The verdict in three sentences
For a multi-chair dental group in Bellevue, the choice between a local agency and a remote studio turns less on price than on three topics: coordinating several locations, multilingual pages and compliance with Washington's My Health My Data Act. An Eastside agency is still preferable if your team changes often, you shoot a lot of video or you want a marketing partner in the office every month. If you need a solid, fast site organized by treatment and by location, a fixed-price remote studio does the job for up to 3 times less over three years.
How do you score the two options objectively?
Bellevue is full of tech employees, usually covered by employer PPO plans, used to booking online at 10 p.m. and impatient with slow sites. Many patients speak Mandarin, Korean, Hindi, Russian or Vietnamese. A group with two or three offices (downtown Bellevue, Factoria and Issaquah, for example) needs a page per location, dentist profiles and booking connected to the practice management software.
Here is a 5-point scoring grid weighted for a dental group. Adjust the weights to your situation.
| Criterion | Weight | Eastside local agency | Remote studio | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone overlap (Pacific Time) | 15% | 5 | 3 | Check for at least 3 hours of daily overlap |
| Meetings and workshops with partners | 10% | 5 | 3 | Video calls are enough for most approvals |
| Multilingual pages reviewed by native speakers | 15% | 2 | 4 | Rarely included by local agencies |
| Booking and practice software integration | 20% | 4 | 4 | Depends on the tool, not the address |
| 3-year price | 20% | 2 | 5 | See next table |
| Ownership of domain, code, content | 10% | 3 | 4 | Set it in the contract in both cases |
| On-site photo and video | 10% | 5 | 2 | Studio side needs a local photographer |
| Weighted score | 100% | 3.6 | 3.8 | Small gap: your priorities decide |
The gap is narrow, and that is the main takeaway: if video and physical presence account for more than 25% of your priorities, the local agency comes out ahead.
What budget should you plan over three years?
These are 2026 ballpark figures seen in typical agency quotes and public rate pages around Seattle and the Eastside, for a 25 to 40 page group site.
| Item (3 years) | Eastside local agency | National dental subscription agency | Local freelancer | Kolonell Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build | $18,000 to $40,000 | $0 to $5,000 setup fee | $6,000 to $12,000 | $8,900 fixed price |
| Maintenance and hosting | $7,200 to $18,000 | $14,400 to $43,200 | $2,700 to $7,200 | $3,600 to $7,200 depending on provider |
| Photo and video (2 offices) | Often included | Sometimes optional | $1,500 to $3,000 | $2,000 to $3,500 (local photographer) |
| Reviewed translations | $1,500 to $4,000 | Rarely offered | Rarely offered | On quote depending on languages |
| Indicative total | $26,700 to $62,000 | $14,400 to $48,200 | $10,200 to $22,200 | $14,500 to $19,600 excluding translations |
Our international grid: Starter $2,900, Growth $4,900, Premium $8,900, with a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. For a multi-location group, Premium is the right fit. Custom applications and SEO: on quote. Details on the international website offer.
When should you choose the Eastside agency?
An agency in Bellevue, Kirkland or Redmond is the right call if you:
- hire often and want team portraits and videos refreshed every quarter;
- run local campaigns (corporate health fairs, employer partnerships) that need someone on the ground;
- want one partner for the site, advertising and social media, with a monthly budget of $2,000 or more.
A remote studio is enough if your needs are stable: treatment pages (implants, Invisalign, emergencies, whitening), location pages with hours and maps, dentist profiles, a secure new patient form, accepted insurance plans and online booking.
The local frame to require from any provider
- My Health My Data Act (Washington): this law governs "consumer health data" collected outside the scope of HIPAA. An advertising pixel on a booking page can raise questions. Ask your counsel whether your site is in scope.
- HIPAA: patient forms through a tool that signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
- Advertising: the state's Dental Quality Assurance Commission and the ADA Code of Ethics govern specialty claims and promises of results. Before and after photos require written consent and must show real cases.
- Accessibility: aim for WCAG 2.1 AA, ideally 2.2 AA, with a published accessibility statement.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
This is not legal advice.
Five questions to ask both candidates
- How do you handle a multi-location site (pages, Google profiles, hours)?
- What integration do you plan with our software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental, Curve)?
- Who translates and reviews the Mandarin or Korean pages?
- Which trackers do you install, and on which pages?
- Who owns the domain, hosting and files when the contract ends?
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Dr. Daniel Cho runs a 9-chair group across two offices, in Bellevue and Issaquah. An Eastside agency quotes $28,000 for the build plus $400 per month: 28,000 + (400 × 36) = $42,400 over three years. The remote studio option: Premium at $8,900, two days with a local photographer at $1,500 each, a native review of Mandarin and Korean pages at $1,200 and a $150 monthly maintenance plan, so 8,900 + 3,000 + 1,200 + (150 × 36) = $18,500. Savings: $23,900, roughly 60 new patients if acquisition costs $400 per patient.
FAQ
Can a remote studio handle a 3-office group?
Yes, if the architecture includes one page per location and booking that routes to the right office. Expect 25 to 40 pages for a group of that size.
Is the time zone a real problem?
On Pacific Time, overlap with a distant studio can shrink to 2 or 3 hours a day. Require a project manager available during your office hours at least 2 days a week.
How many languages should we offer?
Start with 1 or 2 languages besides English, those spoken by at least 10% of your patients. A translated home page and first visit page are enough at the start.
Should we publish treatment prices?
It is not required, but a range for 3 to 5 common treatments cuts down on qualification calls. List the PPO plans you accept clearly.
How soon can the site go live?
A fixed-price studio delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. Local agencies usually quote 10 to 16 weeks for a multi-location site.
Let's scope your project. A 25 to 40 page multi-location, multilingual dental group site can be scoped in one call, from $8,900, with delivery in 3 to 4 weeks. 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.