The verdict in three sentences
A professional law firm website in Calgary usually costs 8 000 to 40 000+ USD from a local agency and 2 500 to 9 000 USD from a freelancer, as a 2026 ballpark that moves a lot with scope. Kolonell builds the same kind of site at a fixed price of 2 900, 4 900 or 8 900 USD, with a project manager you can reach during Calgary business hours, native English copywriting and 3 months of support after launch. The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest site: compare what is written into each proposal and what it costs you over three years.
What do Calgary agencies and freelancers charge for a law firm site?
Calgary has a mature agency market built around energy, real estate and professional services, so firms get serious proposals but also serious invoices. The ranges below are orders of magnitude drawn from public rate cards of Canadian agencies, minimum project sizes listed on Clutch.co agency profiles and freelance platform rates (Upwork, Clutch listings). They are not quotes from any named provider, and they vary with the number of pages, the amount of custom design and who writes the copy.
| Option | 2026 ballpark (USD) | Typical delay | Usually included | After launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service Calgary agency | 8 000 to 40 000+ | 8 to 16 weeks | Discovery, custom design, build, sometimes copy | Paid retainer in most cases |
| Small local studio | 5 000 to 15 000 | 6 to 10 weeks | Design on a theme or light custom build | Hourly or monthly plan |
| Freelancer | 2 500 to 9 000 | 4 to 12 weeks | Build, copy often supplied by the firm | Depends on availability |
| Agency hourly rate | 80 to 180 per hour | n/a | Changes, extra pages, fixes | Billed per hour |
| Kolonell Starter | 2 900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Business site, native English copy, domain in your name | 3 months included |
| Kolonell Growth | 4 900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Full site with practice area structure and blog | 3 months included |
| Kolonell Premium | 8 900 | 4 to 6 weeks, written schedule | Advanced design, bilingual EN/FR available | 3 months included |
The top of the agency range mostly pays for workshops, larger teams and account management. That has value for a 60 lawyer firm with a marketing committee. For a boutique litigation or corporate practice with 3 to 15 lawyers, it often pays for meetings rather than for pages that bring in consultations. You can see the full scope of our international website offer before you ask anyone for a quote.
What does a Calgary law firm website actually need?
A Calgary firm is judged by in-house counsel at energy companies, by developers and by private clients who compare three firms on their phone before calling one. The site needs a few things done well.
- Practice area pages: one clear page per practice (corporate and commercial, energy and natural resources, real estate, employment, family, wills and estates, litigation), with the kind of matters you take and the first step for a new client.
- Lawyer bios: year of call, Law Society of Alberta membership, education, languages spoken and representative work where the firm is allowed to publish it.
- Careful intake: a contact or consultation form that tells visitors not to send confidential details before a conflict check, and a booking option for first meetings.
- Privacy: private-sector organizations in Alberta deal with Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), and PIPEDA applies in federally regulated or cross-border situations. Your privacy notice and form handling should reflect that.
- Marketing rules: the Law Society of Alberta has rules on how lawyers market their services (claims, testimonials, specialist wording). The firm must check its own copy against them.
- Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA is the common reference for contrast, keyboard navigation and form labels.
This is a factual overview, not legal advice: your firm remains responsible for its own compliance.
What do the Kolonell tiers cover for a law firm?
| Need | Starter 2 900 USD | Growth 4 900 USD | Premium 8 900 USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Core firm site, focused message | Full site, one page per practice area | Advanced design, stronger brand presence |
| Lawyer bios | Short team section | Individual bio pages | Individual bios with filters by practice |
| Insights / blog | Not included | Blog for legal updates | Blog plus structured resource pages |
| Consultation requests | Contact form with confidentiality notice | Form plus booking for first meetings | Booking, intake routing by practice |
| Languages | English | English | Bilingual EN/FR available |
| Delivery | 3 to 4 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks | Usually 4 to 6 weeks, written schedule |
| Support | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months |
Client portals, document exchange or a matter tracking back office are custom applications, quoted on request. Ongoing search work is also quoted on request, never sold as a fixed monthly package. Payment is by bank transfer or Wise, 50 % to start and 50 % at delivery, and the domain is registered in the firm's name with all access handed over.
For reference, Kolonell has delivered a bilingual EN/FR site for TR Signing Group (trsigninggroup.com), a notary and apostille service in New Jersey, with quote requests verified per file, a booking calendar, live chat and a back office. That is the same kind of intake logic a law firm needs.
How do you compare three quotes without getting burned?
| Check | Good sign | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Copywriting | Named in the quote, with rounds of review | "Content provided by client" in small print |
| Domain and hosting | Registered in the firm's name | Domain held by the agency |
| Access at the end | Full admin and code access handed over | Platform you cannot leave without rebuilding |
| Timeline | Written schedule with milestones | "About two to three months" |
| Support | Duration and scope written | Everything after launch billed hourly |
| Payment | Clear split tied to delivery | Large non-refundable deposit with vague scope |
Ask each provider for the same scope in writing, then compare line by line. A quote that looks 30 % cheaper often excludes copy, which is the hardest part for a busy partner.
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Mini case study
*Illustrative example, not a real client.* Megan, managing partner of a hypothetical 8 lawyer corporate and energy firm in Calgary, compares two options. A local agency proposes 22 000 USD for the build plus a 400 USD monthly retainer. Kolonell Growth costs 4 900 USD. To compare like with like, she assumes the same 150 USD per month for hosting and small changes after the 3 included months on the Kolonell side.
- Local agency over 3 years: 22 000 + 36 x 400 = 36 400 USD
- Kolonell over 3 years: 4 900 + 33 x 150 = 9 850 USD
The difference, about 26 500 USD, can fund a year of content, events or a custom intake tool if the firm needs one later. The comparison only holds if both proposals cover the same pages and copy, so she asks both for an itemized scope.
FAQ
Is 2 900 USD enough for a real law firm site?
For a small practice with a clear focus, Starter covers a professional site with native English copy and a confidentiality notice on the form. Firms with 4 or more practice areas usually need Growth at 4 900 USD.
Can you work on Calgary time?
Yes. The team is based in Senegal (GMT), and calls are scheduled on Google Meet in the Calgary morning, with a written weekly update. Most projects need 4 to 6 calls in total.
Do you invoice in Canadian dollars?
The grid quoted here is in USD: 2 900, 4 900 and 8 900 USD. Payment is by bank transfer or Wise, 50 % at kickoff and 50 % at delivery.
Who checks Law Society of Alberta rules in the copy?
We write in a sober, factual tone and avoid specialist claims by default. The firm reviews every page before launch, during at least 2 review rounds.
What happens after the 3 months of support?
Maintenance is quoted to fit your needs, and you keep full access to your domain and site. You can also take everything to another provider at no exit cost.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your practice areas and team size, and we will confirm the right tier, the price in USD and a delivery date within 3 to 6 weeks. Request your free quote or see the international offer.
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.
