The verdict in three sentences
For a notary's office or a legal document services firm in Brussels, the right provider is the one that handles French, Dutch and English, professional discretion and a clean handover of domain and code, well before the question of where it is based. A local agency makes sense for a notary's office that wants in-person meetings, photos on its premises and ongoing hands-on support; a remote studio is often enough for a sworn translation or apostille assistance service that wants a clear site at a fixed price. Weight your criteria in writing before comparing quotes.
Which criteria separate a local agency from a remote studio?
A notary's office and a document services firm do not share the same priorities. The table below scores both options out of 5 and applies two different weightings (weights total 100).
| Criterion | Weight, notary's office | Weight, document services | Local agency score | Remote studio score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time-zone overlap | 15 | 15 | 5 | 4 |
| On-site meetings | 15 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Languages FR, NL, EN | 25 | 25 | 4 | 4 |
| Ownership and handover (per contract) | 20 | 20 | 4 | 4 |
| Price | 15 | 25 | 2 | 5 |
| On-site photo and video | 10 | 10 | 5 | 3 |
| Weighted total out of 500 | Notary: 410; services: 380 | Notary: 375; services: 405 |
With these weights, the local agency wins for a notary's office that values meetings (410 versus 375, or 4.1 versus 3.75 out of 5), and the remote studio wins for a price-sensitive document services firm (405 versus 380). Rerun the calculation with your own weights. On time zones, Kolonell assigns a project manager reachable on Brussels time.
What does a Brussels notary or legal services website need?
Position the services correctly. In Belgium, notaries are public officers appointed by the State, fees for many acts are set by law, and the profession is grouped within Fednot; check the current professional rules before any communication. A notary's website therefore presents its areas (property, family and estates, company formation) and how the office works, rather than promotions. A legal document services firm that is not a notary's office must avoid any wording suggesting it executes notarial deeds: sworn translations, legalisation and apostille assistance, signing coordination, help with company formation paperwork.
Pages and journeys. One page per document or act type, a step-by-step process, indicative turnaround times, the list of documents to provide and, for deed costs, a link to the calculators offered by the notarial profession rather than a home-made simulator. Secure document upload is integration on quote.
Languages. Brussels almost always calls for French and Dutch, with English for the international clientele around the European quarter. At Kolonell that is Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote); a Dutch review by an independent translator remains a third-party cost.
Data and accessibility. GDPR applies, supervised by the Belgian Data Protection Authority: minimal forms, no ID copies through an open form, a data processing agreement with the provider, a privacy policy and cookie consent. Target WCAG 2.1 AA, ideally 2.2 AA, and publish an accessibility statement. This is not legal advice.
For reference, Kolonell built the website of TR Signing Group (trsigninggroup.com), a signing services company based in New Jersey: a concrete example of a document services site built remotely. See our international website offer.
What does each option cost over three years?
2026 ballpark based on public agency rate pages and typical quotes in Brussels, for a 10 to 20 page site in three languages.
| Option | Build (EUR) | Maintenance over 36 months | 3-year total (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels agency, FR/NL/EN site | 10,000 to 30,000 | 3,600 to 10,800 (market assumption: €100 to €300 per month) | 13,600 to 40,800 |
| Freelancer, FR/NL/EN site | 2,500 to 8,000 | 1,800 to 5,400 (market assumption: €50 to €150 per month) | 4,300 to 13,400 |
| Kolonell Starter, one language | 2,700 | 3 months included, then on quote | 2,700 plus maintenance on quote |
| Kolonell Growth, one language | 4,500 | 3 months included, then on quote | 4,500 plus maintenance on quote |
| Kolonell Premium, multilingual | 8,200 | 3 months included, then on quote | 8,200 plus maintenance on quote |
| Dutch review (independent translator) | 600 to 1,500 | n/a | 600 to 1,500 |
The Kolonell price includes a project manager in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support.
When is a local agency clearly the better choice?
Need a professional website?
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If your office has several partner notaries who want to approve each page in a meeting, if you want portraits and video shot on your premises, or if the site must integrate with your practice management software through several workshops, a Brussels agency is more comfortable. The same applies if you want a native Dutch writer on the project team. A remote studio is enough when the scope is clear, someone in-house owns the content and you want a fixed price.
Questions to ask both: Will the domain and hosting be in our name? Who writes and who reviews each language? Where is form data hosted? How many revision rounds? What does the handover include at the end of the contract?
Mini case study
*Illustrative example.* Sophie runs a fictional sworn translation and apostille assistance service in Ixelles with 4 staff. A local agency offers her an FR/NL/EN site at €22,000. She chooses Kolonell Premium at €8,200, plus a Dutch review by an independent translator at €1,000 (third-party cost): €9,200, a gap of €12,800. With an average margin of €120 per file and 15 extra files a month from the site, or €1,800 of monthly margin, the site pays for itself in a little over 5 months (9,200 / 1,800 = 5.1).
FAQ
Can a Belgian notary advertise on their website?
Information about services is possible, but the profession strictly frames advertising and solicitation: check the current professional rules. A sober 10 to 15 page site focused on explaining acts remains the norm.
Do we really need three languages in Brussels?
For a notary's office, French and Dutch are close to essential, and English serves international clients. At Kolonell, a multilingual site falls under Premium at €8,200, languages set in the quote.
Can we receive ID documents through the site?
Not through a standard contact form. You need an encrypted secure upload with a defined retention period, and that integration is on quote.
How long does a new site take?
Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. Brussels agencies often quote 8 to 12 weeks for a trilingual site.
Which tier suits a single-language document service?
Starter (€2,700) suits a compact one-language site, Growth (€4,500) a broader catalogue of documents and procedures. Moving to multilingual means Premium.
To compare on paper, request a free quote with your services, languages and timeline.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your acts or documents, your languages and your launch date, and we will return a scope, a fixed price and a 3 to 4 week timeline. 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.