Website requirements checklist for an engineering and construction firm in Dublin before asking for quotes (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For a Dublin engineering and construction firm, the website is read by procurement teams and framework evaluators long before anyone meets you, so the specification you write before asking for quotes decides what you are really buying. A precise brief, with templates for project sheets, a document area for certificates and policies, integrations listed line by line, a WCAG 2.2 AA target and GDPR-compliant forms, usually brings Dublin quotes from a spread of about €8,000 to €50,000 down to a range you can score. Kolonell's fixed grid (€2,700, €4,500 or €8,200) maps onto that checklist, while project databases and tender feeds stay on quote.

Why does the website matter in tenders and frameworks?

Public bodies, pharma clients and data centre developers shortlisting consultants check the website as part of due diligence. Evaluators look for the disciplines you cover (civil and structural, MEP, project management), the sectors you work in, evidence of quality, safety and environmental systems, and a named contact. A site from Docklands, Sandyford, Citywest or Ballsbridge that hides these behind a slideshow loses points before the first call. Your specification should therefore be written with an evaluator's checklist in mind, not only a marketing one.

What goes into the specification?

Sort each requirement as must, should or could. It forces decisions and gives agencies the same reading.

Add three lines at the end: who writes and who approves content (engineering directors often approve project sheets; someone must sign off claims about capabilities), acceptance criteria (zero broken links, all documents downloadable, accessibility report delivered), and a budget range with a target live date. Never list projects, clients or certifications you cannot evidence; upload certificates only as documents the firm actually holds.

How much does a precise brief change the quotes?

2026 ballpark from typical agency quotes in Dublin for B2B professional sites; orders of magnitude, not a survey.

How do you score the quotes you receive?

Here each criterion is scored out of 10, with weights fixed before opening the envelopes.

Workings: A = 3.15 + 1.20 + 0.80 + 1.00 + 0.75 = 6.90. B = 2.45 + 0.90 + 0.50 + 1.50 + 0.90 = 6.25. C = 2.80 + 1.05 + 0.80 + 2.25 + 1.35 = 8.25. If your partners want on-site workshops at every stage, add that as a criterion; it can reverse the order.

How does Kolonell's grid map to this checklist?

• Starter, €2,700: compact single-language site, contact form, document downloads.
• Growth, €4,500: full discipline and sector templates, project sheets, document area, migration with 301 map.
• Premium, €8,200: the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote, for firms working across several markets.
• On quote: project database with filters fed from internal systems, tender portal feeds, CRM beyond form capture, ongoing SEO work.

Each tier includes a project manager reachable in Irish working hours, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready and 3 months of support. See the international offer.

On compliance, forms fall under the GDPR and Ireland's Data Protection Act 2018, supervised by the Data Protection Commission: state the purpose, keep only what you need, set a retention period and publish a clear privacy notice with cookie consent. The European Accessibility Act covers specific products and services; whether it applies to your site is a question for your advisers, and WCAG 2.2 AA remains a sensible target either way. This is not legal advice.

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Ciarán Doyle is business development director at a hypothetical civil, structural and MEP consultancy in Sandyford, preparing for a public framework tender. His first email to agencies was three lines long; quotes ranged from €8,000 to €50,000, a €42,000 spread.

He then wrote a four-page specification using the checklist above. Engineering directors drafted 18 project sheets at about 1.5 hours each, 27 hours in total. The second round of quotes ranged from €4,500 to €26,000, a €21,500 spread, roughly half the first.

He chose a Growth-level scope at €4,500 and kept the project database for a later phase on quote. The site went live four weeks after content was ready, with certificates and the safety policy downloadable from day one.

FAQ

How long should the specification be? Three to five pages for most engineering firms. Eleven requirement lines plus content ownership, acceptance and budget cover the essentials.

Should project sheets name clients? Only where the client has agreed. Otherwise describe the sector, scope and year, for example a pharma fit-out in 2025, without names.

Do we need WCAG 2.2 AA? It is a sensible target and easy to verify with a test report at acceptance. Retrofitting accessibility later typically costs more than building it in from the start.

Which integrations should stay out of a fixed price? Anything that pulls live data, such as a filtered project database or tender feeds. List them separately so each quote prices them openly; with Kolonell they are on quote.

What does Kolonell charge for this checklist? €2,700 for Starter, €4,500 for Growth and €8,200 for Premium, the multilingual tier. Delivery is 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, with 3 months of support.

Let's scope your project. Send us your specification, even a draft, and we will match it to a tier, a budget and a delivery date before your next tender. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.