The verdict in three sentences
For a 25-person accounting practice in Dublin, a full website rebuild costs between €12,000 and €28,000 excluding VAT in 2026 and ships in 8 to 12 weeks. A cosmetic refresh at €5,000 to €8,000 solves neither online booking, nor a secure document area, nor the local search visibility that already brings close to 30% of inbound enquiries. The right decision rests on three measurable criteria: the age of your technical stack, your Google lead volume and the time your administrative staff lose chasing client documents.
Cosmetic refresh or full rebuild: what you are actually buying
A refresh changes the look of an existing site (colours, typography, photos, home page) without touching the architecture, the CMS or the user journeys. It works if your site is less than four years old, loads in under 2.5 seconds on mobile and already generates enquiries. A rebuild covers everything: a structure organised by service (company formation, payroll, tax, audit, wealth planning), local pages, online booking, a secure client portal and SEO migration.
| Criterion | Cosmetic refresh | Essential rebuild | Full rebuild |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 budget (excl. VAT) | €5,000 to €8,000 | €12,000 to €18,000 | €19,000 to €28,000 |
| Timeline | 3 to 5 weeks | 8 to 10 weeks | 10 to 12 weeks |
| Pages delivered | Existing pages restyled | 15 to 25 pages | 30 to 50 pages |
| Online booking | No | Yes (shared calendar) | Yes, per partner and per service |
| Client document area | No | Link to third-party tool | Built in, encrypted, EU-hosted |
| Local SEO Dublin and Leinster | Unchanged | Service pages + Google profile | Area pages (Sandyford, Swords, Blanchardstown) |
| Migration and 301 redirects | Not applicable | Included | Included with 90-day monitoring |
These ranges are a 2026 order of magnitude for an agency or independent studio; a 40-person Dublin agency will sit at the top of the range, a solo freelancer at the bottom, with a higher risk on the document area integration.
The line items that move the quote
Three items weigh the most. First the document area: a simple link to your practice software's client portal costs almost nothing, while a portal built into the site with strong authentication and file upload adds €4,000 to €7,500. Then content: 25 pages written by a specialist accounting copywriter represent €2,500 to €5,000. Finally hosting: an EU data centre, backed up and monitored, reassures clients about where their data lives.
| Line item | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Custom UX/UI design | €3,000 to €6,000 | Mobile and desktop mock-ups, brand guidelines respected |
| Development and CMS | €4,500 to €10,000 | Staff publish tax updates themselves |
| Online booking | €1,000 to €2,500 | Outlook or Google Calendar sync |
| Client document area | €4,000 to €7,500 | Two-factor authentication, access log |
| SEO copywriting (25 pages) | €2,500 to €5,000 | Keywords such as "accountant Dublin", "company formation Ireland" |
| EU hosting | €30 to €90 / month | Daily backups, SSL certificate |
| Maintenance and support | €150 to €420 / month | Updates, security, 1 to 3 h of improvements |
On compliance, your site must show your professional body registration (Chartered Accountants Ireland, ACCA or CPA Ireland), a GDPR privacy notice and a cookie banner aligned with Data Protection Commission guidance. Any serious quote includes these.
Mini case study
Ciara, partner in a 25-person practice in Dublin, receives about 40 enquiries a month, 12 of them from Google (30%). Her two administrators each spend 5 hours a week emailing clients for documents and booking meetings by phone. She chooses a full rebuild at €21,000 excluding VAT with online booking and a document area, plus €300 a month for maintenance.
The maths: 10 hours a week saved over 46 weeks is 460 hours, valued at €38 loaded cost, or about €17,500 a year. If local pages lift Google enquiries from 12 to 18 a month and 1 in 4 converts into a €2,800 annual engagement, the practice adds about €50,000 of recurring revenue over twelve months. The project pays for itself in under eight months, maintenance included.
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FAQ
How much does an accounting firm website rebuild cost in Dublin in 2026?
Budget €12,000 to €18,000 excluding VAT for an essential rebuild and €19,000 to €28,000 for a full rebuild with a document area. A cosmetic refresh alone sits between €5,000 and €8,000.
What timeline should we plan for a full rebuild?
Between 8 and 12 weeks, including 2 to 3 weeks of workshops and mock-ups. The main cause of delay is partner sign-off on content, so plan it from day one.
Must the site be hosted in the EU?
It is not a legal requirement for a brochure site, but it is strongly advised once a portal stores client financial documents. EU hosting costs €30 to €90 a month.
Can a rebuild hurt our search rankings?
Yes, if old URLs are not redirected. With a complete 301 redirect plan and 90-day monitoring, the temporary dip usually stays below 10%.
What does €150 to €420 a month of maintenance cover?
The low end covers updates and backups. The high end adds security monitoring, 2 to 3 hours of improvements and publishing your tax updates.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current site, the number of pages you want and your booking or document area needs, and we will return a scope and indicative budget for a launch in 8 to 12 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.
