The verdict in three sentences
For a high-end residential architecture practice in St Helier, the website has to showcase exceptional homes without exposing their owners, and speak to wealthy clients relocating to the island from London, France and further afield. A remote studio covers that for £2,300 to £6,900, including a natively written French version, which few island agencies offer. A Jersey agency keeps the edge if you want a partner who can visit your clients the next day, coordinate shoots and look after your brand for years.
Three options, three logics
Jersey has a small pool of web agencies, so many practices compare three routes: an island agency, a UK agency (London, Southampton, Bristol) and a remote studio. The Jersey pound is at par with sterling, so quotes compare directly.
| Criterion | Jersey agency | UK agency | Remote studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone | Same | Same | GMT all year, one hour behind in summer |
| In-person meetings | Within 48 hours | Flight or ferry, £250 to £600 per visit | Video calls, travel on quote |
| Native French version | Rare, often outsourced | Rare | Yes, native French or English copywriting |
| Coordinating shoots at clients' homes | Easy | Hard | You keep your local photographer |
| Domain, code and content ownership | To negotiate | To negotiate | In the client's name by default |
| Build (2026 ballpark) | £6,500 to £22,000 | £8,000 to £25,000 | £2,300 to £6,900 |
| Time to launch | 8 to 14 weeks | 10 to 16 weeks | 3 to 4 weeks |
Ranges reflect typical agency quotes and public rate pages from island and UK agencies. Kolonell's grid is on the international offer page: Starter £2,300, Growth £3,900, Premium £6,900, a project manager in your time zone, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks, 3 months of support.
When is a Jersey agency the better choice?
- Your clients will not let photos of their home circulate without an in-person review, at their house.
- You want a partner who knows the island's photographers, videographers and drone operators and books them for you.
- Your website is only one part of a wider brand job: brochures, site hoardings, events.
- You want a single contact for the website, social media and local press relations.
If your photo portfolio already exists and one director signs off, proximity adds little to a 15 to 25 page site.
What a high-end residential architect's site must handle
- Discretion: no exact addresses, no aerial view that identifies a property, written owner consent for every published project.
- Filterable portfolio: new house, granite farmhouse restoration, contemporary extension, parish, indicative budget.
- Optimised high-resolution images: AVIF or WebP, lazy loading, LCP under 2.5 seconds even with 50 photos.
- French version for clients from Normandy, Brittany or Paris moving to the island.
- Qualification form: site, planning status, budget, intended move-in date.
- Awards and press: a page that is easy to update from the CMS.
- Legal frame: forms fall under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018, overseen by the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner. Many island practices employ architects on the UK ARB register; check with your adviser how the title architect may be used in Jersey before writing team bios. Aim for WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility. This is not legal advice.
What is the total cost over three years?
| 3-year cost line (2026 ballpark) | Jersey agency | UK agency | Remote studio (Premium) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website build | £6,500 to £22,000 | £8,000 to £25,000 | £6,900 |
| French version | £1,500 to £3,500, outsourced | £2,000 to £4,000 | Included |
| Maintenance and hosting | £2,900 to £8,600 | £2,900 to £7,200 | £700 to £1,400 (hosting in your name) |
| Travel | £0 | £750 to £1,800 (3 visits) | 0 to 1 trip on quote |
| Photography of 6 homes | £2,400 to £5,400 | £2,400 to £5,400 | £2,400 to £5,400 |
| Indicative total | £13,300 to £39,500 | £16,050 to £43,400 | £10,000 to £13,700 |
With the Starter or Growth option and no photography, the remote budget drops to around £3,000 to £5,300 over 3 years.
Questions to ask every provider
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
- How do you protect owners' anonymity in project pages and image metadata?
- Who writes the French version, and are they a native speaker?
- Will the .je or .com domain be registered to the practice?
- How long does it take to publish a new project without help?
- What are the handover terms at the end of the contract?
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Olivia runs a six-person residential practice in St Helier. A third of her enquiries come from French-speaking families moving to the island, but her site is English only. An island agency quotes £14,000, plus £2,500 for translation and £180 a month, so £22,980 over 3 years. The remote Premium option costs £6,900 with a native French version, plus about £40 a month of hosting, so £8,340. If the French version converts just one more enquiry a year on a £1,200,000 renovation with a 9% fee, it brings £108,000. Olivia keeps her usual photographer and chooses the remote studio; if she also had to redo brochures and site hoardings, the island agency would make more sense.
FAQ
Can we publish a house without revealing where it is?
Yes: give the parish rather than the address, strip GPS data from photos and avoid recognisable aerial views. Get written owner consent for each of the 6 to 12 projects you publish.
Is a French version really useful in Jersey?
It is if at least 15 to 20% of your prospects are French speakers. A full 15 page version avoids machine translation, which undermines a high-end position.
How long does launch take?
Around 3 to 4 weeks with a remote studio once photos are ready, compared with 8 to 16 weeks at an agency according to typical quotes.
Which rules apply to data collected by the form?
The Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018: privacy notice, purpose, retention period, for example 24 months. This is not legal advice.
To compare on your real scope, request a free quote.
Let's scope your project. A 15 to 25 page English and French website for a St Helier practice, from £2,300 to £6,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. 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.