The verdict in three sentences
A London engineering and construction firm should budget £15,000 to £60,000 for a redesign with a local B2B agency in 2026, while Kolonell's fixed grid is £2,300, £3,900 or £6,900, with client portals and integrations on quote. What usually goes wrong is the slow erosion of project case study rankings, image search traffic and careers page applications after URLs change. Lock the URL inventory, the 301 map and client approvals for project imagery before design starts, and the build itself fits in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready.
Is your current site holding the practice back?
Engineering firms in London rarely win work from a website alone, but they lose shortlists and candidates because of one. Typical signs that a redesign is due:
- Bid teams send PDFs by email because the tender and prequalification library on the site is out of date or missing.
- Project pages are a gallery without context: no sector, no role, no scope, so a developer or public client cannot tell what you actually delivered.
- The careers page is a single paragraph, while technical recruitment is one of the main reasons engineers and graduates visit the site.
- Site teams cannot open the site on a tablet at a project in Stratford or Battersea without long load times.
- Health and safety and sustainability pages were written years ago and no longer reflect how you describe your approach to CDM duties or the building safety regime.
- Nobody knows who owns the old theme, the domain or the drone footage.
What does a redesign cost in London in 2026?
2026 ballpark ranges, drawn from typical agency quotes and public rate pages of London agencies. Ranges, not precise figures.
| Route | Who does the work | 2026 ballpark | What you own at the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance designer and developer | One person, template based | £3,000 to £10,000 | Usually code and content, check the contract |
| Mid-size London B2B agency | Strategy, design, build, 25 to 50 pages | £15,000 to £40,000 | Code and design, often hosting on their platform |
| Larger brand and digital agency | Rebrand plus site, workshops in person | £40,000 to £60,000 and up | Depends on licence terms |
| Kolonell Starter | Focused practice site, services, contact | £2,300 | Code, content, domain in your name |
| Kolonell Growth | Projects library, sectors, careers, insights | £3,900 | Same |
| Kolonell Premium | Advanced design, larger structure, the multilingual tier with languages set in the quote | £6,900 | Same |
| Client portal, tender portal, HR or ATS integration | Built to your systems | On quote | Set in the quote |
All Kolonell tiers include a project manager reachable during UK working hours, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready and 3 months of support; maintenance afterwards is on quote. The full scope sits on the international offer page.
What does a realistic timeline look like?
| Week | Kolonell deliverable | Input needed from the firm |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (before kick-off) | Scope, URL inventory from Search Console | Analytics access, list of 10 to 20 priority projects |
| 1 | Sitemap, 301 redirect map draft, page templates | Approval of project list and client imagery permissions |
| 2 | Design of home, sector, project and careers templates | Technical copy review by a senior engineer |
| 3 | Build, document library, forms | Final tender and prequalification documents |
| 4 | QA on desktop and tablet, accessibility checks, redirects tested | Sign-off by a director |
| Launch plus 30 days | Search Console monitoring, broken link fixes | Report any missing documents |
The critical path is almost never the code. It is clients approving the use of photographs of their buildings and senior engineers finding time to review technical copy. A local agency typically plans 10 to 16 weeks end to end, partly because of in-person workshops.
Which risks matter most, and how do you contain them?
Project case study URLs and image SEO. Project pages often rank for the building name or the area. Keep the slug where possible, redirect every changed URL with a 301, keep image file names and alt text descriptive, and re-submit the sitemap at launch.
Careers pages. Job URLs indexed by job boards and search engines break silently. Redirect closed roles to the main careers page, not to the home page.
Tender and prequalification library. Bid teams send links to policies, insurance summaries and method statements. List every document URL in the inventory and keep or redirect each one.
Client approval of imagery. Use only photographs and drone footage you have rights to and that the client has cleared. Drone and on-site shoots are booked with a third-party local operator, never as a Kolonell fee.
Compliance review of marketing content. Describe your experience under the Building Safety Act 2022 regime and your approach to CDM Regulations 2015 in general terms, and never claim a registration, accreditation or Chartered Engineer status that the firm or a named person does not hold. Under UK GDPR, the ICO expects a clear privacy notice, and PECR requires consent for non-essential cookies. The Equality Act 2010 is a good reason to target WCAG 2.2 AA. This is not legal advice.
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Downtime. Lower DNS TTL two days before, switch on a quiet evening, test forms within the hour.
When a local agency is the better choice. If the redesign comes with a full rebrand, in-person stakeholder workshops across several offices, or a tender portal tightly integrated with your bid software, a London agency at £40,000 or more is often worth it. A remote studio fits a firm that has its brand in place, knows its priority projects and wants a fast, well structured site.
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Priya Shah is operations director of a 60-person structural and building services consultancy near King's Cross. Her current site loses candidates: graduates apply through agencies instead of directly.
- Kolonell Growth: £3,900
- Third-party local photographer and drone operator for three cleared projects: about £1,800
- Total: £5,700
Her rough benchmark: a single engineer recruited through an agency at a ballpark fee of 20% on a £55,000 salary costs £11,000. One direct hire through a better careers page would cover the redesign almost twice. She budgets the ATS integration separately, on quote. To test your own scope, request a free quote.
FAQ
How much should a London engineering firm budget for a redesign in 2026?
Expect £15,000 to £60,000 with a local agency, depending on rebrand and workshops. Kolonell's fixed grid is £2,300, £3,900 or £6,900, integrations on quote.
How long will the redesign take?
Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once project content and image permissions are ready. Allow one or two extra weeks for client approvals.
Will we lose rankings on project pages?
Some movement over 2 to 6 weeks is normal. A full 301 map covering projects, careers and documents keeps lasting losses limited.
Can we show projects still under construction?
Only with the client's permission and within any confidentiality terms in your appointment. Many firms publish 5 to 10 cleared projects at launch and add the rest later.
Who owns the site and the photographs afterwards?
With Kolonell, code, content and domain are in your name. Photo and drone rights depend on your contract with the third-party photographer, so get them assigned in writing.
Let's scope your project. Share your page count, priority projects and documents library, and we will return a fixed budget and a 3 to 4 week plan. 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.