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

The verdict in three sentences

A redesign is due in Lucerne when your project pages take more than 4 seconds to load on mobile, when two websites coexist after a merger, or when the German and English content has drifted apart. A sensible budget runs from CHF 2,700 to 8,200 on the Kolonell fixed grid, against a ballpark of CHF 15,000 to 45,000 for a local agency, before photography and translation. The main risk is traffic loss on project pages that are already indexed, and it is managed with a URL inventory, a 301 redirect map and six weeks of Search Console monitoring.

How do you know a practice website needs a redesign?

An architecture firm lives on its images. They are also what weighs down an ageing site the most: 5 MB JPEGs exported as is, galleries loaded in one block, no sizes adapted to screens. In Lucerne, where part of the enquiries come from international clients and lakeside hospitality projects, the first visit very often happens on a phone.

The target standard is WCAG 2.2 level AA: alt text, contrast, keyboard navigation and forms that a screen reader can handle. It is good practice that is gradually becoming the norm in Europe, notably through the European Accessibility Act for some digital services.

What budget should you plan for the redesign?

The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark, based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in central Switzerland. They vary with the number of projects to migrate and the languages.

Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready and 3 months of support. Maintenance after that is on quote, as is SEO work. See the details on our international offer.

How long does a redesign take, phase by phase?

The 3 to 4 week timeline assumes texts, photos and publication consents are gathered. In a practice, collecting photographer credits is often what takes longest.

Which risks, and how do you reduce them?

• Ranking loss: every project page that receives visits needs its 301 redirect. Check 404 errors in Search Console for six weeks.
• Image rights: every published photo needs a credit and the client's consent. Private houses are shown without an address.
• Professional claims: the title of architect is not protected at federal level. Only display a REG register entry or SIA membership if the firm actually holds them. Rules on who may sign permit applications differ by canton, so describe your process in general terms.
• Personal data: the form collects the minimum (name, contact, project type, area, rough budget). Plans travel through a separate secure channel, on quote. The revFADP (nLPD), in force since 1 September 2023, applies, and the GDPR may add to it if you target EU residents. This is not legal advice.
• Downtime: DNS switch at an off-peak hour, old site kept as a backup for 30 days.
• Pre-launch review: awards, certifications and publications only appear if they are real and supplied by the firm.

BIM viewers, project extranets, client portals, tender document rooms and CRM stay on quote: they are linked or embedded, never rebuilt inside a fixed-price site.

Questions to ask your provider

Who writes the redirect map and who tests it? What maximum weight per project page is guaranteed at delivery? How is alt text produced? Who will be able to add a project after launch, and in how many minutes?

When a local agency is still the better choice

If your redesign comes with a new visual identity, a photo campaign across several sites in the canton or in-person workshops with all the partners, a Lucerne agency brings a proximity that is hard to replace. The same goes if the site must integrate deeply with an existing extranet managed locally.

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Hofer Lang Partner, a practice formed by merging two Lucerne studios, runs two old sites, one with 140 URLs and the other with 90, so 230 URLs to inventory. Its 60 project pages weigh 4.2 MB on average. Goal: under 1 MB per page, in German and English.

Choice: Kolonell Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) at CHF 8,200, plus a German proofread by an independent translator estimated at CHF 900 and a photo reshoot by a local photographer estimated at CHF 2,400, both third-party costs. Total: 8,200 + 900 + 2,400 = CHF 11,500, compared with a typical local agency quote of CHF 28,000 for a similar scope. The 60 pages drop from 252 MB to under 60 MB combined.

FAQ

Should you keep the old project URLs?

Not necessarily, but every old URL that gets visits must 301 redirect to its new page. For 230 URLs, allow 1 to 2 days of mapping.

Which image format should you choose?

AVIF with a WebP fallback generally weighs 30 to 50% less than an equivalent JPEG. Lazy loading applies to every image below the fold.

Is WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility included?

QA covers the main points: alt text, 4.5:1 contrast, keyboard navigation. A full external audit remains a separate third-party cost.

Can you go live in the middle of a competition deadline?

Better to aim for a quiet 2-week window, since Search Console monitoring runs for 6 weeks after the switch.

How much does an English version cost?

It falls under the Premium tier at CHF 8,200, languages set in the quote. An external German proofread is added as a third-party cost.

Let's scope your project. A portfolio redesign from CHF 2,700 to 8,200, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.