The verdict in three sentences
A Bath accounting firm lives on a local client base: hoteliers and restaurateurs, holiday-let owners, independent city-centre shops, retirees planning their estate. For that audience, a clear, mobile-fast, reassuring website matters more than a spectacular one, and a remote studio delivers it for £2,300 to £3,900 in 3 to 4 weeks. Choose a Bath or Bristol agency instead if you want a partner who shows up in local business networks, regular filming or a workshop-led rebrand, and in every case insist on domain, code and content in your name.
How do you compare the three provider profiles?
In Bath, the market splits between a handful of local agencies, many Bristol agencies 20 minutes away by train, freelancers and remote studios. The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical quotes and public rate pages of South West England agencies.
| Criterion | Bath or Bristol agency | Local freelancer | Remote studio (e.g. Kolonell) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price of a 10 to 20 page site | £6,000 to £15,000 | £2,000 to £5,000 | £2,300 / £3,900 / £6,900 |
| Timeline | 8 to 14 weeks | 6 to 12 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Time-zone overlap | Full | Full | Project manager reachable in UK hours |
| Meetings at your office | Yes | Yes | No, video calls and written reviews |
| Service page copywriting | Often extra | Rarely | Native English or French copywriting included |
| Continuity if someone is away | Team | High risk | Team and documentation |
| File ownership | Check the contract | Check the contract | Domain, code and content in your name |
The criterion that most often decides is not price: it is local presence. If your partners win clients at business breakfasts and want a provider who turns up there too, a local agency brings something no remote studio replaces.
When does the local agency win, and when is a remote studio enough?
A local agency is the better choice if:
- you are rebuilding your whole identity, with workshops where every partner has a say;
- you want video filmed at the office several times a year;
- you expect on-the-ground marketing from your provider: events, chamber of commerce, print.
A remote studio is enough if:
- your services are established and mainly need presenting clearly: bookkeeping, payroll, tax returns, annual accounts, advisory, company formation;
- you want targeted pages, for example for holiday-let owners since the furnished holiday lettings regime was abolished in April 2025, or for landlords entering Making Tax Digital in April 2026;
- your priority is launching before the January tax season.
The tiers and what they include are set out on the international offer page.
What should the site contain, and which rules apply?
A Bath firm does well to organise its site by type of client rather than by technical service: "I run a holiday let", "I run a hotel or restaurant", "I am planning my retirement or estate", "I am starting a business". Each page leads to a short form (5 to 7 fields) and to the firm's secure portal for sending documents. Partner bios state their qualifications and professional body.
Rules to keep in mind: the firm's professional body (ICAEW, ACCA or another) governs publicity and logo use; no page should promise a tax saving amount. Form data falls under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with a readable privacy notice and limited collection; non-essential cookies require consent under PECR. An older client base makes accessibility concrete: text of at least 16 pixels, sufficient contrast, keyboard navigation, a WCAG 2.2 AA target, consistent with the Equality Act 2010. This is not legal advice.
| 3-year item (2026) | Bath or Bristol agency | Freelancer | Kolonell Starter / Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and build | £6,000 to £15,000 | £2,000 to £5,000 | £2,300 or £3,900 |
| Copy for 6 client-profile pages | £900 to £2,400 | £600 to £1,500 | Included |
| Team portraits | £350 to £900 | £350 to £900 | £350 to £900 (local photographer) |
| Maintenance and hosting | £2,500 to £6,500 | £1,100 to £3,000 | 3 months included, then on quote |
| Total excluding Kolonell maintenance | £9,750 to £24,800 | £4,050 to £10,400 | £2,650 to £4,800 |
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Mini case study
Illustrative example: Helen, partner in a 5-person firm near Milsom Street. Her current site brings in about 6 enquiries a month. A Bristol agency quotes £11,000; a remote studio's Growth tier costs £3,900, plus £500 of portraits, so £4,400.
Helen adds a page for Bath holiday-let owners. If it brings 3 more enquiries a month and one in three becomes a client at £900 in annual fees, the firm gains 12 clients and £10,800 a year. Counting signed annual fees, the remote option is covered by the fifth client, so in under five months; the £6,600 gap with the Bristol quote stays available for the local marketing Helen entrusts to an agency in the city.
FAQ
Can a remote studio rebuild our site without meeting us?
Yes, with a 45 to 60 minute scoping call on video, two reviews and final sign-off. Partners usually spend 4 to 5 hours on it in total.
Should we have one page per client type or per service?
For a local client base like Bath's, profile pages (holiday let, hospitality, retirement, start-up) usually convert better, because visitors recognise themselves within 2 or 3 seconds. Service pages remain useful alongside, typically 5 to 8 of them.
How do we stop clients emailing their documents?
Put the secure portal link in the menu, on the contact page and in the form confirmation message. A 300 to 400 word help page with screenshots clearly reduces unsecured sends.
Which tier suits a firm of 3 to 8 people?
The Starter tier at £2,300 suits a 5 to 8 page site. The Growth tier at £3,900 allows client-profile pages, bios and a qualified form, which matches most Bath firms.
Is local search work on "accountant Bath" included?
The technical basics and business profile are prepared at launch. Ongoing search work is priced on quote and usually shows first results after 4 to 6 months.
For a precise figure, request a free quote listing your priority client profiles.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your client profiles, your indicative budget and your target launch date before January. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
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.