A PCD pharma franchise website has one job: get a distributor or medical representative who has never heard of you to send an enquiry. Most PCD sites don’t do that job well. They have a home page, an “About us” with a stock photo of a lab, and a product list as a single PDF. The distributor can’t tell what you sell, what the terms are or whether you are a real company, so they call the next name on the list.
This checklist covers what to build instead, page by page. Use it to plan a new site or to check the one you have.
1. A catalogue distributors can actually browse
The catalogue is the core of a PCD site. A distributor deciding whether to take your franchise wants to see the whole range before they call.
- One page per product. Brand name, composition and strength, dosage form, packing (for example 10×10 Alu-Alu), the division it belongs to and a clear pack image. Add MRP only if you are comfortable showing it.
- Division and category pages. Derma, gynae, paediatric, ortho, cardiac-diabetic, general: one page each, listing every product in that range. These pages also rank in Google for searches like “derma PCD franchise” (see our PCD franchise SEO guide).
- Search and filters. Search by brand or molecule, and filter by division and dosage form. Once you pass about 50 products, this matters more than design.
- Products as HTML, not just a PDF. Google can’t rank a product that only exists inside a PDF, and a PDF is slow to open on a phone. Keep the PDF as a download, but put every product on the page as well.
2. A composition (molecule) index
Many distributors search by salt, not brand: “aceclofenac paracetamol tablet PCD” or “pantoprazole domperidone capsule franchise”. A composition index lists every molecule combination you sell, each linking to the products that contain it.
This one feature does two things. It helps a distributor confirm in seconds that you have what their market needs, and it gives Google a page for every combination someone might search.
3. Franchise terms on a page of their own
The first questions on every call are the same: Do you give monopoly rights? What is the minimum order? What margins and promotional support do you offer? Answer them on a “Franchise opportunity” page:
- How the franchise works, step by step, from enquiry to first order
- Monopoly rights: whether you give them, and for what area (district or state)
- Minimum order, payment terms and dispatch time
- Promotional material you provide: visual aids, product cards, MR bags, samples within the rules
- Which states and districts you are appointing in now
Be specific. “Best margins in the industry” tells a distributor nothing. A distributor who already knows your terms sends a more serious enquiry, and your team spends less time on calls that go nowhere.
4. Location pages, done properly
Distributors often search “PCD pharma franchise in [state]” or “in [district]”, so location pages can bring good enquiries. They can also hurt you. Twenty-eight state pages made by swapping the state name into one template are what Google calls doorway pages, and they can drag down how Google sees the whole site.
A location page is worth publishing when it says something true about that place: which divisions are available there, whether monopoly is open in its districts, dispatch time from your warehouse, and the partners or doctors you already serve there (with permission). If you have nothing local to say about a state yet, leave the page out. When we rewrote the 29 location pages on our sister company’s site, Garwyn Remedies, the first step was removing the copy that was 97–99% identical across them.
5. Proof that you are a real company
A distributor is about to invest money in your brand. Before they call, they check that you exist and that your products are made properly.
- Full address and a map, with photos of your office or warehouse
- Manufacturing partners: who makes your products and where, with their certifications (GMP, WHO-GMP) shown as they appear on the certificates
- Your registrations: drug licence and GST details, presented accurately
- Years in business and the number of partners or states you supply, if you can state them honestly
- People: a named contact for franchise enquiries, not just a form
Keep every claim exact. A certificate number or capacity figure should match your documents word for word.
6. Downloads partners can share
Distributors and MRs share material in WhatsApp groups and with doctors. Give them files that are easy to send:
- Product list (PDF), one per division as well as the full list
- Visual aids and product cards for detailing
- Price list, if you share it openly; otherwise offer it on request
You can ask for a name and phone number before a download. It turns some visitors into leads, but it also stops others, so keep the main product list open and gate only the price list.
7. Enquiry paths on every page
Make it easy to ask from wherever the distributor is:
- A short enquiry form: name, phone, state and district, divisions of interest. Five fields is enough.
- Click-to-call and a WhatsApp button on every page, including each product page
- An instant notification to whoever answers enquiries, by email and WhatsApp
Measure it too. Each form, call and WhatsApp click should be tracked in Google Analytics, so you know which pages and searches bring enquiries.
8. Compliant product wording
Your website is a promotional channel, and the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices applies to it. Avoid “safe”, “best” and cure claims, describe products using their approved information, and keep promotional content aimed at professionals and trade partners rather than patients. Our UCPMP 2024 guide for pharma websites goes through the rules one by one.
9. Fast on a phone
Most distributors and MRs browse on a phone, often on a mobile network. Large product images and heavy page builders make catalogue sites slow, and a slow catalogue loses people before the first product loads. Compress images, load them as the visitor scrolls, and keep each page light. Our post on why pharma websites are slow explains the usual causes.
10. An admin panel you can use
New products, new divisions and changed packing are constant in a PCD business. If every change waits for a developer, the catalogue falls behind. Ask for a way to add and edit products, categories and downloads yourself, and check that it works before the site is handed over.
The checklist
| Area | Must have |
|---|---|
| Catalogue | Page per product, division pages, search and filters, products in HTML |
| Composition index | Every molecule combination linked to its products |
| Franchise terms | Monopoly, minimum order, payment, dispatch, promotional support |
| Location pages | Only with real local information |
| Trust | Address, manufacturing partners, certificates, licences, named contact |
| Downloads | Product lists, visual aids, price list |
| Enquiries | Short form, call and WhatsApp everywhere, tracking |
| Compliance | Wording checked against UCPMP 2024 |
| Speed | Light pages, compressed images |
| Admin | Add and edit products without a developer |
What it costs
A site with all of the above sits in the PCD franchise range of our pharma website cost breakdown. The number of products and how ready your product data is make the biggest difference.
If you’d like a second opinion on your current site, we build PCD pharma franchise websites and will check yours against this list for free.