Website redesign for an engineering and construction firm in Nairobi: budget, timeline and risks (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

Redesigning the website of an engineering and construction firm in Nairobi typically costs KES 250,000 to 1,500,000 with a local agency in 2026 (about USD 1,900 to 11,600), while Kolonell's fixed grid is USD 2,900, USD 4,900 or USD 8,900. For this sector, the expensive mistakes come from the assets buyers and procurement teams already rely on: project portfolio pages, prequalification documents, tender notices and careers pages, all of which can break, disappear from search or expose personal data during a migration. Plan the inventory and the redirect map first, then the design.

How do you know your firm's website is overdue for a redesign?

Firms based in Upper Hill, Westlands or along Mombasa Road often run websites that grew project by project. The warning signs are usually visible to a client's procurement officer before they are visible to the partners:

• The company profile PDF on the site is three versions old, while the business development team sends a newer one by email.
• Project pages show the same three photos, lack scope, sector or delivery role, and some link to clients' sites that no longer exist.
• Registration and accreditation wording, for example references to the Engineers Board of Kenya, has not been checked since the last renewal.
• Tender and procurement notices are posted as image files that search engines and screen readers cannot read.
• The careers page asks applicants to email CVs to a shared inbox with no retention rule.
• The site takes more than 5 seconds to load on mobile data, which is how many site managers and suppliers will open it.

What budget should you plan for in Nairobi in 2026?

The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in Nairobi, converted at about KES 129 to USD 1 and rounded.

Kolonell delivery runs 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, with a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting and 3 months of support. Support after that period is on quote. Full details on the international website offer.

Which existing assets are most at risk during migration?

Start with an inventory of what already works for you, then decide for each asset whether it is kept, merged, redirected or retired.

CVs and contact form entries are personal data under the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019, which the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) oversees. Your privacy notice, consent wording and retention periods should be reviewed before launch, along with any analytics tags. Marketing claims about capacity, safety records or registrations also deserve a compliance read by someone in the firm who can verify them. This is not legal advice.

What does a realistic timeline look like?

• Week 0, preparation: URL and document inventory, list of approved projects and photos, registration wording confirmed internally.
• Week 1: structure, portfolio templates by sector (for example water, roads, building services), redirect map drafted.
• Weeks 2 to 3: design, build, content entry, PDF replacement, careers flow.
• Week 3 to 4: compliance pass on forms, tags and claims; staging review by partners; go-live outside working hours with the old site kept for rollback.
• Weeks 4 to 8: monitoring of 404 errors and rankings in Search Console.

The step that most often slips is collecting approved project descriptions and photos, so assign one person in the firm to own it.

What stays on quote, and when is a Nairobi agency the better choice?

On quote: client or subcontractor portals with logins, document rooms for bids, integration with an ERP or HR system, live tender feeds and custom calculators. Within the grid: pages, portfolio, downloads, forms and embeds of tools you already use.

A Nairobi agency can be the better choice if you need frequent on-site photo and drone shoots across active sites, Swahili content updated weekly, or a supplier who also handles printed tender documents and signage. Questions to ask any provider: who builds and tests the 301 map, how PDFs are migrated, how CV data is handled, which integrations are on quote, and what support costs after 3 months.

Mini case study

Illustrative example. Wanjiru is business development director at a fictional Nairobi firm we will call Mlima Works Engineering, with 42 project pages, 6 downloadable PDFs and a careers page receiving CVs by email.

• Kolonell Premium: USD 8,900, for 42 project pages restructured by sector, a tender section, careers flow and the 301 map.
• Local site photographer with drone, a third party cost: about KES 80,000, roughly USD 620.
• Internal time to approve project texts: about 20 hours.
• Total project budget: about USD 9,520.

A full-service Nairobi agency quoted KES 1,400,000 for a comparable scope, about USD 10,850. The difference of roughly USD 1,330 is modest, so the choice came down to delivery time and how migration risk was handled. The inventory found 57 indexed URLs, which became 49 redirect rules.

FAQ

How many redirects does an engineering firm redesign need?

It depends on the portfolio. A site with 40 to 60 indexed URLs usually needs 30 to 50 redirect rules, tested before launch and monitored for 4 weeks.

Can we keep our prequalification documents at the same links?

Yes, and it is the safest option. Replace each file at its existing URL or redirect it; Kolonell includes this in Growth (USD 4,900) and Premium (USD 8,900).

How should the careers page handle CVs under Kenyan law?

Collect the minimum, publish a privacy notice and set a retention period, for example 6 to 12 months, agreed with your adviser. The Kenya Data Protection Act 2019 applies to this personal data.

How long does the redesign take?

Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. Allow 1 to 2 weeks before that to collect approved project texts and photos.

Can you build a subcontractor portal at the same time?

Portals with logins are on quote, outside the fixed grid. Many firms launch the redesigned site first, then scope the portal as a second phase.

Let's scope your project. Send us your project count, PDF list and launch window, and we will map the redesign onto the USD 2,900, 4,900 or 8,900 grid with a full redirect plan. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.