The verdict in three sentences
For a mid-cap company with 300 to 1,500 employees, a serious corporate website redesign costs EUR 25,000 to 45,000 excl. VAT for 30 to 60 pages on a headless CMS. Add an investor relations area, a second or third language and HR or CRM integrations, and the bill rises to EUR 45,000 to 90,000. The real trap is not the entry price but maintenance (EUR 600 to 1,500 per month) and your communications team's internal time, which is usually underestimated by half.
What a corporate redesign really costs in 2026
The market splits into three provider profiles: full-service agencies, specialist headless development studios, and senior freelancers working as a collective. In regional European hubs such as Lyon, agency day rates sit between EUR 550 and 750; in London, expect GBP 650 to 950 (roughly EUR 760 to 1,100), so the figures below are a floor for central London agencies. A 30 to 60 page redesign typically consumes 45 to 80 person-days across strategy, UX, design, development, content migration and QA.
| Scope | Pages | Key features | Budget excl. VAT 2026 | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate core | 30 to 40 | Headless CMS, news, careers | EUR 25,000 to 35,000 | 14 to 16 weeks |
| Extended corporate | 40 to 60 | + ESG, locations, media library | EUR 35,000 to 45,000 | 16 to 18 weeks |
| Corporate + finance | 50 to 70 | + investor area, regulated announcements | EUR 45,000 to 65,000 | 18 to 20 weeks |
| Multilingual corporate | 60 to 90 | + EN/FR/DE, approval workflow | EUR 55,000 to 75,000 | 18 to 22 weeks |
| Multi-subsidiary group | 90+ | + subsidiary sites, design system, intranet SSO | EUR 75,000 to 90,000+ | 20 to 26 weeks |
These ranges are 2026 orders of magnitude observed in mid-cap tenders. They include design, development and migration of existing content, but rarely photo or video production (EUR 3,000 to 12,000 depending on the number of sites to cover).
Where the money goes: breakdown of a EUR 40,000 budget
A head of communications needs to know which lines to negotiate. On a typical EUR 40,000 project, the observed split is as follows.
| Line item | Share | Amount excl. VAT | Negotiation lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoping, workshops, sitemap | 10 % | EUR 4,000 | Provide a solid brief upfront |
| UX and mock-ups (desktop + mobile) | 18 % | EUR 7,200 | Cap templates at 12 to 15 |
| Design system and components | 12 % | EUR 4,800 | Reuse the existing brand guidelines |
| Front-end + headless CMS development | 32 % | EUR 12,800 | Pick a standard CMS (Sanity, Strapi) |
| Content migration and entry | 12 % | EUR 4,800 | Migrate part of it in-house |
| Technical SEO, redirects, accessibility | 8 % | EUR 3,200 | Non-negotiable, traffic loss risk |
| QA, training, go-live | 8 % | EUR 3,200 | Group training sessions |
Technical SEO and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) are the two lines never to cut: a listed company or public-sector bidder can be audited on compliance, and a redesign that breaks redirects commonly loses 20 to 40 % of organic traffic for three to six months.
Recurring costs and three-year total cost
The initial quote says nothing about cost of ownership. A headless CMS reduces security patching compared with a plugin-heavy WordPress, but it requires front-end hosting (Vercel, Netlify or a dedicated server) and a CMS subscription.
| Recurring item | Monthly range excl. VAT | Over 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| Corrective and evolutive maintenance | EUR 600 to 1,500 | EUR 21,600 to 54,000 |
| Front-end hosting + CDN | EUR 50 to 300 | EUR 1,800 to 10,800 |
| Headless CMS licence (team plan) | EUR 0 to 400 | EUR 0 to 14,400 |
| Monitoring, backups, security | EUR 80 to 250 | EUR 2,880 to 9,000 |
| Ad hoc changes (20 days/year) | EUR 920 to 1,250 smoothed | EUR 33,000 to 45,000 |
Over three years, a site that starts at EUR 40,000 often adds up to EUR 100,000 to 130,000 total cost. That is the figure to present to the executive committee, not the launch quote alone.
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Mini case study
Claire, head of communications at an 850-employee industrial mid-cap with offices in London, receives three quotes: EUR 38,000, 52,000 and 71,000. She normalises them to an identical scope (45 pages, EN/FR, light investor area, 14 templates). The EUR 38,000 quote excluded content migration (estimated at EUR 6,000) and redirects (EUR 2,500): it rises to EUR 46,500. The EUR 71,000 quote included a EUR 9,000 video shoot and 12 months of maintenance at EUR 900 per month. Normalised, it comes to EUR 51,200. Claire picks the EUR 52,000 offer, which includes an accessibility audit and maintenance at EUR 750 per month, i.e. EUR 27,000 over three years instead of EUR 32,400. Net saving over the period: EUR 5,400, with a 17-week timeline.
FAQ
How much does a corporate website redesign cost for a mid-cap in 2026?
Budget EUR 25,000 to 45,000 excl. VAT for 30 to 60 pages on a headless CMS. With an investor area and multilingual content, it rises to EUR 45,000 to 90,000 depending on languages and integrations.
What timeline should we plan?
The average is 14 to 20 weeks from kick-off to launch. Add 2 to 4 weeks if several departments must approve content.
Why choose a headless CMS over WordPress?
A headless CMS separates content from presentation, which improves performance (LCP often under 2 s) and security. The upfront premium is around 10 to 15 %, offset by lighter maintenance.
What maintenance budget should we plan?
Between EUR 600 and 1,500 per month for a mid-cap, depending on the volume of changes. Over three years, maintenance often weighs as much as the initial project.
Should we run a formal tender?
Above EUR 40,000, consulting 3 to 4 providers on a shared brief is recommended. It narrows the gap between quotes by around 40 % on average.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current sitemap and objectives: we will price a headless corporate redesign with an indicative budget, a week-by-week plan and a three-year cost. 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.
