The verdict in three sentences
For a private GP practice in Douglas, a redesign quoted by an island or UK mainland agency typically lands between £6,000 and £18,000 (2026 ballpark), while Kolonell works from a fixed grid: Starter £2,300, Growth £3,900, Premium £6,900. The costly mistakes are rarely about design: they are fee pages that blur insured and self-pay patients, contact forms that invite people to describe symptoms, and service pages that lose their rankings because nobody mapped the old URLs. Count 3 to 4 weeks of build once the content is ready, plus the clinician and privacy review that only the practice can sign off.
Which signals say the redesign can no longer wait?
Island residents often choose a private GP on a neighbour's advice, then check the website before they pick up the phone. When the site contradicts what reception says, the call starts on the wrong foot. These are the signals we look for on practice sites around the promenade and the town centre:
| Signal | What the patient experiences | What the redesign changes |
|---|---|---|
| Fee list is a PDF last edited two years ago | Arrives expecting an old price | One dated fee page the practice can edit in minutes |
| No distinction between insured and self-pay | Unsure whether to call the insurer first | Two clear paths, with what to check before booking |
| Contact form asks "describe your symptoms" | Sends health details by plain email | Minimal form: name, contact, preferred slot |
| Doctor profiles without registration details | Cannot check who they will see | Profile template with qualifications and registration number |
| Small text, weak contrast | Older patients phone instead, or give up | WCAG 2.2 AA target, larger tap areas |
| Mobile pages above 4 MB | Slow loading on a phone in a car park | Compressed images, lighter templates |
Two or more of these lines usually mean a redesign is cheaper than another round of patches.
What does a clinic redesign cost in Douglas in 2026?
The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical agency quotes on the island and in north-west England, which many Manx practices also consult. They are not a survey.
| Option | 2026 ballpark | What is usually included | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island agency, bespoke | £8,000 to £18,000 | Workshops, design, build, local meetings | Hourly extras for migration and copy |
| UK mainland agency | £6,000 to £15,000 | Design and build, remote delivery | Less familiar with the Manx privacy framework |
| Freelancer | £2,000 to £5,500 | Theme-based build | Single point of failure, copy often left to you |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | Compact site with the core pages | One language, fewer templates |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | Fuller structure: profiles, services, fees | Booking engine linked, never rebuilt |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | Largest structure, the multilingual tier (languages set in the quote) | Integrations still quoted separately |
Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Maintenance after those 3 months is on quote. What stays on quote in all cases: the online booking engine, a patient portal, telehealth, the link with your practice management system and any insurer workflow. The rule is simple: we link out to, or embed, the vendor you already use. You can compare the tiers on our international websites page.
How should fees be shown to insured and self-pay patients?
This is where a Douglas practice earns or loses trust. Self-pay patients want a price and a duration. Insured patients want to know what to check with their insurer before they come. Neither should read anything that sounds like a promise of reimbursement or of a fast appointment.
| Fee page element | Self-pay patient | Insured patient |
|---|---|---|
| Consultation | Price, length (15 or 30 minutes), date of last update | Same price, plus "cover depends on your policy" |
| What is included | Examination, follow-up letter if needed | Same, plus the invoice format insurers usually ask for |
| Extra costs | Tests, prescriptions, referrals listed separately | Note that pre-authorisation may be required |
| Cancellation | Notice period and fee | Same, with a reminder that insurers rarely cover it |
| Payment | Card on the day | Pay and claim, or direct settlement if the practice offers it |
Keep the wording factual and checked by a doctor at the practice. Medical advertising rules apply to health providers on the island as elsewhere: no misleading claims, no comparisons you cannot support, no testimonials where they are restricted. Your adviser will confirm the detail.
Timeline, risks and the questions to ask
A realistic schedule for a practice with four to six doctors:
- Audit and URL inventory: 3 to 4 days. We crawl the current site, list every URL and note the pages that already bring traffic in Search Console.
- Content from the practice: 1 to 2 weeks for fees, profiles and service descriptions.
- Design and build: 2 weeks once content is in.
- Clinician and privacy review: 3 to 5 days, done by the practice and its privacy adviser.
- Redirects, tests, go-live: 2 to 3 days, switched on a quiet evening to avoid downtime during surgery hours.
The risks we plan for: a 301 redirect map for every old service page, resubmission of the sitemap in Search Console, a check that no analytics tag or tracking pixel fires on appointment pages without the adviser's approval, and a test of the booking link on three phones. The island has its own data protection legislation, built on GDPR-standard rules and overseen by the Isle of Man Information Commissioner, so the forms collect only name, contact and preferred slot, never symptoms, diagnoses, insurance numbers or medical history. This is not legal advice.
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Questions to ask any provider: who writes and who reviews the medical copy? Is the redirect map in the price? Which tags will fire on which pages? What happens to the booking vendor? Who holds the domain and hosting access after launch?
When is a local agency the better choice? When you want partner workshops in person, an on-site photo and video shoot in the same contract, or a patient portal project tied to an island IT supplier. In those cases, the extra budget buys something real.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Dr Ellan Corkill, a fictional senior partner at the fictional "Harbour Row Family Practice", four doctors near the promenade, wants a site that separates insured and self-pay paths.
- Kolonell Growth: £3,900
- Local photographer for four portraits (third-party cost, her own supplier): about £450
- Total outlay: £4,350, against an island agency quote of £11,000 in her shortlist, a difference of £6,650
Practice time to plan: four profiles at 1.5 hours each plus 3 hours on the fee page, so 9 hours of doctor and practice manager time before the build starts.
FAQ
How long does a clinic redesign take in Douglas?
With Kolonell, 3 to 4 weeks of build once the content is ready. Add 1 to 2 weeks if fees and doctor profiles still need writing and 3 to 5 days for the clinician and privacy review.
Can we keep our current online booking system?
Yes, and we recommend it. The booking engine, patient portal and practice management integration stay on quote; in a fixed-grid site we link to, or embed, the vendor you already use.
Will we lose our Google rankings?
The risk exists on any redesign. A full URL inventory, a 301 map covering 100% of the pages that receive traffic and a Search Console check during the first 4 weeks keep it under control.
Which Kolonell tier fits a four doctor practice?
Growth at £3,900 usually covers profiles, services and a dated fee page. Premium at £6,900 makes sense for a larger structure or the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote.
What do we pay after launch?
The 3 months of support are included. Maintenance afterwards is on quote, sized to how often you change fees and profiles.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your pages, your booking vendor and your launch window, and we will match them to the £2,300, £3,900 or £6,900 tier. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
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.
