The verdict in three sentences
For a private or international school in Houston, the website mainly serves the admissions funnel: inquiry, visit booking, application, and it has to work for relocating families who discover the school from London, Paris or Lagos. A fixed-price remote studio (USD 2,900 to 8,900, 3 to 4 weeks) is enough if you already have approved photos and an enrollment tool in place. A Houston agency is justified if you want regular campus shoots, in-person meetings with the board and on-the-ground support for your admissions campaign.
Which criteria separate a Houston agency from a remote studio?
A school does not buy a website like a company does: the calendar is set by the admissions season (open houses from October to January, enrollment contracts often signed between February and April), and every student photo requires parental consent. Here are the criteria we suggest scoring.
| Criterion | Houston agency | Remote studio (Kolonell) | Watch point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campus shoots (students, classes, athletics) | 5 | 1 (hire a local photographer) | Up-to-date parental consents |
| Meetings with leadership and the board | 5 (on site) | 3 (video, on Houston hours) | Number of sign-offs planned |
| Multilingual copy (English, Spanish, French) | 2 to 4 | 5 (native English and French) | Who reviews the Spanish |
| Admissions funnel and forms | 4 | 4 | Link with your enrollment tool |
| Launch before open house season | 2 (10 to 16 weeks) | 5 (3 to 4 weeks) | Realistic deadline |
| Price over 3 years | 2 | 5 | Hidden annual licenses |
| Ownership of domain, code and content | Varies | In the school's name | Handover clause |
Many US schools use specialized platforms billed by annual license, often USD 5,000 to 25,000 per year as a ballpark. They offer built-in modules, but you own neither the code nor the templates: if you switch providers, everything must be rebuilt. Ask before you sign.
What does each option cost over three years?
Ranges are a 2026 ballpark based on typical Houston agency quotes, public freelancer rates and school platform price sheets.
| Item over 3 years | Houston freelancer | Houston agency | Licensed school platform | Kolonell Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build (30 to 50 pages) | USD 5,000 to 14,000 | USD 18,000 to 50,000 | USD 8,000 to 30,000 | USD 4,900 |
| License or maintenance | USD 1,500 to 4,000 | USD 6,000 to 15,000 | USD 15,000 to 75,000 | 3 months included, then on quote |
| Hosting | USD 600 to 1,500 | Included or USD 1,500 to 3,600 | Included | USD 600 to 1,500 |
| Spanish translation of key pages | USD 1,000 to 2,500 | USD 2,000 to 5,000 | USD 2,000 to 5,000 | On quote |
| Indicative total | USD 8,100 to 22,000 | USD 26,000 to 73,600 | USD 25,000 to 110,000 | about USD 6,500 to 9,500 |
Campus photography is needed in every scenario: a school photographer in Houston usually charges USD 1,500 to 4,000 per day. The full international grid is on the websites for international clients page: Starter USD 2,900, Growth USD 4,900, Premium USD 8,900.
When is a Houston agency the better choice?
To be honest about it, a local agency is preferable if:
- you are launching a full brand campaign with a school film, faculty portraits and sports coverage throughout the year;
- your board wants to approve each stage in the room, with formal presentations;
- the school is opening a new campus and you need a local presence for events, signage and press relations.
A remote studio is enough when the job is to clarify the offer (IB, American and bilingual program pages, early years, elementary and secondary sections), make the tuition page transparent, speed up the site on mobile and simplify visit booking. It also suits schools where most applicants still live abroad while they research: the site then works mostly at a distance, just like you.
Questions to ask both providers: does the inquiry form connect to our existing enrollment tool? Who owns the page templates when the contract ends? How are student photos with expired consent handled? Can we post a closure alert (hurricane, flooding) in two minutes from a phone? Does the site target WCAG 2.1 AA?
Which rules frame a private school website in Texas?
Federal FERPA applies only to institutions that receive funds from the US Department of Education, which is not the case for most private schools; do not cite it without checking. COPPA, on the other hand, applies if the site collects personal data online from children under 13: forms should be addressed to parents. Texas has had a consumer data privacy law since 2024, and whether it applies to a school depends in part on its legal status: have that point reviewed. Accreditation mentions (for example ISAS, Cognia, CIS or NEASC) or IB authorization must match the status actually held. For accessibility, target WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 level AA, a real issue for parents with disabilities. Finally, every student photo needs written, current parental consent. This is not legal advice.
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Mini case study
Illustrative example: Claire Dubois-Hart, admissions director of a 420-student French-English bilingual school in the Energy Corridor, sees many families of relocated engineers. Her current site, on a licensed platform, costs USD 14,000 a year.
- Current platform over 3 years: USD 42,000 in licenses.
- Kolonell Growth: USD 4,900, plus about USD 3,000 of hosting and occasional changes over 3 years, so USD 7,900, plus USD 2,500 of campus photography.
- Saving over 3 years: 42,000 minus 10,400, so USD 31,600.
On admissions: the site receives 900 inquiries a year. If online visit booking lifts the visit rate from 30% to 36%, that means 54 more visits a year. Had the school wanted a monthly campus shoot, a Houston agency would have made more sense.
FAQ
Do we really need a Spanish version in Houston?
It is not mandatory, but a large share of families in the area speak Spanish at home. Translating the 6 to 10 pages of the admissions path is usually enough to start.
Can a remote studio meet the open house calendar?
Yes, if the project starts at least 6 weeks before the first open house: 3 to 4 weeks of production once content is ready, plus a buffer for leadership sign-off.
Can we keep our enrollment and tuition payment tool?
Yes, the site links to the existing tool or embeds its form. Deeper integration with your student information system is priced on quote.
How much time must leadership give the project?
Plan on 6 to 10 hours over 4 weeks: a kickoff workshop, two reviews and a final sign-off, by video on Houston hours.
Who manages student photo consents?
The school remains responsible for consents. The CMS lets you remove a photo in under a minute as soon as consent expires or is withdrawn.
Let's scope your project. Admissions funnel, program and tuition pages, multilingual version, USD 4,900 to 8,900, live in 3 to 4 weeks before your next admissions season. 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.