The verdict in three sentences
For a workplace and office fit-out design studio in Taipei (headquarters, coworking floors, client-facing suites), a local agency earns its higher fee when you need regular in-person workshops in Xinyi or Neihu, Mandarin copywriting produced in-house and a provider that books the photographer at every project handover. A remote studio is enough when your project photos already exist, your decision makers are comfortable on video calls and you want a fixed price: Kolonell's grid runs from USD 2,900 (Starter) to USD 4,900 (Growth) and USD 8,900 (Premium, the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote). Whichever you pick, write into the contract that the domain, hosting account and code belong to your company before you pay the first invoice.
What does a Taipei fit-out studio actually need from its website?
Your buyers are facility managers, HR directors and country heads of foreign groups who often compare three studios before a tender. They are not browsing for inspiration: they want proof that you can deliver a 300 ping floor in a Xinyi tower without delaying the move-in date. The site has to answer specific questions.
- A portfolio sorted by project type: headquarters, coworking, client suites and showrooms, engineering offices in Neihu or Nangang. Each case shows an area band, a headcount and a duration, and never names the client without written consent.
- Heavy images that still load fast: WebP or AVIF, lazy loading, and a target under 2.5 seconds for the main image on mobile.
- Photography rights: the photographer's licence, a credit line, and the tenant's approval before publishing. Commercial fit-outs are often covered by confidentiality clauses.
- Discretion: no floor plans that reveal secure zones, blurred badges and screens, no floor numbers or exact addresses.
- A qualifying inquiry form: company, approximate area (in ping or m², 1 ping being about 3.3 m²), budget band and target move-in date. Nothing more: data minimisation also signals professionalism.
- A process and fees page written in general terms (stages, possible fee structures), with no invented figures.
- A press page with real mentions only, plus links to Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz, LinkedIn and your LINE official account, which is widely used in Taiwan.
On wording: in Taiwan, as in many places, architect is a regulated professional title. If your team is not registered, present yourselves as an interior design or workplace design studio, and only list the professional registrations you actually hold.
Taipei agency or remote studio: which criteria should you compare?
| Criterion | Local Taipei agency | Remote studio (Kolonell) | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone | Same zone (UTC+8) | Project manager reachable during your Taipei hours | A fixed weekly meeting slot |
| Meetings and site visits | In-person workshops possible | Video calls, site walk-throughs filmed by your team | Number of workshops in the quote |
| Languages | Native Mandarin, variable English | Native English or French copywriting; Mandarin and Japanese reviewed by a freelance translator (third-party cost) | Who reviews each language, at what cost |
| 2026 price | About USD 4,700 to 25,000 | USD 2,900, 4,900 or 8,900 | What the package excludes |
| Ownership | Agency often keeps the hosting | Domain, code and content in your name | Assignment and handover clause |
| On-site photo and video | Often organised by the agency | Local photographer hired by you (third-party cost) | Licence and photo credits |
| After launch | Monthly maintenance contract | 3 months of support included, then on quote | Written response time |
What do Taipei providers charge in 2026?
The ranges below are a 2026 ballpark based on typical agency quotes and public agency rate pages in Taipei. Approximate conversion at TWD 32 to USD 1.
| Provider type | Typical scope | Ballpark (TWD) | Approx. USD | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | Theme-based portfolio, 8 to 12 pages | TWD 60,000 to 150,000 | USD 1,900 to 4,700 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Small Taipei studio | Custom design, Mandarin and English | TWD 150,000 to 350,000 | USD 4,700 to 10,900 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Mid-size agency | Custom, CMS, motion, three languages | TWD 350,000 to 800,000 | USD 10,900 to 25,000 | 8 to 14 weeks |
| Kolonell Starter | Showcase site, simple portfolio | Not applicable | USD 2,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | Portfolio by project type, qualifying form | Not applicable | USD 4,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | Multilingual tier, languages set in the quote | Not applicable | USD 8,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
Kolonell prices include a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support. Custom applications (space planning tools, configurators) and search work are on quote. For tier details, see the international offer.
Over three years, the gap depends mostly on maintenance. The monthly figures below are market assumptions for local providers, not Kolonell prices.
| Three-year line | Small Taipei studio | Mid-size agency | Kolonell Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | TWD 150,000 (about USD 4,700) | TWD 350,000 (about USD 10,900) | USD 4,900 |
| Support, months 1 to 3 | Often included | Often included | Included |
| Maintenance, months 4 to 36 | TWD 4,000 per month, TWD 132,000 (about USD 4,100) | TWD 8,000 per month, TWD 264,000 (about USD 8,300) | On quote |
| Photography and translation | Third-party, same for all | Third-party, same for all | Third-party, same for all |
| Known total | About USD 8,800 | About USD 19,200 | USD 4,900 + maintenance on quote |
When is the local agency clearly the better choice?
To be honest, in some cases a Taipei agency is worth the premium.
- Your market is mainly Taiwanese and your content is in Mandarin: a team that writes Mandarin every day, posts on LINE and Facebook weekly and knows local developers will save you time.
- You want someone at every handover: if the agency books the shoots for each project, from Zhongshan to Nangang, and edits the video, the logistics are solved.
- Your finance team needs a Taiwanese invoice: some companies can only expense a locally issued invoice, and a foreign provider cannot always meet that requirement.
- Your leadership wants face-to-face workshops every two weeks.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
A remote studio is enough when your photos exist, English is the language of your multinational clients and you want scope and price fixed from day one.
Which questions should you ask both types of provider?
- Are the domain, hosting account and code repository opened in my company's name?
- Who writes and who reviews each language, and is that cost included?
- How will images be optimised (formats, target page weight)?
- How does the form limit the data collected, and where is it stored?
- Which accessibility level is targeted (WCAG 2.2 AA recommended) and how is it tested?
- What happens after the first 3 months, and what is the written response time?
On the local frame, Taiwan's Personal Data Protection Act requires, among other things, that people are told why their data is collected. Stay cautious: have your privacy notice and cookie policy reviewed by local counsel. This is not legal advice.
Mini case study
Illustrative example. Grace Chen runs a 9-person studio in Neihu that designs offices for subsidiaries of American and Japanese groups. A mid-size agency quotes her TWD 420,000 (about USD 13,100) and 12 weeks for a site in Mandarin, English and Japanese. Kolonell offers Premium at USD 8,900 (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote), delivered in 4 weeks.
Either way, Grace hires a Taipei photographer for 6 projects at TWD 18,000 each, or TWD 108,000 (about USD 3,400, third-party cost), and a freelance translator reviews Mandarin and Japanese for about USD 1,200 (third-party cost). Total: about USD 13,500 remote against USD 17,700 with the agency, a USD 4,200 gap and 8 weeks saved. A single office floor signed through the site more than covers the difference. To price your own case, request a free quote.
FAQ
Can a remote studio handle a Mandarin site?
Yes, if you plan a native review: Kolonell writes natively in English or French, and Mandarin is reviewed by a freelance translator, a third-party cost to budget (often USD 800 to 1,500 depending on volume).
How many projects do we need at launch?
Plan on 6 to 10 well-documented projects with 8 to 15 images each. That covers headquarters, coworking and client suites without diluting quality.
How long from signature to launch?
With Kolonell, 3 to 4 weeks if photos and core content are ready. With a local agency, plan on 6 to 14 weeks depending on its size.
Who owns the site at the end?
Your company, if the contract says so: domain, code and content in your name, with a complete handover file. Check that clause before any payment, whatever the provider.
Let's scope your project. A fast office fit-out portfolio, a qualifying form and up to three languages, from USD 2,900 to 8,900, live 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.