The verdict in three sentences
For a freight forwarder and customs broker in Miami, a website redesign costs 8,000 to 25,000 USD in 2026 (Miami market estimate) and takes 4 to 8 weeks. The site must reassure an importer in Bogotá or Port-au-Prince who has never met you: rate request form, simplified shipment tracking and one page per trade lane with transit times and required documents. Kolonell, a Dakar-based agency, places this scope in its Growth tier at 1,200,000-2,000,000 FCFA (1,830-3,050 EUR), with maintenance at 35,000 or 75,000 FCFA a month (about 50 or 110 EUR).
What a Latin American or Caribbean importer looks for
Miami is the main gateway for cargo to Latin America and the Caribbean. An auto parts importer in Medellín compares three or four forwarders before sending a booking. They want to know whether you know their lane, how many days to expect, which documents to prepare and whether they can track their container without calling five times. These are the pages that answer those questions.
| Page or feature | Importer's question | Key content | Expected effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Miami to Colombia | How many days to Cartagena? | Ocean 3 to 6 days port to port (estimate), weekly sailings, documents | Shows lane expertise |
| Lane Miami to Caribbean | Which islands are covered? | Consolidation days, LCL and FCL, transit times | Differentiates from generalists |
| Lane Miami to Central America | Road or ocean? | Options via Puerto Cortés or Santo Tomás, indicative times | Broadens the portfolio |
| Rate request form | What will it cost me? | Commodity, 20 or 40 ft container or LCL, destination, Incoterm | Quote sent within 24 h |
| Shipment tracking | Where is my cargo? | Reference number, milestones (received, sailed, arrived, delivered) | Fewer customer service calls |
| Documents and compliance | What do I need? | Commercial invoice, packing list, EEI filing, certificate of origin | Complete files from day one |
| Licences and references | Are you reliable? | FMC OTI licence number, customs broker licence, years in business | Trust before first contact |
Add a visible WhatsApp button on every page: many Latin American importers prefer sending a photo of their invoice by message to filling in a form.
The standard redesign quote in 2026
Here is the structure of a typical quote for a forwarder with 15 to 40 employees. Amounts are Miami market estimates.
| Item | Content | Estimated cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and sitemap | Old site review, pages to keep, redirects | 800 to 2,000 USD | 1 week |
| Design and build | 10 to 15 pages, mobile first, EN and ES | 3,500 to 10,000 USD | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Trade lane pages | 3 to 5 pages with map and transit time table | 1,200 to 3,500 USD | 1 week |
| Qualifying rate request form | Freight-specific fields, email and WhatsApp alerts | 800 to 2,500 USD | 1 week |
| Simplified tracking | Milestones entered by staff, lookup by reference | 1,200 to 5,000 USD | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Copywriting and Spanish version | Industry copy, full ES translation | 500 to 2,000 USD | In parallel |
| Market total | Full redesign | 8,000 to 25,000 USD | 4 to 8 weeks |
For comparison, Kolonell's grid places this scope in Growth, 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR). Tracking connected to your freight management system (CargoWise or an in-house tool) falls outside that frame: it is a custom application, priced from 2,500,000 FCFA (3,810 EUR).
| Kolonell maintenance plan | Monthly price | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Basique | 35,000 FCFA (50 EUR) | Updates, backups, security |
| Standard | 75,000 FCFA (110 EUR) | Basique plus content changes and form monitoring |
| Premium | 120,000 FCFA (180 EUR) | Standard plus monthly improvements and priority support |
Mini case study
Illustrative scenario: Carlos, owner of a 25-employee freight forwarder in Miami, gets a mid-range local quote of 14,000 USD and 300 USD a month for maintenance, i.e. 17,600 USD in year one. His average net margin per ocean shipment to Latin America is 450 USD. He therefore needs about 40 shipments to pay back year one, or about 30 if he picks a leaner build at 10,000 USD plus the same maintenance (13,600 / 450). If the site generates 8 rate requests a month with 35% conversion, he wins 2.8 shipments a month, i.e. about 34 over 12 months. Meanwhile, online tracking cuts follow-up calls by roughly 40 a month, giving his team back nearly 7 hours.
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FAQ
How long does a forwarder website redesign take?
Count on 4 to 8 weeks depending on the number of lanes and whether tracking is included. Writing lane pages with your operations team often takes 1 to 2 weeks on its own.
Can tracking connect to our freight software?
Yes, but it is a separate integration project, priced like a custom application from 2,500,000 FCFA (3,810 EUR) at Kolonell. The simplified version, where staff enter 4 to 6 milestones, already covers most customer requests.
Should we publish freight rates?
Fixed prices are risky because they depend on commodity, carrier and surcharges. An indicative range per container and a guaranteed 24 h response time clearly increase the number of requests.
Do we need a Spanish version?
Yes for a Latin American customer base: Spanish pages typically lift form submissions from the region by 30 to 50%. Count 10 to 15 translated pages.
Should our FMC licence appear on the site?
Yes, showing your FMC OTI licence number and customs broker licence in the footer and on the about page is a strong trust signal. It takes 10 minutes and answers a question most new importers ask.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your trade lanes, monthly shipment volume and indicative budget, and we will propose a priced scope on the Growth tier with a 4 to 8 week schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h via our free quote form. 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.
