Website requirements checklist for a dental practice in New York before asking for quotes (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A New York dental practice that sends agencies a one-line request ("we need a new website") usually receives quotes from $6,000 to $45,000 that describe different projects. A two-page requirements checklist covering pages, integrations, accessibility, form data, ownership and SEO migration narrows that spread and shows what each provider really includes. Write it before the first call, score every answer on the same grid, and keep booking, financing and the patient portal as separate quote lines so nobody hides them in a lump sum.

What should a dental practice put in its requirements checklist?

Ten lines are enough. Each one should fit on a few bullet points and be answered by the owner dentist or the office manager, not by the agency.

• Goals and audiences. New patients in Midtown, the Upper East Side or Brooklyn, insured and private-pay patients, emergency visits, families. Pick one primary action per page (call, request an appointment, read insurance information).
• Page list and templates. Home, practice story, one profile per dentist and hygienist team, one page per service (general, cosmetic, implants, orthodontics, emergency), insurance and payment, new patients, contact, one location page per office, blog. Count the pages and the templates.
• Content ownership. Who writes, who approves clinical statements, who gives the final compliance sign-off. Dentists are licensed by the New York State Education Department, and specialist titles appear only where the dentist is entitled to use them.
• Languages. English, plus Spanish, Chinese or Russian if your patients need them. State whether translation is professional or done by your team.
• Integrations, one per line. Online booking, patient financing, patient portal link, practice management software, review widget, email newsletter (CAN-SPAM rules apply to marketing email). Complex ones are quoted separately by everyone.
• Accessibility target. WCAG 2.2 AA, checked at acceptance. ADA Title III website suits are frequent in New York, so ask how the agency tests.
• Data protection for forms. Minimum fields only (name, contact, preferred time, reason in a short list). No medical history in an open contact form. If the practice is a HIPAA covered entity, ask how tracking tags behave on appointment and service pages. The NY SHIELD Act sets data security duties for private information of New York residents.
• Hosting and domain. Domain, hosting, analytics and Search Console in the practice's name, with admin access handed over.
• SEO migration (if a site exists). URL inventory, 301 redirect map, Google Business Profile consistency, Search Console verification before launch.
• Acceptance criteria, timeline and budget range. Name what "done" means: pages live, forms tested, redirects checked, accessibility report delivered.

This is not legal advice: your HIPAA and privacy questions belong with your compliance adviser.

How does a vague brief change New York quotes?

Agencies price risk. When a line is vague, one agency assumes the minimum and another assumes the maximum. The ranges below are 2026 ballpark figures drawn from typical New York agency quotes, not a survey.

A precise brief does not make the project cheap. It makes the three quotes describe the same project, which is what you need to choose.

How do you score three quotes fairly?

Use weights that reflect risk for a dental practice: losing search traffic or failing an accessibility check costs more than a slightly slower timeline. Score each line from 1 to 5, multiply by the weight, add, and divide by 100.

Quote A: 120 + 60 + 45 + 75 + 40 + 30 = 370, so 3.70. Quote B: 90 + 100 + 60 + 60 + 30 + 40 = 380, so 3.80. Quote C: 150 + 40 + 30 + 45 + 50 + 50 = 365, so 3.65. Quote C covers the most scope but has the weakest migration plan, which is the line most likely to cost the practice new-patient calls after launch.

How does the Kolonell fixed grid map to the checklist?

Kolonell publishes three fixed prices for international clients: Starter $2,900, Growth $4,900 and Premium $8,900. Every tier includes a project manager reachable in New York business hours, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready and 3 months of support. Details are on the international offer page.

Booking, financing, the patient portal link and practice software integration are always separate lines on quote: Kolonell embeds or links your existing tools rather than rebuilding them. A local Manhattan agency remains the better choice if you want in-person workshops at the office or an on-site photo shoot coordinated by the same team.

Mini case study

Illustrative example. Dr. Nadia Ferris (fictional) runs Harbor Row Dental, a fictional two-dentist practice in Brooklyn with many Spanish-speaking patients. Her first round of requests, sent with a one-line brief, returned $7,500, $19,000 and $38,000. She then wrote the ten-line checklist in about 5 hours: 22 pages, English and Spanish, existing booking tool embedded, 12 ranking URLs to redirect.

• Kolonell Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote): $8,900
• Independent Spanish reviewer, a third-party cost: about $600
• Hosting at $40 per month for 33 months after the included support: $1,320 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote)
• Booking embed: on quote

Three-year total excluding on-quote lines: 8,900 + 600 + 1,320 = $10,820. The point is not the lowest number: the checklist let her compare that figure with local quotes that now covered the same 22 pages.

FAQ

How long does it take to write a dental website checklist?

Most practices need 4 to 6 hours spread over a week. The office manager drafts the page list and integrations, and the owner dentist approves clinical wording and compliance lines.

Should online booking be part of the base price?

No. Ask for booking, financing and patient portal integration as separate lines, because embed costs run from about $500 to $2,500 while custom builds exceed $8,000.

Which accessibility standard should we ask for?

Ask for WCAG 2.2 AA with a test report at acceptance. An audit by a specialist typically costs $1,500 to $5,000 in New York if the agency does not include it.

What if our current site already ranks well?

List every URL that receives traffic and require a 301 redirect map before launch. A practice with 30 URLs usually needs a map for 10 to 15 of them, checked in Search Console in the first 30 days.

Can a fixed-price site cover a bilingual practice?

Yes, through Premium at $8,900, the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote. Professional translation or native review by a third party remains a separate cost.

Let's scope your project. Send us your ten-line checklist and we will map it to Starter, Growth or Premium with every integration line priced separately. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.