Website redesign for an architecture firm in Copenhagen: budget, timeline and risks (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A Copenhagen architecture firm should plan EUR 10,000 to 40,000 (about DKK 75,000 to 300,000) for a redesign with a local agency in 2026, or EUR 4,500 to 8,200 on a fixed international grid when the scope is a portfolio site in Danish and English. The real risk sits in the project pages: heavy images, missing credits and URLs that already rank for project names. Inventory every URL, collect permissions per project, and launch with a 301 map ready on day one.

Which signals say the redesign is due?

Most practices in Nordhavn, Christianshavn or Vesterbro redesign for one of five reasons, and each changes the budget differently.

• Project pages take more than 4 seconds to show the first image on a phone, because full-resolution JPEGs were uploaded straight from the render folder.
• The portfolio stopped growing: adding a project needs a developer, so the last 2 years of housing, public buildings or sustainable design work are missing.
• The Danish and English versions no longer match, and English pages lag by several projects.
• Competition entries, recruitment and the studio's approach are buried three clicks deep.
• Nobody in the firm can say who owns the domain, the hosting account or the analytics.

What does a redesign cost in Copenhagen in 2026?

Ranges are a 2026 ballpark based on typical Copenhagen agency quotes and public rate pages, converted at roughly DKK 7.46 to EUR 1. They are not a survey.

Kolonell's fixed grid starts at EUR 2,700 (Starter), with a project manager in your time zone, native English or French copywriting and 3 months of support. Danish copy is supplied or reviewed by the firm. The scope of each tier is on the international websites page.

How long does it take, phase by phase?

The build itself is short. Content is what slows architecture firms down, because every project needs images, text, credits and a client permission.

Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. The 2 to 6 weeks of project content collection is the firm's critical path, whoever builds the site.

What can go wrong, and how do you prevent it?

• Lost search traffic on project names. A page for a named school or housing scheme can rank for years. Export the URL list from the CMS and Search Console, map each to its new address, and test the 301s before launch.
• Image weight. Twelve 6 MB renders on one page will defeat any redesign. Convert to WebP or AVIF, set lazy loading below the first screen, and fix a maximum width per template.
• Credits and permissions. Photographer credits, partner firms and client approval must be checked for every project you republish. Never add a project, a client name, an area in square metres or an award the firm cannot document.
• Titles and claims. Use 'architect' or 'arkitekt MAA' only where the people named actually hold it; the firm checks this, not the agency. Permit and planning processes are described generally, without promising timelines.
• Data protection. Contact and job application forms collect the minimum, with retention periods set. GDPR applies, and Datatilsynet is the Danish authority. This is not legal advice.
• Downtime and email. Moving DNS can break email if records are copied badly. Schedule the switch on a Friday afternoon outside competition deadlines, with the old site kept for 30 days.

When is a Copenhagen agency the better choice?

Choose a local agency when the website is part of a wider brand identity project, when you need workshops in Danish in your own studio, or when a project extranet or BIM viewer must be built inside the site. Those are legitimate reasons to pay EUR 20,000 or more. A remote studio fits when the scope is a portfolio site with a clear template list and you can collect content yourselves.

Questions to ask any provider: who adds the next 10 projects after launch, and at what cost? Is the 301 map in the price? Who owns the domain and hosting? How are images optimised? What stays on quote?

Mini case study

Illustrative example, fictional firm. Havnelys Tegnestue is a 14-person practice in Christianshavn with 60 project pages and 180 indexed URLs in Danish and English.

• Kolonell Premium, multilingual tier: EUR 8,200.
• Third-party cost: a freelance Danish copy reviewer, 20 pages at EUR 50 per page (market assumption) = EUR 1,000.
• Internal time: 60 projects at 30 minutes each for credits and permissions = 30 hours.
• Total external spend: 8,200 + 1,000 = EUR 9,200, against a local agency quote of DKK 180,000 (about EUR 24,100).

Hosting and maintenance: market assumption of EUR 80 per month for comparison only; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months is on quote. The firm keeps the difference for a professional photographer on its 5 most recent projects, a third-party cost.

FAQ

How many projects should we migrate?

Most firms keep 25 to 40 strong projects and archive the rest with a 301 to the closest category page. Fewer, better documented projects load faster and are easier to translate.

Will we lose our Google ranking?

Not if every old URL has a 301 to the matching new page and you monitor Search Console for 2 to 4 weeks. Losses usually come from deleted project pages without redirects.

Can the redesign include a client portal?

Yes, but it stays on quote. Linking to an existing extranet costs nothing extra on the grid, while building a login area is a separate project of several weeks.

What is the best time of year to launch?

Avoid the 2 weeks before a competition deadline and the July holiday period, when partners are away to approve content. Many firms launch in late August or in January.

Let's scope your project. Send us your URL count, languages and the number of projects to migrate, and we will confirm the tier, what stays on quote and a launch date. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.