The verdict in three sentences
In San-Pédro, seaside hotels, maquis, hardware stores and port freight forwarders need simple websites that load fast on a phone, and few young people know how to code them properly. Learning HTML and CSS is enough to deliver a real 4 to 5 page showcase site, which a beginner bills, as a 2026 order of magnitude, between 100,000 and 300,000 FCFA. The decisive step is to move from scattered YouTube tutorials to a first complete site, live and presentable, with a domain name at about 10,000 FCFA per year.
What an HTML and CSS beginner can sell in San-Pédro
The city lives off the port, cocoa, beach tourism and trade. Many businesses only have a Facebook page, and their customers, often passing through, look for a phone number, an address, photos and prices. A well-built static site meets exactly that need, with no database or online payment.
| Service for a local business | Content | Beginner lead time | 2026 beginner price (FCFA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single page (landing page) | Presentation, photos, WhatsApp button, map | 3 to 5 days | 75,000 to 150,000 |
| 4 to 5 page showcase site | Home, services, gallery, prices, contact | 1 to 2 weeks | 150,000 to 300,000 |
| Hotel or residence site | Rooms, photos, booking form | 2 weeks | 200,000 to 300,000 |
| Online menu for a maquis or restaurant | Menu, prices, hours, printable QR code | 2 to 4 days | 50,000 to 100,000 |
| Monthly update | Photos, prices, news | Monthly | 10,000 to 25,000 per month |
These prices are orders of magnitude observed in Ivory Coast for beginner front-end developers, not an income promise. Agencies bill the same sites 400,000 to 1,500,000 FCFA because they add custom design, SEO and maintenance. Your advantage as a beginner: proximity, speed and a price a neighbourhood business can afford.
What it costs to put a site online
An HTML and CSS site has a big advantage over off-the-shelf solutions: it costs almost nothing to host. That is a strong argument with a hesitant owner.
| Item | Budget option | Professional option | 2026 annual cost (FCFA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com domain name | International registrar | Registrar with French-language support | 8,000 to 12,000 |
| .ci domain name | Accredited registrar | Local registrar | 15,000 to 30,000 |
| Static site hosting | Netlify or GitHub Pages | Shared hosting | 0 to 40,000 |
| HTTPS certificate | Included free | Included | 0 |
| Professional email address | Free forwarding | Paid mailbox | 0 to 30,000 |
| Total for the client | 8,000 to 100,000 |
Explaining this budget transparently to the client avoids disputes, especially if you register the domain in their name.
Getting trained: YouTube, bootcamp or a structured course
Free tutorials teach the tags, but few take you all the way to a complete, responsive, tested site that is live. In-person bootcamps in Abidjan are expensive and require leaving San-Pédro. The course HTML and CSS: build and lay out a real website, level 2 Beginner, 50,000 FCFA, taught in French, is followed online from home.
| Option | 2026 cost (FCFA) | Duration | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free YouTube tutorials | 0 | Unlimited | Basics, often without a full project |
| International online courses | 10,000 to 60,000 | 10 to 40 h | Good theory, examples far from the local market |
| In-person bootcamp in Abidjan | 300,000 to 800,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Coaching, but cost and travel |
| Kolonell Academy, level 2 | 50,000 | 12 h, 5 modules, 25 lessons, 61 exercises | Live 4-page site, Lighthouse report, verifiable certificate |
| Full Web Development track | 350,000 instead of 450,000 | 5 levels | From first code to applications |
You structure the site in semantic HTML, build accessible forms, master Flexbox and Grid mobile first, lighten images and publish everything. The two graded projects are a restaurant landing page and an SME showcase site, which become your portfolio. If you have never written a line of code, start with level 1 of the Web Development track.
Learn this skill with Kolonell Academy
Short, practical online courses (taught in French), graded exercises, certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money.
Mini case study
Yao, 22, holds a vocational diploma in IT, repairs phones in San-Pédro and has been learning to code on YouTube for a year without finishing a single site. He takes the 50,000 FCFA course and buys a .com domain at 10,000 FCFA for his portfolio, 60,000 FCFA invested. Three weeks later, he offers a seaside residence a 4-page site with a booking form for 200,000 FCFA, plus 15,000 FCFA per month for updates. The first contract pays back the investment more than three times. If he lands an online menu at 75,000 FCFA for a maquis the following month, he reaches 275,000 FCFA in revenue over two months. Illustrative scenario: time to sign depends on your prospecting.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to program before this course?
You need to have written your first HTML tags. If not, level 1 of the track prepares you, then this level 2 takes you in 12 hours to a real live site.
Are HTML and CSS enough to earn money?
Yes for showcase sites and presentation pages, which make up most local business needs. For online payment or an admin area, you then need JavaScript and the next levels.
How much should I charge for a first site in San-Pédro?
As a 2026 order of magnitude, a simple 4 to 5 page showcase site is billed 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA by a beginner. For a first client, a price of 100,000 to 150,000 FCFA in exchange for a testimonial and a reference makes the next sale easier.
Can I follow the course on a phone?
Lessons can be followed on a phone, but you need a computer, even a second-hand one at around 100,000 to 150,000 FCFA, to write code comfortably. A free editor such as VS Code is enough.
How do I enroll and pay?
Enrollment costs 50,000 FCFA, paid by Wave or Orange Money. The full 5-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000.
Take the next step. Enroll in HTML and CSS: build and lay out a real website: 12 hours, 50,000 FCFA, Kolonell certificate verifiable online, taught in French. Pay with Wave or Orange Money. Questions? 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.
