Local agency or remote studio for an interior design studio website in Basel: how to choose (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For a turnkey furnishing studio in Basel that designs, sources, installs and stages second homes and rental apartments, the website has to sell a complete service to owners who often are not in the city, which makes the local or remote question more open than it looks. A Basel agency is the better fit when you want German copy written in person, regular shoots of finished apartments organised for you and a wider brand project, while a remote studio works well when you already have photography and your clients, many of them international, decide online. Kolonell's fixed grid is CHF 2,700 (Starter), CHF 4,500 (Growth) and CHF 8,200 (Premium), compared with three-year agency budgets that commonly run from about CHF 13,000 to 56,000.

What should a turnkey furnishing site show, service by service?

Owners buying a full fit-out want to understand what happens between the empty flat and the handover of keys. Each service line needs its own proof and its own call to action.

Two rules apply across the site. Discretion: no addresses, no identifiable tenants or owners, written consent before publishing a home, and rental apartments shown only once the landlord agrees. Image rights: a licence and a credit for every photographer, including the right to post on Instagram, Pinterest and Houzz. Images should be served as WebP or AVIF with lazy loading, because staging galleries are heavy and many owners browse on a phone. The inquiry form asks only for property type, location, scope, budget bracket and target date, which keeps data collection to what you need. A press page belongs on the site only if real coverage exists.

Basel agency or remote studio: which criteria decide?

When is a Basel agency the better choice?

Pick a local agency when most of your clients are German-speaking owners in the region and you want the whole site written natively from interviews at your studio; when you want the agency to schedule and attend shoots each time an apartment is finished, often at short notice before a tenant moves in; or when the website sits inside a larger brand project with printed brochures for relocation partners and signage. An agency also helps if you need regular in-person CMS training for a growing team.

A remote studio is enough when your photography is already good, when part of your demand comes from international owners and relocating staff of Basel's large life sciences employers who browse in English, and when you want a clear, fast site rather than an extended agency process. Kolonell includes a project manager in your time zone, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support.

What does each scenario cost over three years?

Agency ranges are a 2026 ballpark from typical quotes and public rate pages of Basel agencies. Maintenance is a market assumption for months 4 to 36; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months is on quote.

Questions to ask, and the Swiss frame

• Are the domain (.ch or .com), hosting and analytics accounts in your company's name?
• Can you export every page and image if you change provider?
• Where are inquiry forms stored, for how long, and will you sign a data processing agreement?
• Is the site built to WCAG 2.1 AA, and how is it tested?
• Who writes German, and who checks it?

Interior design titles are not protected at federal level in Switzerland; professionals often refer to the REG register or professional associations, which you can mention in general terms if they apply to you. Some cantons regulate who may sign plans for building permits, so present the business as an interior design studio and avoid the word architect unless someone on the team is entitled to it. The revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nLPD) has been in force since 1 September 2023, supervised by the FDPIC; Basel sits on the French and German borders, so the GDPR is also relevant when you target owners in the EU. This is not legal advice.

Mini case study

Illustrative example. Nadia runs a turnkey furnishing studio in Gundeldingen. She furnishes rental apartments for landlords who house relocating staff, and second homes for owners based abroad. Each finished project is shot by a local photographer for about CHF 600 per half day (third-party cost), and she completes around 10 projects a year: CHF 6,000 a year in photography.

A Basel agency quotes CHF 30,000 for a German and English site. She chooses Kolonell's international offer at Premium, CHF 8,200 (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote). The CHF 21,800 difference pays for 21,800 / 6,000 = about 3.6 years of photography, which is what keeps the portfolio current and the staging page convincing for landlords.

FAQ

Should prices be published on a turnkey furnishing site?

Rarely as fixed figures, because each fit-out differs. A budget bracket in the inquiry form, for example under CHF 30,000 or above CHF 80,000, qualifies requests without committing you to a price.

Which languages does a Basel studio need?

German and English cover most clients; French helps with owners from Alsace and western Switzerland. Two or more languages sit in Premium at CHF 8,200 (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote).

Can I show rental apartments that are already let?

Only with the landlord's written agreement and without anything that identifies the tenant. Many studios photograph during the 1 to 3 days between installation and move-in.

How fast can the site be live?

Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once images and content are ready. Basel agencies often plan 8 to 12 weeks, longer when copywriting workshops are included.

Let's scope your project. Tell us which services and project types you want to show and in which languages, and we will propose a fixed price from CHF 2,700 with delivery in 3 to 4 weeks. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.