Website redesign for a law firm in Amsterdam: budget, timeline and risks (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For an Amsterdam advocatenkantoor with 5 to 25 lawyers, a redesign costs in 2026 ballpark terms EUR 12,000 to 35,000 with a local agency, against EUR 2,700 to 8,200 on Kolonell's fixed grid, for a site delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. The real risk of a redesign is losing organic traffic on practice-area pages (employment, corporate, immigration), far more than the budget itself. A URL inventory, a 301 redirect map and a professional conduct review before go-live cover most of it.

What signals that a redesign is due?

A law firm website ages quickly in Amsterdam, where much of the client base is international (Zuidas expats, start-ups, family offices) and compares several firms on mobile before calling. The most common signals:

• the site exists only in Dutch, or the English version is a machine translation that does not reassure a foreign general counsel;
• practice areas are grouped on a single page, which makes it impossible to rank for queries such as "employment lawyer Amsterdam";
• the cookie banner drops trackers before consent, while the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens expects a free choice and a reject button as visible as the accept button;
• lawyer profiles are incomplete (specialisations, bar admission, languages spoken);
• the site is slow on mobile or runs on a WordPress theme that is no longer maintained.

How much does a redesign cost in Amsterdam in 2026?

The ranges below are 2026 ballpark figures based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages. They vary with page count, languages and integrations.

At Kolonell, every plan includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Details are on the international offer page. Dutch legal translation, a client portal, an integration with your case management software or a booking tool stay on quote, as does ongoing SEO work.

What is a realistic timeline by phase?

The 3 to 4 week timeline assumes partners sign off on copy quickly. In practice, partner review is the number one bottleneck, whichever provider you hire.

What are the risks, and how do you control them?

On professional conduct, the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten, NOvA) sets rules on lawyer advertising: keep it factual, avoid promising outcomes and have a partner review marketing copy. On data, the GDPR (AVG in the Netherlands) applies to forms that collect information about a dispute: data minimisation, a clear purpose and, preferably, EU hosting. The European Accessibility Act has applied since June 2025 mainly to certain services (e-commerce, banking, transport); it does not directly target a law firm's brochure site, but aiming for WCAG 2.1 AA remains good practice. This is not legal advice.

When is a local agency the better choice?

To be honest: an Amsterdam agency is preferable if you need in-person brand workshops with all partners, native Dutch legal copywriting produced in-house, repeated photo shoots at your offices, or a heavy integration with your case management system. If your firm has more than 40 lawyers and a marketing team that wants someone on site every week, the extra cost is justified.

A remote studio is enough when the scope is clear: 15 to 40 pages, two languages, lawyer profiles and practice-area pages. Kolonell, for example, built the site of TR Signing Group (trsigninggroup.com), a signing services company in New Jersey, a professional services profile close to yours.

Questions to ask any provider: who writes the redirect map? Do the domain and hosting stay in your name? Who reviews the Dutch copy? What happens if traffic drops after go-live?

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Sanne de Vries, managing partner of a 9-lawyer firm on the Zuidas, has a 42-URL site including 18 practice-area pages, in Dutch only. A local agency quotes her EUR 24,000 and 14 weeks.

With Kolonell's Growth plan (EUR 4,500), plus a 12,000-word Dutch translation at around EUR 0.15 per word (EUR 1,800) and a half-day of local photography (EUR 1,200), the total comes to EUR 7,500, a gap of roughly EUR 16,500. If the 18 practice-area pages bring 1,500 organic visits a month, a complete 301 map protects that traffic: losing 30% of visits for 6 months would mean about 2,700 missed visits.

FAQ

How long does the traffic dip last after a redesign?

With a complete 301 map, most sites recover their level within 4 to 8 weeks. Without redirects, the loss can reach 20 to 50% and last several months.

Do we need a site in Dutch and English?

In Amsterdam, yes in most cases: a large share of business clients read English first. Plan for 15 to 40 pages per language depending on the number of practice areas.

Does the cookie banner need to be rebuilt?

Often, yes. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens expects no non-essential analytics cookie to be set before consent; checking this takes 1 to 2 days during testing.

Can we keep the same domain and URLs?

Yes, and it is recommended for pages that perform. Usually 60 to 80% of URLs can be kept; the rest are redirected one by one.

What stays on quote at Kolonell?

Client portals, integrations with case management software and ongoing SEO work. The site itself follows the fixed grid of EUR 2,700, 4,500 or 8,200, with a free quote to scope the rest.

Let's scope your project. A 15 to 40 page redesign in Dutch and English, a budget of EUR 4,500 to 8,200 and go-live in 3 to 4 weeks with a full redirect map. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.