The verdict in three sentences
A tax advisory firm targeting foreign investors, in Singapore as in Dakar, must speak their language from the home page: French or English plus Arabic with real RTL support, not machine translation bolted on. For 45 pages, our Dakar benchmark sits between 3,000,000 and 5,500,000 FCFA (about 4,570 to 8,380 EUR, 2026 order of magnitude), professional translation included, over 8 to 11 weeks. The site only pays off with ongoing multilingual SEO, because queries like « tax advisor Senegal » or their Arabic equivalent are not won in a month.
Architecture: what a trilingual tax website needs
Foreign investors look for three things: understanding the local tax framework (tax code, investment code, investment agency regimes), checking the firm's credibility and booking a meeting quickly. A typical 45-page structure looks like this.
| Block | Pages per language | Key content |
|---|---|---|
| Home and firm | 3 | Positioning, partners, accreditations, alliances |
| Practice areas | 5 | Corporate tax, transfer pricing, VAT, mining and oil tax, disputes |
| Investor guides | 4 | Setting up a subsidiary, investment agency regime, tax treaties, profit repatriation |
| Tax news | 2 templates + articles | 2026 finance law, briefing notes |
| Contact and booking | 1 | Form, video call, WhatsApp |
| Total | 15 pages x 3 languages = 45 |
The technical architecture needs language-specific URLs (/fr/, /en/, /ar/), correct hreflang tags, a visible language switcher and a mirrored layout for Arabic: menu on the right, text alignment, flipped arrow icons, numbers and tables checked in RTL. A headless or classic multilingual CMS lets partners publish their notes without going through a developer.
Detailed budget: where the money goes
The figures below are Dakar market estimates for a mid-sized firm, not a Kolonell price list.
| Item (Dakar market 2026) | FCFA range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| UX and design (FR, EN, mirrored AR) | 700,000 to 1,200,000 | The Arabic version needs dedicated mockups |
| Development and multilingual CMS | 1,200,000 to 2,200,000 | Hreflang, per-language URLs, RTL |
| Professional translation (about 18,000 words x 2 languages at 35 FCFA/word) | 1,260,000 | Tax-specialised translator, reviewed by a partner |
| Writing investor guides | 300,000 to 600,000 | If the firm does not supply the copy |
| Booking, forms, security | 150,000 to 300,000 | Encryption, anti-spam, data protection compliance |
| Total project | 3,000,000 to 5,500,000 | Excluding monthly SEO and hosting |
Translation is often underestimated: at 35 FCFA per word, 18,000 words translated into two languages come to about 1,260,000 FCFA (about 1,920 EUR). Cutting this line with unreviewed machine translation exposes the firm to mistranslations of concepts such as withholding tax or permanent establishment, which is a deal-breaker for tax advice.
Timeline, compliance and SEO after launch
| Phase | Duration | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping and structure | 1 to 2 weeks | 45-page plan, keywords per language |
| Design then RTL adaptation | 2 weeks | Approved mockups |
| Development and CMS | 3 to 4 weeks | Site on staging |
| Translation and review | 2 to 3 weeks, in parallel | EN and AR content approved |
| Testing, launch | 1 week | Public site, hreflang checked |
| Total | 8 to 11 weeks |
On compliance, forms collect investors' personal data: in Senegal, Law 2008-12 and registration with the data protection authority (CDP) apply; in Singapore, the PDPA plays the same role. Provide a privacy policy in all three languages.
After launch, the site needs ongoing work. At Kolonell, monthly SEO comes in three packages: 100,000, 200,000 or 350,000 FCFA per month (about 150, 300 or 530 EUR). For a trilingual site, the 200,000 FCFA package is the best fit: it covers ranking tracking in all three languages and regular publication of optimised tax notes.
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Mr Ndiaye, managing partner of a hypothetical tax firm in Dakar, bills an average of 2,500,000 FCFA in annual fees per foreign investor client. He invests 4,200,000 FCFA in a trilingual site, then 200,000 FCFA per month for SEO, or 6,600,000 FCFA (about 10,060 EUR) in year one.
If the site brings in 3 new investor clients in the first year, it generates 7,500,000 FCFA in fees, covering the investment. From year two, only the 2,400,000 FCFA of SEO remains to fund, and every retained client keeps billing.
FAQ
Is Arabic really necessary?
If the firm targets investors from the Gulf, Morocco or Egypt, yes. An Arabic version often makes the difference against French or English-only competitors, and it represents about 30% of the total project budget.
Can we start with FR and EN and add Arabic later?
Yes, provided the architecture is RTL-ready from day one. Adding Arabic later then costs 900,000 to 1,500,000 FCFA, against a much higher overrun if the theme has to be rebuilt.
How much does translating a tax website cost?
In 2026, expect about 35 FCFA per word (about 0.05 EUR) for a specialised translator in Dakar. For 18,000 words in two languages, that is about 1,260,000 FCFA.
How long to rank for « tax advisor Senegal »?
Allow 4 to 8 months of regular SEO work on low-competition English queries, longer for highly contested French queries.
What maintenance should we plan?
A multilingual site needs security and content updates. Kolonell maintenance packages range from 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA per month (about 50 to 180 EUR) depending on service level.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your target languages, page count and key practice areas, and we will send you a structure, a detailed budget and an 8 to 11 week plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
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.
