Studies / Hamilton · Dentists
How Hamilton dentists' websites perform on a phone
We opened 24 independent Hamilton dental clinic homepages on a phone. Only 2 of 24 let patients book a real appointment time online.
Main findings
- 01
Only 2 of 24 let a patient pick a real appointment time online.
- 02
7 of 24 had no usable call button on the first screen.
- 03
13 of 24 don't show or link their Google reviews.
- 04
4 of 24 hide the address or the hours.
- 05
7 of 24 homepages are heavier than 3 MB on a phone.
How we did it
24businesses checked
Independent dental clinics across the City of Hamilton, Ontario. We found them through web search and public directories. When we opened the sites on a phone, we recorded what a patient sees on the homepage before scrolling: call links, booking buttons and where they led, reviews, address and hours, and total page weight. We don't name any clinic.
What we checked
- Is there a tap-to-call phone link, and can you actually tap it?
- Is there a booking button, and where does it lead?
- Does the page show or link to Google reviews?
- Are the street address and opening hours on the page?
- How heavy is the homepage to download on a phone?
Data collected October 23, 2026. Study by AstraCoreTech. When we opened the sites on a phone, we recorded the first screen. Every number comes from the raw results. 24 clinics is a small sample of independent clinics only. It is not a census of every Hamilton dental office. It is a one-day snapshot of homepages. Sites change, and we did not score other pages. Load times from our test server varied between runs, so we report page weight instead of speed. We left out two more clinics: one site would not load over HTTPS, and another's listed web address now shows an unrelated business. This says nothing about the quality of care at any clinic.
The findings
Booking a real appointment time
Only 2 of 24 let a patient pick a real appointment time online. Of the 18 that had a booking button on the first screen, 16 led to a request form, a contact page or a list of phone numbers, and then the office gets back to you.
| What we found | Clinics |
|---|---|
| Let a patient pick a real appointment time online | 2 of 24 |
| Had a booking button on the first screen | 18 |
| Button led to a form, a contact page or a list of phone numbers | 16 |
Call button on the first screen
7 of 24 had no usable call button on the first screen. Six showed no tap-to-call link before scrolling. On the seventh, a pop-up covered it on load. One site had no tap-to-call link anywhere on its homepage.
| What we found | Clinics |
|---|---|
| No usable call button on the first screen | 7 of 24 |
| No tap-to-call link before scrolling | 6 |
| Pop-up covered the call button on load | 1 |
| No tap-to-call link anywhere on the homepage | 1 |
Google reviews
13 of 24 don't show or link their Google reviews. They had nothing, or testimonials with no source. One site says "highly reviewed" near the top and shows no reviews anywhere on the page.
| What we found | Clinics |
|---|---|
| Don't show or link Google reviews | 13 of 24 |
| Says highly reviewed and shows no reviews on the page | 1 |
Address and hours
4 of 24 hide the address or the hours. Two had no street address in the visible page text, and three had no opening hours. On two sites, this information existed only in code meant for search engines, which patients never see.
| What we found | Clinics |
|---|---|
| Hide the address or the hours | 4 of 24 |
| No street address in the visible page text | 2 |
| No opening hours | 3 |
| Address or hours only in code patients never see | 2 |
Homepage weight on a phone
7 of 24 homepages are heavier than 3 MB on a phone. The median was 1.88 MB. The heaviest was 44 MB, and 38 MB of that was a single drone video of the building.
| What we found | Result |
|---|---|
| Heavier than 3 MB on a phone | 7 of 24 |
| Median homepage weight | 1.88 MB |
| Heaviest homepage | 44 MB |
| Single drone video on the heaviest page | 38 MB |
What is already in place
All 24 load over HTTPS with a valid certificate. 22 of 24 put "Hamilton" in the page title, and 22 of 24 have a meta description.
| What we found | Clinics |
|---|---|
| Load over HTTPS with a valid certificate | All 24 |
| Hamilton in the page title | 22 of 24 |
| Have a meta description | 22 of 24 |
What owners can do about it
- 1
Tap-to-call in the header
These fixes apply to almost any local business site, not just dental clinics. Put your phone number in the header as a tap-to-call link that stays on screen, and make sure no pop-up covers it.
- 2
Connect Book to a scheduler
Connect your "Book" button to an online scheduler. If you use a form, say how fast you reply.
- 3
Link your Google reviews
Add a Google reviews widget, or at least a "Read our Google reviews" link.
- 4
Address and hours as visible text
List your address and hours in the footer of every page, as visible text.
- 5
Lighter photos and videos
Compress photos, and swap large videos for a still image that plays only when tapped.
Want to know how your site compares?
The free check is part of The Audit Guy, a separate tool by AstraCoreTech.
Or email info@astracoretech.com
Cite this study
AstraCoreTech. "How Hamilton dentists' websites perform on a phone." October 2026. https://astracoretech.com/studies/hamilton-dentists/