The verdict in three sentences
An Edinburgh dental practice should plan a website redesign when its site can no longer show current fees, clinician registration details and a clear booking route on a phone. Typical Edinburgh agency quotes for a practice redesign sit around £6,000 to £18,000 in 2026 (ballpark), while Kolonell works on a fixed grid of £2,300 (Starter), £3,900 (Growth) and £6,900 (Premium), delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. The real danger is losing the treatment pages that already bring in patients, so the redirect map and the compliance review of your marketing wording matter more than the new look.
Which signals say your practice website is due for a redesign?
Most practices in New Town, Morningside or Leith do not redesign because the site looks old. They redesign because something stops working. Watch for these signals:
- the fee guide is a scanned PDF, or prices online no longer match what reception quotes;
- dentist and hygienist pages lack GDC registration numbers, or list people who have left;
- the "Book now" button opens a phone number on desktop, or an online booking tool that looks bolted on;
- the mobile layout breaks on treatment pages, where most new patients land from a search;
- analytics or advertising tags fire before the visitor accepts cookies, which is a PECR problem;
- treatment pages written years ago use wording you would not sign off today against GDC guidance on advertising;
- nobody in the practice can edit a page without calling the original developer.
If three or more apply, a redesign usually costs less than another year of patching.
How much does a dental practice website redesign cost in Edinburgh in 2026?
The figures below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages, not a survey. Ranges vary with the number of treatment pages and how much copy the provider writes.
| Option | Typical 2026 range | What is usually included | Usual delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh full-service agency | £8,000 to £18,000 | discovery workshops, bespoke design, CMS; copywriting often extra | 8 to 14 weeks |
| UK dental marketing specialist | £5,000 to £12,000, often plus a monthly retainer | sector template, booking embed, ad management sold separately | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Edinburgh freelancer | £2,000 to £6,000 | design and build; copy and SEO migration rarely included | 4 to 12 weeks |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | compact site for a single-surgery practice, native English copy | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | full treatment and fee pages, clinician profiles, redirect map | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | richer design, multilingual tier (languages set in the quote), deeper content migration | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Local photographer (third-party cost) | £500 to £1,200 per half day or day | team portraits and surgery photos, paid directly to the photographer | 1 shoot |
Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in UK hours, native English copywriting and 3 months of support. Maintenance and hosting after those 3 months are on quote. You can compare the tiers on the international websites page.
What does a realistic redesign timeline look like?
The build is rarely the bottleneck. Fee tables, clinician bios and a clinician's sign-off on treatment wording usually are.
| Phase | Kolonell | Typical Edinburgh agency | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and URL inventory | days 1 to 3 | 1 to 3 weeks | provider, with Search Console access from the practice |
| Content gathering (fees, treatments, bios) | before kickoff | 2 to 6 weeks | practice manager and principal dentist |
| Design and build | weeks 1 to 3 | 4 to 8 weeks | provider |
| Compliance review of marketing content | week 3 | week 6 to 10 | practice, with its own adviser if needed |
| Redirects, Search Console, go-live | week 4 | week 8 to 14 | provider |
| Post-launch monitoring | 3 months included | varies by contract | provider |
What are the main risks, and how do you contain them?
| Risk | What goes wrong | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Lost search rankings | old treatment URLs return 404, enquiries drop for weeks | full URL inventory, one-to-one 301 redirect map, new sitemap submitted in Search Console, 404 report checked weekly for a month |
| Fee page errors | prices copied wrongly, patients quoted the wrong figure | principal dentist signs off every fee line before go-live |
| Booking breaks | the online booking tool stops working after the switch | keep your current booking vendor, embed or link it; deeper integration on quote |
| Downtime and email | DNS change cuts the site or the practice mailbox | switch in a quiet window, lower DNS TTL 48 hours before, leave mail records untouched |
| Marketing claims | wording implies guaranteed results or uses before/after images without care | review against GDC guidance and the ASA's CAP Code, no promise of outcomes |
| Forms and cookies | contact form collects medical history, tags fire without consent | minimum fields (name, contact, preferred slot), consent banner compliant with PECR, UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 checked with your adviser |
| Accessibility | older patients struggle with small text and low contrast | WCAG 2.2 AA target, in line with the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments |
If your practice provides private services that fall under Healthcare Improvement Scotland registration, check with them which details must appear on public pages. This is not legal advice.
What stays on quote, and what should you ask any provider?
On quote at Kolonell, as at most agencies: a patient portal, integration with practice management software beyond a simple embed, payment plan calculators, and search work beyond the migration itself. Before signing with anyone, ask:
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- Who builds the redirect map, and will I see it before launch?
- Which existing URLs rank today, and how will you protect them?
- What happens to the booking tool on switch day?
- Who writes the treatment copy, and who signs it off clinically?
- What does maintenance cost after the included period?
When is an Edinburgh agency the better choice?
Be honest about your needs. A local agency is often better if you want in-person workshops at the practice, a multi-site group brand programme with signage and print, monthly local ad management with someone you can meet, or coordinated video shoots across several surgeries. If your scope is a sharper site with correct fees, profiles and booking, a fixed grid usually does the job faster.
Mini case study
Illustrative example, fictional practice: Dr Fiona Kerr runs "Thistlequay Dental" (a fictional name), a two-surgery private practice in Leith with 14 treatment pages. Her Edinburgh agency quote is £11,500. With Kolonell Growth at £3,900, plus a half-day shoot by a local photographer at about £700 (third-party cost), her known upfront spend is £4,600. That leaves £6,900 of the original budget, which she keeps aside for the booking integration (on quote) and ongoing maintenance, also on quote. The redirect map covers all 14 treatment URLs, and the practice manager blocks two weeks before kickoff to finalise fees and bios.
FAQ
How long does a dental website redesign take in Edinburgh?
With Kolonell, 3 to 4 weeks once fees, bios and treatment copy are ready. Local agencies typically quote 8 to 14 weeks, mostly because content and approval rounds take longer.
Will we lose our Google rankings after the redesign?
Not if every old URL gets a 301 redirect to its closest new page. A practice with 15 to 30 treatment pages needs a one-to-one map and a month of weekly 404 checks in Search Console.
Can our online booking tool stay the same?
Yes, and that is usually the safest route. Kolonell embeds or links your existing vendor within the £2,300 to £6,900 grid; deeper integration with practice software is on quote.
Can we show before and after photos?
That depends on how they are presented and on current GDC guidance and CAP Code rules, so review each case with your adviser. Never pair images with promises of results; at least one clinician should approve each treatment page.
What does Premium add for an Edinburgh practice?
At £6,900, Premium is the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote, plus a richer design and deeper content migration. It suits practices serving international students or staff in more than one language.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your page count, booking setup and target launch date, and we will map the redirect plan and a fixed price from £2,300. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
