A pharmacy website sits under two sets of rules at once: the ones that apply to every UK company website, and the ones that apply because a registered pharmacy is providing services to the public. Neither is complicated, but most pharmacy sites we check are missing at least one item. This is a practical checklist with the sources, not legal advice — if anything here matters to a decision you are making, check the primary source or ask your professional body.
Company information every UK business website must show
If the pharmacy is a limited company, the Companies Act 2006 and the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 require the company's registered name, registered number, place of registration (for example "registered in England and Wales") and registered office address to appear on its website. The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 add: a geographic address, an email address, the VAT number if the business is VAT registered, and, for a regulated profession, the professional body and the professional rules that apply.
In practice that means a footer or "About" block containing:
- Trading name and, if different, the registered company name
- Company registration number and where it is registered
- Registered office address (and the pharmacy address if different)
- An email address patients can use
- VAT number where registered
- A statement that the pharmacy is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council
Sole traders and partnerships are not subject to the Companies Act disclosures but still fall under the E-Commerce Regulations if they sell or promote services online.
What the GPhC expects a pharmacy website to display
The General Pharmaceutical Council's Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet sets out what patients should be able to see so they can check they are dealing with a genuine registered pharmacy. The guidance applies to any registered pharmacy providing services online, which includes a community pharmacy taking repeat requests or nominations through its website. It expects the site to show clearly:
- The name and address of the registered pharmacy
- The pharmacy's GPhC premises registration number
- The name of the pharmacy owner, and where the owner is a company, the name and GPhC registration number of the superintendent pharmacist
- How patients can contact the pharmacy
- Information about how to raise a concern or complaint
The GPhC also operates a voluntary internet pharmacy logo scheme for registered pharmacies providing services online. Since the UK left the EU the previous EU "common logo" and the MHRA distance-selling register no longer apply in Great Britain; GPhC registration is the relevant check for a pharmacy based in England, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland is regulated by the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and retains the EU arrangements.
Whether or not you use the voluntary logo, patients should be able to find your premises on the GPhC register from the details on your site.
Responsible pharmacist and superintendent
The responsible pharmacist notice is a physical requirement in the pharmacy, not a website one, so it does not need to be online. The superintendent pharmacist's name and registration number should be online where the owner is a body corporate, as above. If the superintendent changes, the website should change the same week — it is one of the most common stale items we find.
If you sell medicines online
An online shop selling General Sale List (GSL) and Pharmacy (P) medicines from a registered pharmacy premises is permitted in Great Britain with GPhC registration; prescription-only medicines cannot be sold through a shop basket. The GPhC's distance-selling guidance expects the pharmacy to ensure a pharmacist can intervene in the sale of P medicines, that appropriate questions are asked before supply, and that quantities are limited where the medicine carries a risk of misuse. Your shop's terms should also name the registered pharmacy as the seller and explain how P medicine orders are checked before they are dispatched. There is more on this in what a UK pharmacy can legally sell online and selling P medicines online.
Privacy, cookies and health data
Any form that collects a patient's name alongside a medicine, condition or service request is collecting special category (health) data under UK GDPR. The website needs a privacy notice that explains what is collected, why, how long it is kept and who processes it, including the website provider. If the site sets non-essential cookies (analytics, marketing pixels) it needs consent before they load, under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The Information Commissioner's Office publishes plain-English guidance on both.
Advertising and service claims
Service pages are advertising, and advertising for medicines and healthcare services is regulated. Two rules trip pharmacy websites up most often: prescription-only medicines must not be advertised to the public (so a weight-management page should describe the service and eligibility, not name or picture a POM), and claims must be substantiated — a service page cannot promise outcomes. The MHRA's Blue Guide and the CAP Code from the Advertising Standards Authority are the references. If in doubt, describe what the service is, who is eligible, what it costs and how to book, and stop there.
NHS services: describe, don't overclaim
You can and should describe the NHS services you provide — Pharmacy First, the New Medicine Service, blood pressure checks, contraception, vaccinations — with eligibility criteria taken from the service specification. What a website cannot do is present itself as an NHS service or imply an integration it does not have. "Book a Pharmacy First consultation online" is accurate if your site takes the booking; "NHS-approved app" is not a thing a pharmacy website provider can grant.
Accessibility
The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and that includes websites. There is no specific technical standard imposed on private pharmacies (the public-sector accessibility regulations apply to NHS bodies, not to contractors' own sites), but WCAG 2.2 AA is the recognised benchmark and is what an adjustment would be measured against. Our guide to accessible pharmacy websites covers the practical basics.
A checklist you can run in ten minutes
- Registered company name, number and registered office in the footer
- Pharmacy name, address and GPhC premises number visible
- Superintendent pharmacist name and GPhC number (companies)
- Contact email and how to complain
- Privacy notice covering form data and your provider; cookie consent if you use analytics
- No prescription-only medicines named on public service pages
- Shop terms naming the pharmacy as seller and describing P medicine checks
- Opening hours and superintendent details current
Every PharmGrowth pharmacy website is built with these blocks in place and updated by us when your details change, which is a large part of why we ask for your GPhC and company details before we build the demo.
Sources
- General Pharmaceutical Council — Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet (pharmacyregulation.org)
- Companies Act 2006, s.82 and the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 (legislation.gov.uk)
- The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, reg. 6 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Information Commissioner's Office — Guide to UK GDPR; Guidance on the use of cookies (ico.org.uk)
- MHRA Blue Guide: Advertising and promotion of medicines in the UK (gov.uk)