The verdict in three sentences
For an immigration and relocation firm in Edinburgh, the provider choice depends less on price than on who will review your regulated wording, who can photograph your team and the city, and who owns the domain and code at the end. A local Edinburgh agency earns its higher fee when you need frequent in-person workshops or an integrated client portal from day one. A remote studio working in UK hours is usually enough for a clear, fast, bilingual-ready site, provided the contract settles ownership and the compliance review stays with your regulated advisers.
What should actually drive the decision?
Edinburgh firms in this sector tend to serve two audiences at once: employers and HR teams moving staff to Scotland (universities, financial services, tech, energy), and individuals or families who need settling-in help. Each audience reads the site differently, and the provider has to handle both. The criteria below are the ones that change the outcome, with an example weighting you can adjust.
| Criterion | Weight (example) | Local Edinburgh agency (1 to 5) | Remote studio in UK hours (1 to 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-person workshops and office visits | 20 % | 5 | 2 |
| Review loop for regulated immigration wording | 20 % | 4 | 4 |
| Budget fit for a firm of 3 to 15 people | 25 % | 2 | 5 |
| Time-zone overlap with your team | 10 % | 5 | 5 |
| Domain, code and content ownership | 15 % | 4 | 4 |
| On-site photo and video in Edinburgh | 10 % | 5 | 3 |
| Weighted score | 100 % | 3.90 | 3.85 |
The scores are close on purpose: with this weighting, a small change (say, workshops dropping to 10 % and budget rising to 35 %) tips the result. Ownership scores the same for both because it depends on the contract, not the type of provider. Ask either one for the domain registered in your firm's name, a code repository you can access and a written handover clause.
A remote studio's weaker score on photography is fixable: an Edinburgh photographer booked directly by you for a half day (third-party cost, typically £400 to £900 in 2026) gives you real team portraits and street scenes from the New Town or Leith instead of stock images of a generic skyline.
What do sector rules mean for your website?
In the UK, immigration advice can only be given by qualified and regulated people, such as solicitors or advisers regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly the OISC). Your site should make clear who in the firm is authorised, at what level, and which services are relocation support only (home search, school search, registration with a GP, settling in) rather than immigration advice. No page should suggest a guaranteed visa outcome or processing time.
Data protection sits under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, with the ICO as regulator. Your forms will collect passport details, employment information and family data, so ask any provider how enquiry data is stored, who can access it, and whether document upload uses a secure, access-controlled service (built and quoted separately). Cookie consent must follow PECR. For accessibility, target WCAG 2.2 AA: relocating clients often read your pages on a phone, in a second language, sometimes under stress. This is not legal advice.
What does each option cost over three years?
The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark drawn from typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in Scotland, not a survey. Maintenance figures are market assumptions: Kolonell's support after the 3 included months is on quote.
| Option | Build (2026 ballpark) | Delivery | Care over 36 months (market assumption) | 3-year total (example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh agency, bespoke site | £8,000 to £25,000 (example £14,000) | 8 to 14 weeks | £250/month x 36 = £9,000 | £23,000 |
| Local freelancer | £2,500 to £7,000 (example £5,000) | 4 to 10 weeks | £100/month x 36 = £3,600 | £8,600 |
| Kolonell Growth (fixed grid) | £3,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | 3 months included, then on quote (assumption £150/month x 33 = £4,950) | £8,850 |
| Kolonell Premium (fixed grid) | £6,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | 3 months included, then on quote | on quote |
The international offer is fixed: Starter £2,300, Growth £3,900, Premium £6,900, with a project manager reachable in UK hours, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Premium is the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote, which matters if you publish relocation guides for incoming staff in other languages. Secure upload, a client portal or CRM integration are custom work, on quote.
When is a local Edinburgh agency clearly the better choice?
Be honest with yourself here. A local agency is the better fit if your partners want monthly face-to-face sessions, if you are building a client portal with case tracking linked to your practice management system, or if the site is part of a wider brand project with print, signage and events. It also helps when an employer client insists on a supplier they can visit. A remote studio is enough when the scope is a well-structured marketing site: service pages, employer and family audiences, team profiles with regulatory status, a guide section and solid enquiry forms.
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Questions to ask both types of provider:
- Who writes the copy, and who in our firm signs off immigration-related wording?
- Where is form data hosted, and how long is it kept?
- Will the domain, hosting account and code repository be in our name?
- What is included after launch, and what is the hourly or monthly rate after that?
- How do you test accessibility, and will you provide an accessibility statement?
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Fiona runs a hypothetical relocation firm in Edinburgh with 6 staff and one regulated adviser. She receives a quote of £15,000 from a local agency and compares it with Kolonell Growth at £3,900 plus a half-day local photographer at £650 (third-party cost), so £4,550. The difference is £10,450. She keeps £1,500 of it for a separately quoted secure upload feature and still saves £8,950 on the build. If one additional employer account brings £12,000 of annual relocation fees, the site pays for itself within the first contract. She keeps the regulated adviser as the final reviewer of every immigration page.
FAQ
Can a remote studio write immigration content for us?
It can draft clear, plain English copy for service pages, but your regulated adviser must review anything touching immigration advice. Plan for 2 to 3 review rounds per page in the schedule.
Is a site in English only enough in Edinburgh?
For employer clients, usually yes. If 30 % or more of your enquiries come from families who prefer another language, the Premium tier at £6,900 lets you add languages set in the quote.
How long does a typical project take?
With Kolonell, 3 to 4 weeks from approved content. Local agencies in Edinburgh often quote 8 to 14 weeks for a bespoke build.
Who owns the site at the end?
Whoever the contract says. Insist on the domain in your firm's name, access to the repository and hosting from day 1, and a handover clause covering 100 % of code and content.
What does secure document upload cost?
It is custom work and depends on access control and retention rules, so it is on quote. Budget it as a separate line rather than squeezing it into a £2,300 Starter scope.
Let's scope your project. A bilingual-ready site for your Edinburgh immigration and relocation firm, with a fixed price from £3,900 and delivery 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.