The verdict in three sentences
For an architecture studio in London bidding for competitions and private commissions, a premium portfolio website costs 9,000 to 22,000 GBP in 2026. The upper range covers motion design, 40 or more project case studies and editorial content. Budget separately for project photography at around 1,500 GBP per day, and insist on AVIF images, lazy loading and CDN hosting so large visuals stay fast.
What a client actually looks at
A project director at a public body, a developer or a private client reviews a studio's site before shortlisting it. They look for comparable references (civic buildings, housing, workplace, hospitality), project scale (floor area, construction budget), the studio's exact role (concept, RIBA stages covered, delivery) and team strength. A portfolio filterable by sector and status (completed, on site, competition winner) answers these questions in under a minute.
| Deliverable | Content | Included in package |
|---|---|---|
| Immersive homepage | Full-screen hero project, key figures | Premium and Premium+ |
| Filterable portfolio | 25 projects, sector, status, location filters | Premium and Premium+ |
| Project case study | Client, area, budget, RIBA stages, 8 to 15 images | Premium and Premium+ |
| Studio and team page | Partners, backgrounds, ARB registration | Premium and Premium+ |
| Competitions and awards | Wins, shortlists, publications | Premium and Premium+ |
| Motion design | Smooth scroll, progressive reveals | Premium+ |
| Journal or research section | Essays, talks, sustainability data | Premium+ |
2026 price grid in London
The figures below are 2026 orders of magnitude for London studios and agencies specialised in architecture and design. They cover design, development, upload of the projects and image optimisation. For comparison, a similar Premium scope costs 1,800,000 to 2,800,000 FCFA (about 2,300 to 3,600 GBP) in Dakar.
| Package | Scope | Price (GBP) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | 6 pages, 10 projects | 5,000 to 8,000 | 4 to 5 weeks |
| Premium | 10 pages, 25 projects, optimised gallery | 9,000 to 14,000 | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Premium+ | Motion design, journal, 40 projects | 15,000 to 22,000 | 8 to 11 weeks |
| Project photography | per day | about 1,500 | weather and access dependent |
| Drone footage of a site | per session | 800 to 1,500 | CAA permissions required |
| Hosting, CDN and maintenance | monthly | 120 to 300 | ongoing |
Image performance is the decisive issue
A case study often holds 10 to 15 high-resolution photos. Without optimisation, a page weighs 15 to 30 MB, which is painful on mobile data and hurts search rankings through Core Web Vitals. Converting to AVIF, generating several sizes and lazy loading bring the page under 2 MB with no visible loss.
| Technique | Case study page weight | Load time on slow mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Raw camera JPEG | 15 to 30 MB | over 60 s |
| Compressed JPEG | 4 to 6 MB | 20 to 30 s |
| Resized WebP | 1.5 to 2.5 MB | 8 to 12 s |
| Multi-size AVIF + lazy loading | 0.8 to 1.5 MB | 3 to 5 s for first screen |
| AVIF + CDN + blur placeholder | 0.8 to 1.5 MB | under 3 s perceived |
Mini case study
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Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Emma, partner at a 12-person architecture studio in London, enters about fifteen competitions and bids a year and wins 2. She invests 18,000 GBP in a Premium+ site with 30 projects and a journal, plus 3,000 GBP for two days of photography and 200 GBP per month for hosting. Over the following year, the site helps the studio get shortlisted on 4 more private commissions, one of which it wins. With fees of 10 % on a 4,000,000 GBP construction budget, or 400,000 GBP, the site represents about 5 % of the fees from a single extra win.
FAQ
How many projects should we show?
Between 15 and 30 well-documented projects beat 80 projects with one image each. The Premium package at 9,000 to 14,000 GBP includes 25 full case studies.
Can we add projects ourselves?
Yes, through a simple CMS. Adding a case study with 10 images takes about 20 minutes, and AVIF optimisation runs automatically.
Is professional photography worth it?
For flagship projects, yes. At around 1,500 GBP per day, two or three days cover your 5 to 8 strongest projects, which carry most of the shortlisting decisions.
Will the site be fast on mobile?
With AVIF, CDN and lazy loading, the first screen appears in under 3 seconds on a slow connection. The target is a mobile Lighthouse score above 90.
Let's scope your project. A premium architecture portfolio of 10 pages with 25 to 40 projects, indicative budget of 9,000 to 22,000 GBP depending on motion design and content, live in 6 to 11 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
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.
