The verdict in three sentences
A Rotterdam cotton merchant selling to spinning mills in Turkey, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Portugal needs a website that proves fibre quality by origin, sustainability credentials and logistics reliability through the port. Expect 10,000 to 45,000 EUR for the build depending on provider type, 8 to 14 weeks and 120 to 600 EUR a month in maintenance (2026 market ballpark). For most mid-sized traders, the winner is a provider that structures bilingual origin and grade sheets your own team can update each season.
The content that sells a bale
Mill buyers compare origins side by side. They want staple length, micronaire, strength and contamination levels per origin and crop year, and they want proof you can deliver container loads on schedule out of Rotterdam or directly from origin ports.
| Content | Typical volume | How the buyer uses it | 2026 market ballpark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin and grade sheets per crop year | 10 to 30 sheets | Compare fibre properties across origins | 2,000 to 6,000 EUR |
| Sustainability and certification pages | 3 to 6 pages | Check participation in recognised sustainable cotton programmes, organic scope | 1,000 to 3,000 EUR |
| Logistics and port pages | 2 to 4 pages plus a map | Judge lead times, warehousing and container routing | 1,200 to 4,000 EUR |
| Dutch and English versions | Whole site | English for mills, Dutch for local banks, insurers and recruitment | 1,500 to 5,000 EUR |
| Sample and offer request form | 1 to 2 forms | Qualify volume, grade, incoterm and shipment period | 600 to 2,000 EUR |
| Secure document area | 10 to 50 files | Contract terms, certificates, arbitration rules references | 1,500 to 6,000 EUR |
The hidden challenge is seasonality: if every new crop year means calling the agency, your sheets will be out of date within twelve months.
2026 ranking of provider types
We rank types of providers, never named agencies, on two-year total cost, lead time, portability and support availability.
| Rank | Provider type | Build budget (2026 market ballpark) | Lead time | Portability | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specialist B2B and commodities agency | 25,000 to 45,000 EUR | 10 to 14 weeks | Good if code transfer is contractual | Traders handling several origins and certification schemes |
| 2 | Fixed-price nearshore studio (Kolonell, Dakar) | Growth 1,830 to 3,050 EUR, Premium 3,050 to 5,340 EUR, before options | 14 to 30 working days | Good, logins handed over | Mid-sized houses wanting a firm price and editable sheets |
| 3 | Generalist Rotterdam or Randstad agency | 12,000 to 30,000 EUR | 8 to 12 weeks | Variable | Teams wanting in-person workshops |
| 4 | Freelancer | 6,000 to 15,000 EUR | 8 to 14 weeks | Risky with a single login holder | Simple brochure site without data sheets |
| 5 | In-house WordPress build | Free licence, hosting and theme on subscription, public prices vary | Variable | Good | Marketing teams already fluent in the tool |
A Dutch generalist agency wins on proximity and Dutch copy, yet commodity vocabulary often needs heavy client input. Kolonell's Growth tier plus options at fixed prices (about 110 EUR per extra language, 40 EUR per extra page, 230 EUR for a document area) covers most needs, with sheets managed in the CMS by your traders.
Running costs over two crop years
| Item | 2026 market ballpark | Kolonell's prices |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | 120 to 600 EUR | Basic 53, Standard 114, Premium 183 EUR |
| Seasonal sheet updates if outsourced | 800 to 2,500 EUR per crop year | Entered by your team in the CMS |
| New page copywriting | 150 to 400 EUR per page | About 90 EUR per page |
| Google SEO retainer | 500 to 2,000 EUR a month | Essential 152, Growth 305 EUR |
| Hosting and domain | 20 to 100 EUR a month | Depends on the host |
Mini case study
Illustrative example, fictional company: Femke, commercial director of a 25 person cotton trading house in Rotterdam, handles about 60,000 tonnes a year from four origins. She compares two proposals.
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- Randstad commodities agency: 34,000 EUR build, 400 EUR a month maintenance and 1,800 EUR per crop year for sheet updates. Two years: 34,000 + 9,600 + 3,600 = 47,200 EUR.
- Kolonell: Growth at 2,450 EUR, 16 origin sheets as extra pages (640 EUR), Dutch version (110 EUR), document area (230 EUR), so 3,430 EUR, plus Standard maintenance at 114 EUR a month (2,736 EUR over two years). Total: 6,166 EUR, to which Femke adds about 3,000 EUR for native Dutch copy editing.
Even after that copy budget, the gap exceeds 38,000 EUR. Winning one extra mill account buying a few thousand tonnes a year would cover the whole project many times over.
FAQ
Should we publish quality data per origin?
Publishing averages by origin and grade, updated each crop year, reassures mills without revealing contract terms. Plan for 10 to 30 sheets depending on your origins.
Do we really need Dutch if our buyers read English?
English is the trading language, but Dutch pages help with local banks, insurers and hiring. A second language costs 1,500 to 5,000 EUR on the market.
How should sustainability claims be worded?
State which programmes you participate in and the scope of certified volumes, and link to the scheme owner. EU regulators are tightening scrutiny of environmental claims, so have your compliance team review every claim before launch.
When should we start before the selling season?
Allow 8 to 14 weeks on the market plus 2 weeks of internal sign-off. Start at least three months ahead of your main offer period.
How do we keep control if the provider disappears?
Put the domain, hosting and code in your company's name by contract. A single freelancer holding every login is the top risk, whatever the 6,000 to 15,000 EUR price.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your origins, grades and languages, and we will price a Growth or Premium build with editable quality sheets, ready before your next selling season. 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.