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

The verdict in three sentences

For a law firm in Geneva, a website redesign costs CHF 4,500 to 8,200 on a fixed remote grid, against CHF 20,000 to 50,000 at most mid-sized Geneva agencies. The real timeline rarely depends on the provider: it is the partner-approved biographies and practice pages that make schedules slip. The three risks to handle before go-live are ranking loss on practice pages, a contact form that collects facts covered by professional secrecy, and copy that breaches advertising rules.

Which signs show your website needs a redesign?

International clients looking for a Geneva lawyer in banking, tax, arbitration or family law check the website first, often on a phone, before they call. Your current site holds the firm back when:

• the English version is incomplete or dated, although a large share of mandates comes from abroad;
• partner profiles no longer reflect the team, or still show associates who have left;
• publications are buried in a PDF or a single page that search engines cannot find;
• the contact form invites people to describe their case in detail and accepts attachments;
• there is no clear data protection notice under the nLPD.

The framework: lawyers on the cantonal register are subject to the federal Lawyers Act (LLCA), which allows advertising if it stays objective and serves the general interest, and to the Bar's professional customs. The revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nLPD, or revFADP), in force since 1 September 2023, is supervised by the FDPIC, and the GDPR may apply if you target EU residents, for instance in neighbouring France. Target WCAG 2.1 AA. This is not legal advice.

What does the budget look like, line by line?

Geneva ranges are a ballpark drawn from typical agency quotes and public rate pages of local agencies; a freelancer will ask more like CHF 6,000 to 18,000, with fewer safeguards on migration. The Starter tier at CHF 2,700 suits a sole practitioner with a compact single-language site. Each tier is detailed on our international offer page, with 3 months of support included; maintenance after that is on quote.

How does the timeline unfold?

With a remote studio, week 1 covers the audit and URL inventory, week 2 the templates (home, practice area, profile, publication, contact), week 3 the build, publication migration and redirect map, week 4 testing, compliance review and launch. Before that, allow 2 to 4 weeks on the firm's side to approve biographies and practice descriptions: every partner reviews their own page, and that is where projects slip.

Which risks should you handle, and when?

The form deserves special care: ask for name, contact details, practice area and the opposing party's name for the conflict check, then state that sending the form does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Case details come later, through a secure channel.

When is a Geneva agency the better choice?

If the redesign includes a client extranet, a data room or integration with your practice management software, a local agency on site reduces risk. The same applies if all partners want workshops at your offices in Rive or the banking district, or if management requires a provider with a Geneva office. A remote studio is enough for a polished bilingual showcase site with a clear scope, a fixed price and a project manager reachable in your time zone.

Questions for any provider: who holds the domain and hosting? Where are enquiries stored and for how long? Who writes the redirect map? What do you receive if you switch providers?

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Laurence Favre, a partner at a six-lawyer firm in Champel, is redesigning a 214-URL site: 9 practice pages, 11 current profiles, 3 profiles of departed associates, 160 publications and 31 miscellaneous pages. Plan: the 9 practice pages and 11 profiles keep one-to-one redirects, the 3 departed profiles point to the team page, the 160 publications are migrated one by one, and of the 31 miscellaneous pages, 20 redirect one to one and 11 are merged into 4 pages. Total: 214 URLs covered.

Budget: Premium at CHF 8,200 plus an independent photographer at CHF 2,000 (third-party cost), so CHF 10,200, against a local quote of CHF 38,000. Timeline: 3 weeks of biography approval plus 4 weeks of project, 7 weeks in total, against 14 quoted locally.

FAQ

How long do rankings take to settle?

Usually 4 to 8 weeks after the switch if every 301 redirect is in place. Check Search Console weekly during that period.

Can we publish case results on the site?

Advertising must stay objective under the LLCA and the Bar's customs. In practice, many firms stick to practice areas and publications; have each text reviewed by a partner before launch.

Must the site be hosted in Switzerland?

Not always, but the nLPD requires you to disclose data transfers abroad. Many firms choose Swiss or European hosting, for a few dozen francs a month.

Can the site run in French, English and German?

Yes, with Premium at CHF 8,200, the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote. A German legal translation by an independent translator remains a third-party cost.

What should we do with old PDF articles?

Turn them into HTML pages where possible: a 1,000-word article as a web page reads better on mobile and ranks better. For 160 publications, schedule the migration in week 3.

Let's scope your project. A law firm site redesign in French and English, from CHF 4,500 to CHF 8,200 excluding integrations, in 3 to 4 weeks once content is approved. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.