The verdict in three sentences
For a George Town architecture firm, a redesign budgets at USD 2,900 to 8,900 with Kolonell, against a ballpark of USD 12,000 to 30,000 for a full local agency redesign, with 3 to 4 weeks of build once texts and photos are ready. The main risk is losing the local visibility you already have: Google Business Profile, a consistent firm name, address and phone, and project pages that already rank. Project extranets, BIM viewers and client portals stay on quote, linked to the site rather than rebuilt.
This guide is written for partners of George Town practices who want to scope the redesign before asking for quotes.
Which signals say the redesign is due?
- On mobile, visitors leave project pages before the images load (galleries of 8 to 15 MB per page are common on older sites).
- Your firm name, address or phone number differ between the site, Google and local directories.
- You are opening a second office that has no page of its own.
- Projects are sorted by year rather than by type: residential, condominium, commercial.
- The contact form invites people to email plans as attachments.
- The recruitment page for architects and technologists is missing or out of date.
Two of these signals usually justify a redesign rather than a cosmetic refresh.
What does a redesign cost in George Town in 2026?
The local ranges below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in the region, in USD (the Cayman dollar is pegged to the US dollar).
| Option | Typical scope | 2026 ballpark | Build time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local agency, full redesign | strategy, design, 15 to 30 pages, migration | USD 12,000 to 30,000 | 8 to 14 weeks |
| Local agency, light refresh | new theme on the existing CMS | USD 5,000 to 10,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Freelance designer | adapted template, 8 to 15 pages | USD 2,500 to 7,000 | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Kolonell Starter | compact site, core pages | USD 2,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | projects by type, office pages, news | USD 4,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | larger portfolio, advanced animation, the multilingual tier (languages set in the quote) | USD 8,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Details are on the Kolonell international offer. SEO work beyond the migration is on quote.
How does the redesign run, phase by phase?
| Phase | Timing | What the firm provides | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and URL inventory | before week 1 | CMS, Search Console and Google profile access | list of every indexed URL |
| Content gathering | before week 1 | texts, photo credits, client permissions | approved content pack |
| Design | week 1 | two review rounds | approved templates |
| Build and migration | weeks 2 and 3 | updated project sheets | staging site |
| Redirects and testing | weeks 3 and 4 | sign-off on the 301 map | tested redirects |
| Go-live and monitoring | week 4, then 6 weeks | Google profile update | Search Console checks |
The 3 to 4 week clock starts when the content pack is complete. In practice, collecting photo permissions is what makes schedules slip.
Which risks matter most, and how do you contain them?
| Risk | Consequence | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Old project URLs return 404 | lost Google positions | 301 map, each old URL to its closest new page |
| Inconsistent name, address and phone | weaker Google profile | one version in the footer, structured data and profile |
| Second office with no page | missing from local searches in that district | one page per office with address, hours and map |
| Heavy galleries | slow on mobile | WebP or AVIF, lazy loading, responsive sizes |
| Unchecked claims | misuse of a protected title, unsupported awards or prices | compliance review before go-live |
| Downtime at switchover | lost enquiries | DNS switch at a quiet hour, tested staging |
| Personal data | over-collecting form | minimum fields, documents through a secure channel on quote |
The compliance review checks that the word architect appears only for people who hold the title, that any awards, competitions and certifications are real and supplied by the firm, and that private houses appear without addresses. Central Planning Authority applications and hurricane-resilient design are described in general terms, never as advice. On data, the Cayman Data Protection Act, in force since 2019, applies to your form, with the Ombudsman as supervisory authority. This is not legal advice.
After go-live, local search needs 6 weeks of care: a verified Google profile for each office, matching categories, corrected directory listings and a weekly check of errors in Search Console.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
What stays on quote, and what to ask
On quote, linked or embedded and never rebuilt inside a fixed-grid site: BIM viewers, project extranets, client portals, tender document rooms, CRM integration, secure transfer of plans.
Questions to ask any provider:
- Who produces the URL inventory and the 301 map?
- How many weeks of Search Console monitoring are included?
- Who updates the Google profile and directory listings?
- Which images are converted to WebP or AVIF, and by whom?
- What happens after the 3 months of support?
When is a local agency the better choice?
If you want weekly in-person workshops, a photo shoot coordinated across several sites on the island, or a custom client portal delivered in the same project, a George Town agency is often the better fit. The same holds if the firm wants one supplier on an annual retainer for the website, print and social media.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Mangrove Line Studio, a George Town practice opening a second office in West Bay. Its site has 40 indexed URLs, 22 of them project pages. The firm picks Growth at USD 4,900: 12 project pages merged, 28 pages kept, 40 tested 301 redirects, one page per office. Third-party cost: a local photographer for the new office, USD 800 (market assumption, third-party cost). Year-one total: 4,900 + 800 = USD 5,700, against USD 18,000 for the middle of a local agency range, a gap of USD 12,300. Maintenance after the 3 included months is on quote.
FAQ
How long does a Kolonell redesign take? Between 3 and 4 weeks once content is ready. Search Console monitoring then continues for 6 weeks.
Do we need one page per office? Yes, as soon as there are two addresses. Each page carries its own address, hours and map, consistent with the 2 Google profiles.
Can we keep our project extranet? Yes, it is linked or embedded in the new site. Any adaptation is priced on quote, on top of the USD 2,900 to 8,900 grid.
What happens to old project pages? They are kept, merged or retired, and each one gets a 301 redirect. On a 40-URL site the inventory takes about a day.
Can the site run in English and French? Yes, with Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) at USD 8,900. Native English or French copywriting is included in every tier.
For a precise figure on your redesign, request a free quote.
Let's scope your project. Send your page count, your offices and your target date: we price the redesign between USD 2,900 and 8,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. 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.
