How much should a dentist or doctor website cost in Canada?

If you have asked a few web designers what a website costs, you have probably heard $0, $9,000, and a vague "it depends." Here is the honest version for a Canadian dental or medical practice, without the sales spin.

The four pricing models you will run into

Almost every quote falls into one of these buckets, and each one hides its real cost somewhere different.

• DIY builders like Wix or Squarespace run about $20 to $50 per month, but you design, write, and maintain everything yourself. The time you spend is the real price.
• Freelancers typically charge $800 to $4,000 for a one-time build. Quality and reliability swing hard, and support after launch is often an afterthought.
• Agencies usually start at $5,000 to $15,000 up front, often with a monthly retainer on top. That fits a large custom project, but it is heavy for a single-location practice.
• Flat-fee specialists charge one fixed build price plus an optional care plan. You trade some bespoke flexibility for speed, predictability, and no surprise invoices.

What actually drives the price

Two quotes can differ by thousands of dollars for reasons that have nothing to do with quality. The honest drivers are these:

• How many pages and services you need built out.
• Custom design versus a lightly skinned template.
• Whether copywriting is included or you are expected to write it.
• On-page SEO setup: titles, schema, sitemap, and analytics.
• Integrations like online booking, forms, and click-to-call.
• How edits are handled after launch, which is where many quotes quietly get expensive.

What you should get for the money

Whatever you pay, a practice website should arrive with the fundamentals. If any of these are missing, the price is not actually low, it is incomplete.

• A mobile-first design that loads in under two seconds.
• On-page SEO so you are eligible to rank from day one.
• A clear path to book or call on every page.
• Ownership of your domain and your site.
• Real support from a human when something needs to change.

Red flags that cost you later

• Per-edit billing, where changing a phone number costs you a fee.
• A locked platform you cannot leave without rebuilding from scratch.
• No mobile testing, no analytics, and no SEO setup.
• A quote with no clear answer about who owns the finished site.

Where Zory lands

Zory is the flat-fee model on purpose: a one-time $499 build delivered in five business days, then an optional care plan from $49 per month for hosting, edits, and support. One price, no surprise invoices, and the site is yours to keep.