The verdict in three sentences
A private nursery group website must serve three audiences with opposing expectations: anxious parents looking for a place, HR directors buying employer-reserved places, and early years practitioners looking for a job. A precise requirements document that fixes these journeys, the 14 setting pages and the online waiting list flow lets you compare 4 agencies on a common basis. Without it, quotes vary fivefold and do not even cover the same scope.
The three journeys to specify
A group of 14 settings across Clapham, Islington, Canary Wharf and Richmond typically gets, as a 2026 ballpark, 8,000 to 14,000 visits a month. Each audience expects a different action.
| Audience | Expected action | Key metric | Feature to require |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parents | Join the waiting list for a start date | 100 to 200 registrations per month | Form with setting and start date, confirmation email |
| Parents visiting | Book a show-round | Visit-to-enrolment rate of 35 to 50 % | Slot booking per setting |
| HR and benefits leads | Request an employer partnership proposal | 3 to 8 qualified requests per month | Employer page, salary sacrifice and childcare benefit explainer |
| Candidates | Apply in under 2 minutes | 40 hires per year | Jobs per setting, mobile application without mandatory CV |
| Regulators and parents | Check Ofsted ratings | Institutional trust | Ofsted grade and report link per setting |
| Internal teams | Update menus, news | 2 h per month per manager | Simple CMS with roles |
The employer offer deserves its own treatment. In London, an employer-reserved full-time place runs at 15,000 to 22,000 GBP a year, and parents also weigh the government funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare. The site must explain this in one clear page with a simple calculator.
The minimum content of the requirements document
For 4 agencies to answer on the same basis, the document must fix these points.
| Section of the brief | What to specify | Impact on the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Sitemap | 14 setting pages, 3 hubs (parents, employers, careers) | Number of templates, 6 to 12 |
| Waiting list | Fields, documents, push to the nursery software (Famly, Blossom) | API integration: 2 to 6 days |
| Show-round booking | Slots per manager, SMS reminders | Third-party tool or custom build |
| Recruitment | Jobs in JobPosting JSON-LD, email alerts | 2 to 4 days |
| UK GDPR | Children's data, retention, consent | Contract clauses, UK or EU hosting |
| Accessibility and speed | Mobile under 2.5 s, AA contrast | Acceptance criterion |
| Schedule | Live before the September intake | 8 to 10 weeks |
In London, a site of this scope costs, as a 2026 ballpark, 15,000 to 45,000 GBP depending on the agency. Kolonell prices it in three tiers: Starter from 800,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA (1,220 to 1,830 EUR), Growth from 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR) and Premium from 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (3,050 to 5,340 EUR), with an 8 to 10 week timeline. A 14-setting group with a waiting list and employer offer usually fits Premium.
Scoring grid for the 4 agencies
Score each response out of 100: understanding of the three audiences (25), quality of the mobile waiting list mockups (20), nursery software integration (15), price and three-year maintenance (20), early years or multi-site references (10), schedule and team (10). Ask for a mockup of a setting page rather than the homepage, because that is the page that converts.
Mini case study
Emma, CEO of a 14-setting nursery group in London, wants to know what the website will return.
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- Employer places: moving from 3 to 5 qualified requests a month with a 20 % signing rate adds 0.4 contracts a month, about 5 places a year at 18,000 GBP, or 90,000 GBP of annual revenue.
- Recruitment: each vacant practitioner post costs about 3,000 GBP a month in agency staff or closed places. Cutting time-to-hire from 6 to 4 weeks on 40 hires saves 80 weeks of vacancy, roughly 55,000 GBP.
- Website cost: Premium at 3,500,000 FCFA (5,340 EUR) plus maintenance at 75,000 FCFA a month (114 EUR), or 6,708 EUR in year one.
The combined gain, around 145,000 GBP, far outweighs the investment, even with a local agency at 40,000 GBP.
FAQ
How many pages does a 14-setting nursery group need?
Plan 14 setting pages, 3 hubs and 8 to 12 content pages, about 30 pages in total. Setting pages share one template, which keeps costs down.
Should the waiting list connect to our nursery software?
Strongly advised above 100 registrations a month. An API integration takes 2 to 6 days and saves 10 to 15 hours of re-keying monthly.
How should we present the employer offer?
With a dedicated page, a short explainer on funded hours and childcare benefits, and a proposal request form. Showing a price range of 15,000 to 22,000 GBP a year filters out unqualified leads.
What UK GDPR precautions apply to children's data?
Collect only what is strictly needed, host in the UK or EU and set a retention period, often 12 months for a waiting list entry that never starts.
What timeline for a September launch?
Allow 8 to 10 weeks of project time plus 3 weeks of agency selection. For September, launch the tender by early May at the latest.
Let's scope your project. We turn your requirements document into a site that serves parents, employers and candidates, with an online waiting list and setting pages, live in 8 to 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
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.
