk answers the same question all day.

4. Where are you, and when are you open?

This part is easy to get right, and easy to let go out of date.

• The full address of every office, with a map link that opens on a phone.
• Opening hours, including any evenings or weekends, kept current.
• Parking, the entrance, and the floor or suite.
• A phone number that dials when tapped.

If you have several offices, list every one in the same place. An office missing from the list reads as an office that has closed.

5. How do I book, right now?

By this point the patient has mostly decided. The next step has to be obvious, and it has to work at 9 pm.

• One clear booking button, in the same place on every page.
• If booking is online, it should end with a confirmed time, not a promise of a call back.
• If you use a request form, say when the front desk will reply. "We reply by 10 am on weekdays" beats "as soon as possible".
• Keep the phone number next to the button, for patients who prefer to call.

The difference matters more than it looks. We cover it in online booking vs. appointment request forms.

6. What happens at the first visit?

A first visit is a small unknown, and unknowns delay bookings. Patients want to picture it before they commit.

• What happens, step by step, and roughly how long it takes.
• What to bring, and which forms to fill in before arriving.
• What comes after: a treatment plan, a quote, a second appointment.

This deserves a page of its own. Here is what to put on a new-patient page.

7. Can I trust you?

Patients check reviews, but they also judge the site itself. An old design, broken links or stock photos make them wonder what else is out of date.

• Show real reviews from real patients, and link to where they were left.
• Use real photos of the practice and the team.
• Keep every page current: prices, hours, and team members who have moved on.

Never write or buy reviews. The FTC's rule on fake reviews lets it seek civil penalties against knowing violators.

8. Does it work on my phone?

Many patients ask every one of these questions on a phone. Check each answer above on a phone, not just on a desktop screen.

• Text is readable without zooming.
• Buttons are big enough to tap, and the phone number dials.
• Pages load quickly on mobile data.
• Booking works from start to finish on a small screen.

A 10-minute check you can run today

Open your website on your phone. Pretend you're a new patient who found you at 9 pm. Try to answer each question in under a minute.

1. Find the treatment you're best known for. Is it named in plain words?
2. Find who would see you for it. Is there a name and a photo?
3. Find what the first visit costs and how you can pay.
4. Find the address, hours and parking for your nearest office.
5. Book an appointment. Did it end with a time, or with a wait?
6. Find what happens at the first visit and what to bring.

Any question you couldn't answer quickly is one a new patient couldn't answer either. Those are the pages to fix first.

Want a second pair of eyes? Our free Patient Experience Audit follows a new patient from the search result to your booking page and shows where they give up.