Choose a template if it can handle your dental office's pages and booking, a platform if you want its bundled services, or a custom build if you need a site planned around your care and locations. Test that choice against real tasks. Can a patient find insurance details, complete new patient forms and reach the right office? This guide compares the work each route needs, the questions to ask and the terms to read before you pay.
Start with the visit you need to book
Pick the option that can show your care clearly and send each request to the right place. A page about routine care may need a different next step from a specialty consultation. List those steps before reviewing designs.
Keep insurance, self-pay, intake and location details on that list. Ask each provider to demonstrate them using your practice information. A custom label alone does not settle ownership, and a large content library does not tell you which pages your patients need. Put those decisions in the scope.
Compare the same dental tasks
Use this table as a demo checklist. Each column lists what to check, rather than promises about every provider in that category.
| Practice need | Template or site builder | All-in-one vendor platform | Custom build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance and self-pay | Try your actual text in the layout. | Ask which supplied pages you can change. | Specify separate pages where needed. |
| New patient forms | Identify who sets up intake. | Trace where submitted data goes. | Include the intake route in the scope. |
| Dental booking | Test the booking tool you plan to use. | Request a demo with your office system. | Agree the connection and testing work. |
| Specialties and offices | Try adding an office with different services. | Check available page types and limits. | Plan pages around each office and specialty. |
| Leaving later | Read export and account terms. | Check what ends with the subscription. | Require a written ownership and handoff agreement. |
| Total cost | Include setup help and staff time. | Request all fees and cancellation costs. | Separate build costs from ongoing work. |
A template needs your practice details
Consider a template when the available layout fits your page list and someone can take responsibility for keeping it current. Before choosing it, build a sample insurance page and a self-pay page. Check that both lead to a useful next step.
Write down what your front desk actually tells callers. Include only the insurance arrangements and payment options your practice has approved. Make room for patients who have no dental coverage without assuming they want financing.
Then try the new patient path on a phone. Open the forms, return to the office page and start a booking. Assign someone to check this path after changes. If the setup needs outside help, include that work in your comparison instead of treating the template price as the whole budget.
A platform needs a content and exit review
For an all-in-one proposal, mark which bundled services you will use and ask for their scope. When pre-written dental content is included, review the proposed pages with your clinical team. Keep the treatments you provide and replace general office details with your own. Ask who makes those changes and what they cost.
ProSites' End User License Agreement says the customer's website "is the property of ProSites and the Customer has no rights to the website beyond the terms of its subscription." Its pricing page says every plan includes 150+ pages of dental content. Sources checked October 20, 2026: ProSites terms of use. Ask your own counsel to review how the agreement applies to your purchase.
Request a written list of what you can retain on departure, including your own text, photos and domain. For a focused comparison, read ProSites versus a custom dental website. Use the dental website company comparison to review more vendors.
A custom build needs a specific brief
Consider custom work when your page plan needs more than the layouts you have tested. That might mean separate specialty pages, different booking routes by office, or insurance details that vary by location. Ask the proposal to describe those needs individually.
Name Dentrix, Open Dental or Eaglesoft if that is the system your staff uses. Have the builder explain the proposed connection. Ask to see what the patient receives and what appears for the front desk. Agree whether the action is an appointment request or a confirmed booking.
Put editing in the brief too. Ask for a demonstration of changing an insurance entry, moving a provider between offices and updating an intake link. Read our dental booking guide when preparing the booking part of the scope.
Choose with your front desk and care team
Review the options together using the pages you actually intend to publish. Include the person who answers insurance questions and the person who receives appointment requests.
- Insurance and self-pay: Can patients find the relevant information without reading a treatment library?
- Intake: Which fields will new patient forms collect? Where will submissions be stored, who can open them, and what happens to that data if you leave?
- Financing: If your practice offers Cherry, where should that option appear? Keep its placement separate from the decision to offer financing.
- Locations: Can a patient identify the office that provides the requested care and contact that office directly?
Ask the proposed form provider about a business associate agreement, or BAA. Have your own counsel review your intake setup and which agreements you need. Our dental website HIPAA guide can help you prepare questions.
Choose after the demo resolves these points. Record any missing work in the quote so you can compare the same finished scope.
Ask for written answers before you sign
- Which pages will be delivered, and who approves the dental content?
- Who updates insurance, self-pay and financing details after launch?
- What booking connection is included, and who checks requests reach the correct office?
- Who handles form data, access and any needed BAA?
- Which accessibility standard will the builder commit to in writing?
- What belongs to the practice, and what can another provider take over?
- What are the build, hosting, support and optional service charges?
- Who handles the domain, DNS and email when we switch?
Keep the answers with the quote. For recurring proposals, use the dental website monthly fee guide to review the scope. For an existing site, work through the dental website switching guide before scheduling the move.
How WTM handles a dental build
WTM starts with a free homepage concept and agrees one flat quote in writing. As of October 2026, websites cost $6,000 to $30,000 as a one-time project. Only projects needing a custom CMS approach the upper end. For enterprise sites serving brands with hundreds of locations and page counts in the thousands, request a separate quote: contact WTM.
Copy is included. Payment is 50% to start and 50% at launch. You own the site, code, content and domain. Hosting is free for life, support lasts one year after launch, and no retainer is required. You can edit the site or ask WTM for edits. See pricing.
WTM connects booking to Dentrix, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, Calendly or its own booking system. WTM has connected Cherry on client websites; the clinic decides whether to offer it. WTM signs BAAs when needed and commits to WCAG 2.2 AA in writing. Switching help covers the domain, DNS and email move. Work can begin while your old vendor contract is still active.
The written 180-day guarantee covers websites and SEO. A website gets a full refund if it brings no new patients or leads within 180 days of launch. A lead means a website contact form, phone call or booking. It does not promise rankings or recommendations from AI tools. Read the guarantee and terms. Ongoing SEO is quoted separately and is not automatically part of a build.
Dental clients include Pearl Dental Care, Northside Dental and an unnamed group with nine locations. Northside Dental reported 57 new patients in month one versus a prior average of 47. Those are the practice's counts, not a controlled test or proof that the website caused the increase.
Questions about choosing a dental site
Should I rule out a template for a dental practice?
No. Try your insurance, self-pay and intake pages in it, then test booking with your front desk. Choose it if the result meets your needs and the terms are acceptable.
How should we review pre-written treatment pages?
Have your clinical team check the proposed text against the care you provide. Agree who will revise office details and remove pages that do not belong on your site.
What should we ask about new patient forms?
Ask where each submission goes, who can access it and what happens to stored data when you change providers. Discuss the setup and any needed BAA with your own counsel.
How can we check booking before choosing a builder?
Request a demonstration using the office system named in your proposal. Follow the patient steps and have staff check what arrives, including the chosen location and visit type.
Do specialty services need separate pages?
Consider separate pages when patients need different care details or a different booking step. Ask your team which services need that explanation before approving the page list.
What should a group check for each office?
Check the providers, care offered, insurance details and contact route for that office. Test that its booking button sends patients to the intended location.
Do I own a custom dental website from WTM?
Yes. You own the site, code, content and domain, and hosting stays free for life.
How much does a custom dental website cost with WTM?
$6,000 to $30,000 as a one-time project, as of October 2026, paid 50% to start and 50% at launch. See pricing.