The verdict in three sentences
For a St Peter Port prime agency, a redesign costs £3,900 (Growth) or £6,900 (Premium) with Kolonell, against a 2026 ballpark of £6,000 to £18,000 in typical island agency quotes, with the property CRM and portal links on quote. After years of trading, an agency site often holds thousands of sold listing pages: deleting them in one go creates thousands of 404 errors and can wipe out part of the visibility you built. The rule is simple: no URL disappears without a written decision, and the 3 to 4 week build starts only once that triage is done.
Why are sold listings the first risk in a Guernsey redesign?
An agency focused on waterfront and view properties, from St Peter Port to St Martin or Les Vardes, publishes listings that attract links and searches long after the sale. Open Market buyers and finance professionals also browse those archives to get a feel for each area. Each URL type calls for a different decision:
| URL type | Recommended action | Decision criterion |
|---|---|---|
| Sold listing with traffic or external links | Keep as a sold archive page, no price achieved | Visits over 12 months or links in Search Console |
| Sold listing, no traffic, area still exists | 301 redirect to the area page | No visits over 12 months |
| Sold listing, near-empty page | 410 code, deliberate removal | Under 50 words, no photos kept |
| Listing for sale | Same URL if possible, otherwise one-to-one 301 | Always keep |
| Area page | Same URL, richer content | Always keep |
| Filter and tag pages | Not indexed, 301 to search | Duplicate pages |
| Old blog | Keep useful posts, 301 the rest | Traffic and relevance |
One Guernsey-specific point: listings usually state whether a property sits on the Open Market or the Local Market part of the housing register. That field must survive the migration, without the site interpreting any buyer's position. This is not legal advice.
What is the budget, and what stays on quote?
| Option | 2026 ballpark | Archive triage and 301 map | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guernsey agency | £6,000 to £18,000 | Varies, get it spelled out in the quote | 8 to 14 weeks |
| Mainland UK agency | £8,000 to £25,000 | Often included, sometimes billed separately | 10 to 16 weeks |
| Freelancer | £2,500 to £6,000 | Rarely handled in depth | 6 to 12 weeks |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | Basic inventory | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | Inventory, 301 map, Search Console follow-up | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | Same, plus the multilingual tier (languages set in the quote) | 3 to 4 weeks |
Market ranges are ballparks from typical quotes, not a survey. On quote: CRM link, portal feeds, vendor area, bespoke integrations and maintenance after the 3 included months of support. Every tier of the international offer includes a project manager reachable in Guernsey hours and native English or French copywriting. Photos, video, drone and floor plans are third-party costs paid to a local photographer.
What does a redirect-first timeline look like?
| Step | Duration | Output | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| URL export (Search Console, sitemap, crawl) | 2 to 3 days | Full list | Total reconciled with indexed pages |
| Archive triage | 2 to 4 days | Decision per URL | Agency sign-off |
| Design and build | Weeks 1 to 3 | Listing, archive, area templates | Mobile test |
| 301 and 410 setup | Week 3 | Redirect file | Every rule tested before the switch |
| Wording review | Week 3 | Approved copy | Open Market, fees, privacy |
| Switch and monitoring | Week 4, then 4 weeks | Weekly 404 report | Search Console |
Other risks to cover: CRM feed out of sync, downtime during the DNS change (done at a quiet hour, rollback ready), over-demanding forms. Forms are limited to name, contact, property reference and an optional budget range; anti-money-laundering checks stay the agency's own process. The site falls under the Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2017, overseen by the Office of the Data Protection Authority (ODPA).
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Questions for any provider: how many URLs have you counted, who signs off the triage, who tests the redirects, who reads the 404 report after the switch. An island agency is preferable if you want workshops on site and the same supplier for photography and the website.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Fermain Lantern Estates, an agency focused on waterfront and view homes. Its site has 2,400 indexed URLs: 1,900 sold listings, 120 listings for sale, 30 area and service pages, 350 filter pages. The triage gives 300 archives kept, 1,400 301 redirects to area pages and 200 410 codes (300 + 1,400 + 200 = 1,900); the 350 filter pages redirect to search. The agency picks Growth at £3,900 and books a local photographer for 10 shoots at £300, so £3,000 (third-party cost). Visible budget: £6,900, with the CRM link on quote.
FAQ
Should we really keep sold listings online? Only those with traffic or links, often 10 to 20% of the archive. They show as sold, with no price achieved and a link to similar properties.
What is the difference between a 301 and a 410? A 301 passes the visitor and part of the SEO value to another page; a 410 signals permanent removal. Across 1,900 archive pages, a 301 to the area page usually covers most cases.
How long should we watch 404s after the switch? At least 4 weeks, with a weekly report. Errors found are fixed during the 3 included months of support.
Is the Open Market or Local Market label kept? Yes, it is a listing field migrated as is from the CRM. The site displays it without ever interpreting a buyer's position.
Does the 3 to 4 week timeline include the archive triage? The triage takes 4 to 7 days beforehand and depends on your sign-offs. The build then starts and runs 3 to 4 weeks.
Before comparing quotes, request a free quote: we start by counting your URLs.
Let's scope your project. A St Peter Port luxury agency redesign from £2,300 to £6,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks with a complete redirect plan, CRM and portals quoted separately. 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.
