The verdict in three sentences
A redesign makes sense when your Douglas practice's site no longer reflects the retrofit and low-energy work you actually do, loads slowly on mobile, or cannot be updated without calling a developer. Budget £2,300 to £6,900 on the Kolonell fixed grid, or a ballpark £6,000 to £18,000 with a local agency, and allow 3 to 4 weeks of build once content is ready. The biggest risk is losing the search traffic your existing project pages earn, which is managed with a URL inventory, a 301 redirect map and six weeks of Search Console checks.
Which signals say your site is due for a redesign?
Many Douglas practices built their site when the work was mostly new-build housing and commercial fit-outs, in town or along the Victorian promenade. If the practice now leads with retrofit of older terraces, energy upgrades or timber construction, the site often tells an outdated story.
| Signal | What you see | Why it hurts a sustainability-led practice |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio sorted by date only | No filter for retrofit, new-build or multi-unit housing | Developers look for comparable schemes first |
| Project pages with no method notes | Photos, but nothing on fabric, ventilation or materials | Retrofit expertise stays invisible |
| Mobile load above 4 seconds | Uncompressed JPEGs of 3 to 8 MB | Developers browse on their phones between site visits |
| CMS locked by a former freelancer | Every new project costs a support ticket | The portfolio goes stale for months |
| Contact form asking for plan uploads | Files arrive by plain email | Avoidable data protection exposure |
| No team or recruitment page | Candidates look elsewhere | Hiring technologists is slow on a small island |
How much does a redesign cost in Douglas in 2026?
The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark based on typical quotes from Isle of Man and UK agencies and on public agency rate pages. They move with the number of project pages and how much copywriting is included.
| Option | 2026 ballpark | Timeline | Usually included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer on the island or in the UK | £2,500 to £7,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Adapted theme, limited migration |
| Local agency, light redesign | £6,000 to £12,000 | 8 to 14 weeks | Custom design, CMS, basic SEO migration |
| Local or UK agency, full redesign | £12,000 to £18,000+ | 12 to 20 weeks | Strategy, copywriting, photo coordination |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | 3 to 4 weeks | Compact site, core pages, portfolio grid |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Filterable portfolio, project templates, blog, redirect map |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Larger portfolio, advanced templates, the multilingual tier (languages set in the quote) |
Every tier of the Kolonell international offer includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready and 3 months of support. Search work beyond the migration is on quote.
A realistic timeline: week 0, content gathering and URL inventory; week 1, design and project templates; week 2, build; week 3, portfolio migration, redirects and testing; week 4, go-live and monitoring.
How do you present retrofit, timber and reuse expertise factually?
A sustainability-led practice is better served by describing its method than by stacking adjectives.
- On each project page, describe the approach as the firm documented it: fabric upgrade, insulation strategy, ventilation, reused materials.
- Ratings, certifications or energy figures appear only if they are real, measured and supplied by the firm, with source and date.
- Avoid phrases such as zero carbon unless the firm can evidence them.
- Credit every photographer, get client permission for every project and show private houses without addresses.
- Planning applications go through the Isle of Man Government: describe the process generally, never as advice.
- Use the title architect only for people who hold it; if they are registered with the UK ARB, state it accurately.
What can go wrong, and how is each risk handled?
| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking loss on project pages | High if URLs change | URL inventory, 301 map, Search Console for 6 weeks | Week 1 and after launch |
| Images too heavy after migration | Medium | WebP/AVIF, responsive sizes, lazy loading | Build |
| Missing credits or permissions | Medium | Credit sheet per project signed off by partners | Content phase |
| Unsupported environmental claims | Medium | Partner review of every claim before go-live | Pre-launch |
| Downtime at the DNS switch | Low | Off-peak switch, TTL lowered 48 hours before | Launch day |
| Broken links to the extranet or BIM viewer | Medium | Link check, extranet kept separate | Testing |
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
On quote: BIM viewers, project extranets, client portals, tender document rooms, CRM integration and a secure plan upload channel. These tools are linked or embedded, never rebuilt inside a fixed-grid site. The contact form collects the minimum: name, contact details, project type, location area, rough budget. The Isle of Man applies GDPR-standard rules through its own legislation, supervised by its Information Commissioner, so have your privacy notice reviewed. This is not legal advice.
When is a local agency the better choice?
To be fair: if you want in-person workshops in Douglas, on-site photo coordination for every scheme, or the redesign is part of a full rebrand with signage, an island agency is a better fit. Whoever you hire, ask: who writes the 301 map? How are images optimised? Who owns the domain and the CMS? What happens after the support period? Who reviews environmental claims?
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Harbourline Studio, a fictional six-person Douglas practice designing multi-unit housing for developers, has 40 project pages on an old theme. It keeps 22, merges 10 projects into 4 programme pages and retires 8 pages with 301 redirects to the closest project.
- Growth: £3,900
- Local photographer for 4 schemes (third-party cost, market assumption): £1,200
- Hosting and maintenance over 33 months: £90 x 33 = £2,970 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote)
- Three-year total: 3,900 + 1,200 + 2,970 = £8,070
By comparison, a local agency at £12,000 with a £150 monthly retainer over 33 months (market assumption) reaches 12,000 + 4,950 = £16,950. To price your own case, request a free quote.
FAQ
How long does an architecture firm redesign take in Douglas? With Kolonell, 3 to 4 weeks once content and photos are ready. A local agency typically quotes 8 to 20 weeks, and content gathering remains the longest step.
Will we lose our Google rankings? Not if every ranking URL is redirected. Aim for 100% of old project URLs in the 301 map and watch Search Console for 6 weeks.
Can we show energy performance figures? Yes, if they are measured and supplied by the firm, with source and date. A page with 3 verified numbers beats one with 10 vague claims.
Is our client portal included in the £6,900 Premium tier? No. Portals, extranets, BIM viewers and CRM stay on quote, linked or embedded in the site.
What does the contact form collect? Five fields: name, contact details, project type, location area and rough budget. Plans go through a separate secure channel, on quote.
Let's scope your project. Tell us how many project pages you have, your target budget and your preferred go-live date. 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.
