The verdict in three sentences
To rebuild the 400-page website and member business directory of a chamber of commerce in Dublin, the realistic envelope as a 2026 order of magnitude is EUR 40,000 to 80,000 excluding VAT, procured through a competitive tender. A precise RFP narrows the gap between bids by about 30 %, because bidders finally price the same scope. The three items that make budgets drift are WCAG accessibility, the connection to the member database, and content migration.
What the RFP must lock down
A communications manager who writes a 6-page brief alone receives bids from EUR 25,000 to 110,000, impossible to compare. The reason is simple: each agency imagines its own scope. The following items must be priceable without interpretation.
| RFP item | Vague wording | Priceable wording |
|---|---|---|
| Content volume | "About 400 pages" | 400 pages inventoried, 120 to rewrite, 180 to migrate, 100 to delete |
| Member directory | "A modern directory" | 2,500 member listings, search by sector, area and membership tier, daily updates |
| Member database connection | "Interface with our data" | Daily feed from the CRM, format and fields listed |
| Accessibility | "Accessible website" | WCAG 2.1 AA, audit on 20 pages, published accessibility statement |
| Content editors | "Team training" | 15 editors, 3 permission profiles, 2 sessions of 3 hours |
| Hosting | "Secure hosting" | EU hosting, 99.9 % uptime, daily backups kept 30 days |
| Maintenance | "Maintenance to be included" | 3-year support contract, 4-hour fix time for blocking issues |
Accessibility is no longer optional. Public sector bodies in Ireland fall under S.I. 358/2020, which transposes the EU Web Accessibility Directive, and the European Accessibility Act has applied to many private services since June 2025. A chamber that receives public funding or delivers services for government agencies should treat WCAG 2.1 AA as a baseline.
Rebuild budget, lot by lot
Here is a realistic breakdown for an institutional site of this size.
| Lot | Low range | High range |
|---|---|---|
| Audit, inventory and information architecture | EUR 4,000 | EUR 8,000 |
| Accessible design and templates | EUR 6,000 | EUR 12,000 |
| CMS and template development | EUR 10,000 | EUR 20,000 |
| Member directory and CRM connection | EUR 8,000 | EUR 16,000 |
| Content migration and rewriting | EUR 5,000 | EUR 10,000 |
| WCAG audit and fixes | EUR 3,000 | EUR 6,000 |
| Training for 15 editors and documentation | EUR 1,500 | EUR 3,000 |
| Testing, go-live and redirects | EUR 2,500 | EUR 5,000 |
| Total excl. VAT | EUR 40,000 | EUR 80,000 |
For publicly funded bodies, contracts above EUR 25,000 are usually advertised on eTenders, and above the EU threshold of EUR 221,000 for sub-central bodies a full open procedure applies. Most chamber website rebuilds stay well below that threshold.
Writing the award criteria
Weighted criteria matter as much as the brief. A common split: 50 % technical quality, 35 % price, 15 % timeline and method. Ask for a technical proposal structured by your lots, a mock-up of one key page and two comparable references in the public or membership sector. Plan a 45-minute interview with the top three bidders: it quickly reveals who understood the directory constraint. Finally, require a fixed price broken down by lot, to compare line by line and negotiate on a common basis.
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Ciarán, communications manager at a chamber of commerce in Dublin (illustrative persona), received 5 bids between EUR 32,000 and 96,000 in a first tender, a gap of EUR 64,000. After rewriting the RFP with a page inventory, directory fields and WCAG requirements, the second tender received 6 bids between EUR 48,000 and 75,000, a gap of EUR 27,000. The gap was more than halved. More importantly, the winning EUR 58,000 bid generated only EUR 4,000 of change requests, against the EUR 15,000 to 20,000 often seen when scope is fuzzy. The 4 days spent sharpening the document paid for themselves many times over.
FAQ
What budget should a chamber of commerce plan for a website rebuild?
As a 2026 order of magnitude, budget EUR 40,000 to 80,000 excluding VAT for 400 pages, a connected directory and WCAG compliance. Add EUR 4,000 to 10,000 a year for hosting and support.
Which procurement route applies?
Publicly funded bodies usually advertise contracts above EUR 25,000 on eTenders. Private membership chambers can run a simpler invited tender, but the same structured RFP gives comparable bids.
How long does a rebuild like this take?
Allow 2 to 3 months of tendering, then 6 to 9 months of delivery. Content migration and accessibility testing often take the last third of the schedule.
Do all 400 pages need rewriting?
No, an inventory usually shows that 20 to 30 % of pages can be deleted. Rewriting the 100 to 150 most visited pages is enough to transform the site's readability.
How do we stay WCAG compliant after launch?
Train the 15 editors on the basics: headings, alt text, explicit links, accessible PDFs. Plan an annual check audit on 20 pages, roughly EUR 2,000 to 4,000.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current site and directory constraints: we will help you structure the rebuild scope, with an indicative budget per lot and a realistic tender and delivery schedule. 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.
