The verdict in three sentences
A group of 12 pharmacies in London or Dublin should showcase its clinical services (flu and travel vaccines, Pharmacy First consultations, blood pressure checks, medicine reviews) on a shared website, with one page per branch and appointment booking handled by a compliant tool. The hard part is not technical: it lies in professional advertising standards and in the handling of special category health data as soon as a booking reveals a treatment. Where a London agency quotes 8,000 to 20,000 GBP for this kind of project, the Kolonell grid places a website at 1,220 to 5,340 EUR per pharmacy (800,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA), in 6 to 9 weeks.
Services to highlight and what the regulator allows
Pharmacy has become a front door to primary care. In England, Pharmacy First lets pharmacists treat seven common conditions (sore throat, sinusitis, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women) without a GP appointment. In Ireland, pharmacists now run vaccination clinics and an expanding minor ailments scheme. The website must make these services visible without slipping into prohibited promotion. In the UK, the GPhC standards and its guidance for pharmacies providing services online require clear, honest information, and prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public. In Ireland, the PSI applies comparable principles.
| Service | Target patients | Appointment length | Website caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flu and Covid vaccination | Adults, at-risk groups | 10 to 15 min | State NHS or HSE eligibility, no promotional tone |
| Travel vaccines | Travelers | 15 to 20 min | Private fee display allowed, no named prescription drug ads |
| Pharmacy First consultation | Patients with one of 7 conditions | 10 to 15 min | Explain referral rules to the GP |
| Blood pressure check | Adults 40 and over | 10 min | Factual description of the service |
| New Medicine Service | Patients starting a new treatment | 15 to 20 min | Explain the steps, no outcome promises |
| Contraception service | Eligible women | 15 min | Neutral information, privacy reassurance |
| Weight management (private) | Adults meeting clinical criteria | 20 to 30 min | Never name the prescription drug in ads |
Each branch must also show its legal details: registered pharmacy number on the GPhC or PSI register, superintendent pharmacist, address, opening hours and complaint procedure. If a branch sells medicines online, that module follows its own registration rules and should be scoped separately.
Bookings and health data: the architecture choice
A booking that says "flu vaccine for Mr Smith on 14 October at 9 am" is health data, a special category under UK GDPR and EU GDPR. Two options exist. The first is to embed a booking tool that already handles health data compliantly on each branch page: the website stores nothing, it shows the widget and redirects. The second is to build your own booking module with dedicated hosting, a data protection impact assessment and stronger security controls. For a group of 12 pharmacies, the first option covers 90% of needs.
| Item | 2026 order of magnitude | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| London agency, group website with booking | 8,000 to 20,000 GBP | Market price for independents and small groups |
| Dublin agency, same scope | 10,000 to 25,000 EUR | Market price observed in 2026 |
| Turnkey site from a pharmacy network or wholesaler | 40 to 120 GBP per month per branch | Little customization, 24 to 36 month contracts |
| Kolonell, website per pharmacy | 1,220 to 5,340 EUR (800,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA) | Starter, Growth or Premium depending on service page depth |
| Kolonell, maintenance | 53 / 114 / 183 EUR per month (35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA) | Updates, backups, new services |
| Compliant booking tool | 25 to 100 GBP per month per branch | Subscription paid directly to the vendor |
| Custom booking module with health data hosting | Custom quote | DPIA required |
The typical plan runs 6 to 9 weeks: 2 weeks of scoping and compliance review by the group's board, 3 weeks of design and service page writing, 1 to 2 weeks to load the 12 branch pages, then 1 to 2 weeks of testing and go-live. The timeline depends mostly on how fast pharmacists sign off the copy.
Sharing a brand without erasing each branch
The shared site carries the group brand, the service pages and a search by area (Camden, Islington, Hackney in London, or Rathmines, Drumcondra, Dún Laoghaire in Dublin). Each branch keeps a rich page with hours, team and the services it really offers, because not every branch runs every clinic. In search, those local pages capture queries such as "flu jab pharmacy Islington" or "travel clinic Rathmines". Kolonell's monthly SEO service starts at 100,000 FCFA per month.
Mini case study
Siobhan, superintendent pharmacist and chair of a 12-branch group in Dublin, compares three quotes. A local agency asks 18,000 EUR. With Kolonell, the group chooses a shared Growth website at 2,800 EUR plus a rich page per branch, a budget split across 12 owners: about 233 EUR per pharmacy, plus Standard maintenance at 114 EUR per month, or 9.50 EUR per branch.
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On the operations side, each branch takes about 40 calls a week during vaccination season to book a slot, at roughly 3 minutes per call. If 60% move to online booking, the saving is 12 × 24 calls × 3 minutes = 864 minutes per week, or 14.4 hours of counter time across the group. Over a 10-week campaign, that is 144 hours, close to 4 weeks of a pharmacy technician's time.
FAQ
Can a group website mention service prices?
Yes for private services such as travel vaccines, and it can state NHS or HSE eligibility. It should not compare branches with each other or promote prescription-only medicines.
Do we need special hosting for the website itself?
Not if the site collects no health data and embeds a compliant booking tool. You need stronger hosting and a DPIA as soon as a form stores a patient name and the requested service, which adds 20 to 40% to the project as an order of magnitude.
How long to put all 12 pharmacies online?
Plan 6 to 9 weeks. The longest phase is often copy sign-off by the pharmacists, which takes 2 weeks when the board decides in one meeting.
Can each branch update its own opening hours?
Yes, each pharmacist gets restricted access to their own page. Changing hours takes under 2 minutes.
Can we add online sales of OTC and wellness products later?
Yes, as a separate e-commerce module priced on a custom quote. Selling medicines online also requires the applicable registration and specific rules.
Let's scope your project. List the services offered by each of your branches, and we will propose a shared architecture with local pages and the right booking tool, live in 6 to 9 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.
