How do patients choose a private practice online?
Most private patients arrive with a worry and a question. A cracked tooth, a knee that will not settle, a low mood that has dragged on for months. They type that question into Google or, more and more, into an AI assistant, and they shortlist whoever answers it clearly.
Ofcom reports that about 30% of UK searches now show an AI Overview, and 53% of adults say they see these summaries often (source). Those summaries draw on pages that explain a treatment, its likely cost and who delivers it. A practice site that only lists services in one line gives them nothing to quote.
Once a patient lands on your site, three things decide whether they book: a named clinician with a face and qualifications, a clear idea of price and process, and a simple way to ask a question without feeling exposed. Get those right before you spend anything on advertising.
What do regulators expect a health website to show?
The rules depend on your profession and your nation, so treat this as a checklist to confirm with your regulator and indemnity provider.
- CQC ratings in England. If your service is registered with the Care Quality Commission and has been rated, Regulation 20A requires your website to show the latest rating, the date it was given and where to read the report on CQC's site (source).
- Healthcare Inspectorate Wales. Private dental practices, independent clinics and independent hospitals in Wales may need to register with HIW before treating anyone (source).
- Health data. The ICO classes data concerning health as special category data, which needs extra care and an Article 9 condition for processing (source). That applies to whatever patients type into your contact form.
- Health claims. The ASA's advice is that claims to treat or cure a medical condition need solid evidence, and are unlikely to be acceptable unless the advertiser is suitably qualified (source).
We write every page with these rules open on the desk, and we flag anything that needs your clinical sign-off before it goes live.
What should a dental practice website include?
People searching for a dentist tend to type the treatment and the town: "Invisalign Bristol", "emergency dentist near me", "dental implants cost". Each treatment you want more of deserves its own page, covering who it suits, the steps, the timeline, finance options and a guide price where you are comfortable giving one.
The GDC's guidance on advertising sets the baseline. A practice website must show the practice name, address and contact details, a link to the GDC, your complaints procedure and the date the site was last updated. Every dental professional named on it needs their qualification, where it was gained and their GDC registration number. Only dentists on a GDC specialist list may call themselves specialists; others can say "special interest in" or "practice limited to" (source).
On CQC: a 2022 parliamentary answer confirmed that CQC did not then rate primary dental care (source), so check what your CQC page shows, and if there is no rating, link to your latest inspection report.
Practical tip: put the "last updated" date in the footer and change it whenever the team page changes.
What makes a physiotherapy website win bookings?
Physio patients usually search for the problem before the profession: "lower back pain physio", "ACL rehab", "sports massage near me". Pages built around conditions and injuries, each linking to the clinician who treats them, match how people actually look for help.
"Physiotherapist" and "physical therapist" are protected titles, and only people on the HCPC register may use them (source). Show each clinician's HCPC registration on their profile, and keep any sports therapists or massage therapists clearly labelled with their own qualifications so nobody is presented as something they are not.
Condition pages need care. Describe what an assessment involves and how treatment usually progresses, and avoid promising outcomes. The ASA rules on health claims apply to your own site as much as to an advert.
Practical tip: many physio enquiries come from people who are unsure whether they need a physio at all. A short page answering "Do I need a referral?" and "What happens at the first appointment?" removes two reasons to hesitate.
How should counsellors and therapists present themselves online?
Someone looking for a counsellor is often reading late at night, privately, and close to changing their mind. The site has to feel calm and human: your photo, how you work, what a first session is like, your fees and the practicalities of in-person or online sessions.
"Counsellor" is not a title protected by law (source), and UKCP notes that anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist (source). That makes registration your strongest trust signal. The BACP Register and the UKCP register are both accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and the public can search the BACP Register to check a therapist (source). BACP asks members to show their registration number on promotional material and to use its logo only as supplied (source).
Privacy matters more here than anywhere. Keep the contact form to a name, a way to reply and a preferred time, with a note that people do not need to explain why they are getting in touch.
Practical tip: write one page per issue you work with, such as anxiety, grief or relationships, in plain words.
What does a private clinic website need?
Private GP services, aesthetics clinics, physiotherapy and diagnostics centres and multidisciplinary clinics compete on reassurance and convenience. Patients compare who will treat them, how quickly they can be seen, what it costs and where the clinic is.
If you are registered with CQC and rated, your rating has to appear on the site with its date and a link to the report (source). In Wales, check whether your services need HIW registration and say so on the site once you have it.
Build one page per service and one per clinician, linked both ways, so a patient reading about a procedure can see exactly who performs it. Publish prices or starting prices where you can; people who have already chosen to pay privately want to know the figure before they call. Keep treatment claims factual and within the ASA's rules, especially for aesthetic procedures.
Practical tip: if you run more than one site, give each location its own page with opening hours, parking and the clinicians who work there, matched to its Google Business Profile.
What would Roddy Digital build for a practice like mine?
Usually four pieces of work, in this order.
- The website. A website design project covering treatment or condition pages, clinician profiles, fees, the regulatory details above and a private enquiry form. Your booking system stays the same: the site links to it or embeds it.
- Search and AI search. Local SEO, Google Business Profile set-up and the structure that helps assistants cite you, through our AI search work.
- Online marketing. Where a treatment has good margins and steady demand, Google Ads aimed at that treatment's searches, within your profession's advertising rules.
- AI automation. AI automation for routine admin such as logging new enquiries, sending a reply with next steps and reminding staff to follow up. Clinical records stay out of any automation unless it is designed for health data from the start.
Start with the website. The other three work far better once the pages patients land on are right.
How much does a website for a practice or clinic cost?
Our website packages are fixed price, + VAT, on a 12-month term, and every one goes live in 30 days.
| Package | Pages | Per month | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kickstart | Up to 10 | £350 | A single therapist or counsellor |
| Accelerate | Up to 25 | £650 | A dental practice or physio clinic with a page per treatment |
| Launch Pad | Up to 50 | £1,000 | Multi-clinician or multi-location clinics |
Each includes design and build, copywriting, on-page SEO foundations, GA4 and Search Console, Google Business Profile set-up, hosting, SSL, security and backups. Google Business Profile management is £95 a month if you want us to keep it current, and a blog of 2 articles a month is £220. Larger projects are priced at £95 an hour or scoped as a twelve-month Growth Partnership.
Who will I deal with, and how do meetings work?
Me. I run every engagement myself, from the first conversation through launch and the months after it. My background is fifteen years in websites and digital marketing. I began in sales, and in earlier roles I worked on brands such as Vodafone, Sainsbury's, Airbus and LVMH.
We work with practices across the UK. Meetings run on Zoom and are recorded, which suits clinicians whose diaries change at short notice: anyone who misses a call can watch it later. If you are near Cardiff, you are welcome at our Pontcanna office by arrangement.
You agree the scope and launch date before we start, and you sign off every page that mentions treatment, outcomes or registration.
How should a practice choose a web designer?
- Ask how they handle your regulator's rules. If GDC, CQC, HCPC or BACP draws a blank, keep looking.
- Ask where enquiry data goes. Health details sent through a form are special category data, so you should know where they are stored and who can read them.
- Ask for honest proof. Sector experience matters, and so does being straight about what they have and have not done.
- Check you will own the content. Ask what happens to the domain, the words and the photos if you leave.
- Test your AI visibility first. Run our free Cited AI visibility check on your current site and ask each provider what they would change.