The verdict in three sentences
For a San Francisco architecture firm opening a second office in the Bay Area, the redesign must first fix local search: one Google Business Profile per real office, the same name, address and phone everywhere, and a dedicated page for each office. 2026 ballpark: USD 20,000 to 55,000 with a local studio, against USD 4,900 (Growth) or USD 8,900 (Premium) on the Kolonell grid, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. Project page migration and consistent local data decide the outcome more than the design does.
Is the redesign due now?
Four situations make it urgent in the Bay Area:
- The firm is adding an address (Oakland, Berkeley, the Peninsula) and the current site can only show one office.
- Project pages mix residential renovations, seismic retrofits and tech workplace fit-outs with no filter by type.
- On mobile, image pages take more than 5 seconds to load.
- No accessibility check has ever been done, while ADA Title III claims targeting websites are frequent in California. The reasonable target is WCAG 2.2 AA.
What does the redesign cost over three years?
2026 ranges based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages. The "running costs" column is a market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months is on quote.
| Option | Redesign | Running costs over 33 months (market assumption) | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area freelancer | USD 6,000 to 18,000 | USD 150 to 300 per month, so 4,950 to 9,900 | USD 10,950 to 27,900 |
| Local web studio | USD 20,000 to 55,000 | USD 300 to 800 per month, so 9,900 to 26,400 | USD 29,900 to 81,400 |
| Kolonell Starter | USD 2,900 | third-party hosting only (market assumption), USD 30 per month, so 990 | USD 3,890 |
| Kolonell Growth | USD 4,900 | third-party hosting only (market assumption), USD 990 | USD 5,890 |
| Kolonell Premium | USD 8,900 | third-party hosting only (market assumption), USD 990 | USD 9,890 |
Every tier of the international offer includes a project manager reachable in Pacific time, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Premium is the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote.
Two offices, one local identity
| Item | Rule after the redesign | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | One profile per office that actually receives clients or staff | Profile created for a mail-drop address |
| Firm name | Written exactly the same on the site, profiles and directories | "Studio" added or dropped depending on the platform |
| Address and phone | One local number per office, repeated identically on its page | One number for both offices |
| Office page | Team on site, projects in the area, access, hours | Page copied and pasted with only the city name changed |
| Structured data | ProfessionalService markup per office, address and area served | One office marked up across the whole site |
| Professional directories | Updated on go-live day | Old address still visible 6 months later |
City project pages can link to the relevant office page. Private homes stay without addresses or street numbers, and GPS metadata is stripped from photos.
Timeline and risks, week by week
| Week | Work | Main risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before | Project selection, photo credits, client permissions | Image published without rights | Photographer and client register for every project |
| 1 | URL inventory, 301 map, sitemap by project type | Ranking pages lost | Page-to-page redirects, not to the homepage |
| 2 | Project templates, office pages, careers | Professional titles misused | "Architect" reserved for people holding a state license |
| 3 | Build, WebP/AVIF, alt text, forms | Form collects too much | Name, contact, project type, area, rough budget |
| 4 | QA, marketing content review, switch | Undocumented awards or press | Nothing published without proof supplied by the firm |
| +6 weeks | Search Console, local profiles | 404s and duplicate profiles | Weekly check during support |
Seismic constraints, zoning and permit procedures stay described in general terms, never as advice. For personal data, CCPA/CPRA thresholds are rarely reached by a mid-sized practice, yet a clear privacy policy is still expected; the newsletter follows CAN-SPAM. This is not legal advice.
What stays on quote, and the questions to ask
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
These stay on quote, linked or embedded, never rebuilt inside the site: client portal, project extranet, BIM viewer, tender document room, CRM integration, secure plan upload. Questions for every provider: who creates and checks the local profiles, who owns the domain, how the 301 map is tested, which WCAG level is verified, what support covers after the switch.
A Bay Area studio is still the better choice if you want in-person workshops, a new brand identity and shoots directed on your sites by the same team.
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Marrow Linden Studio, a San Francisco practice focused on residential renovations, is opening an office in Oakland. The current site has 26 project pages and a single address.
- Kolonell Growth with two office pages: USD 4,900.
- Local freelance photographer (third-party cost) for the new office and team: USD 800.
- Hosting for 33 months: USD 30 x 33 = USD 990 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote).
- 3-year total: 4,900 + 800 + 990 = USD 6,690, against a typical local studio quote of USD 32,000.
On the firm's side, about 3 hours are enough to verify the two Google Business Profiles.
FAQ
Do we need one page per office?
Yes, if each office really hosts clients or staff. Two pages of 400 to 600 words with their own content beat one shared page listing 2 addresses.
How much does a redesign cost in San Francisco?
2026 ballpark: USD 20,000 to 55,000 with a local studio, USD 6,000 to 18,000 with a freelancer. Kolonell runs from USD 2,900 (Starter) to USD 8,900 (Premium).
How long before Google shows the new office?
Profile verification often takes from a few days to a few weeks. Request it at least 2 weeks before go-live.
Will our old project pages lose their rankings?
The risk is real without a 301 map. With page-to-page redirects and 6 weeks of Search Console monitoring, it is greatly reduced.
Let's scope your project. An architecture firm website redesign in San Francisco with office pages, USD 4,900 to 8,900, live 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.
