The verdict in three sentences
For an 18-person notary office, a notary website with online booking costs EUR 6,000 to 14,000 excl. tax (about USD 6,500 to 15,200), plus EUR 30 to 120 per month for the scheduling tool. The real return comes from fewer inbound calls: cutting 25% of 120 daily calls frees about 60 hours of front-desk time per month. The project ships in 7 weeks if the office supplies its content and approves the design early.
The figures below come from a reference project in Bordeaux; a Montreal office with a francophone and English-speaking clientele faces very similar costs, with bilingual content adding roughly 15 to 20% to the content budget.
What each building block costs in 2026
A notary office does not need a generic brochure site. Clients want three things: to know who handles their file, to book without calling, and to send documents without using personal email. The budget is built block by block.
| Block | 2026 range (excl. tax) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Custom design and build (12 to 20 pages) | EUR 2,500 to 5,000 | Team, practice areas, common deeds, fees |
| Integrated online booking | EUR 800 to 2,000 | Connected to notaries' and clerks' calendars |
| Scheduling tool subscription | EUR 30 to 120/month | Depends on number of calendars and SMS reminders |
| Secure document upload (encrypted, local hosting) | EUR 1,500 to 3,500 | Unique link per file, automatic purge |
| Notary fee calculator | EUR 600 to 1,500 | Resale, new build, gifts, regulated scale |
| Local SEO | EUR 600 to 1,500 | Google profiles, neighbourhood pages |
| Hosting and maintenance | EUR 60 to 180/month | Backups, updates, monitoring |
The low end (EUR 6,000) is a 12-page site with an off-the-shelf calendar and a simple calculator. The high end (EUR 14,000) includes encrypted document upload, a multi-deed calculator and fine integration with the calendars of 4 notaries and 6 clerks.
Front-desk time actually saved
Out of 120 daily calls, roughly half concern three topics: booking or moving an appointment, asking for the list of documents, and estimating fees. These are exactly the topics a website absorbs.
| Call reason | Calls/day | Average length | Share absorbed by the site | Hours saved/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking or rescheduling | 35 | 4 min | 45% | 23 h |
| List of required documents | 15 | 5 min | 40% | 11 h |
| Fee estimate | 10 | 6 min | 50% | 11 h |
| Sending documents by email | 8 | 6 min | 60% | 11 h |
| File progress follow-up | 20 | 4 min | 5% | 1 h |
| Other requests | 32 | 3 min | 0% | 0 h |
| Total | 120 | about 25% | about 57 h |
Based on 21 working days. At EUR 32 per loaded hour for an assistant, those 57 hours are worth about EUR 1,820 per month, close to EUR 22,000 per year. The site pays for itself in under 8 months in the high scenario.
Typical 7-week schedule
| Week | Deliverable | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| W1 | Scoping workshop, sitemap, choice of scheduling tool | Agency and partner notary |
| W2 | Key page mock-ups approved | Agency |
| W3 | Deeds and fees pages written | Office, reviewed by agency |
| W4 | Development and calendar integration | Agency |
| W5 | Document upload and fee calculator | Agency |
| W6 | Acceptance testing with 3 clerks, mobile tests | Office and agency |
| W7 | Go-live, local SEO, team training | Agency |
The main delay risk is content: an office that is slow to approve its deeds pages pushes go-live back by 2 to 3 weeks.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Me Lefèvre, partner notary in an 18-person office in Bordeaux, picks the EUR 11,500 scenario, with a EUR 80 per month calendar and EUR 120 per month maintenance. First-year cost: 11,500 + (80 + 120) × 12 = EUR 13,900 excl. tax. After three months, calls drop from 120 to 94 per day, a 22% decrease. Monthly gain: 26 calls × 4.5 min × 21 days = 41 hours, about EUR 1,310 at EUR 32 per hour. Over a year, savings reach about EUR 15,700, covering the project by month eleven, before counting new files brought in by local search.
FAQ
Is online document upload compatible with professional secrecy?
Yes, provided hosting is local, files are encrypted and automatically purged, for example after 90 days. This module costs EUR 1,500 to 3,500 excl. tax depending on the audit trail required.
Do we need to replace our deed-drafting software?
No. The website does not touch the office's practice software. It handles the relationship before the file opens: appointments, documents, fee estimates, which is enough to absorb about 25% of calls.
Is the fee calculator binding on the office?
It shows an indicative estimate based on the regulated scale and transfer duties, with a clear disclaimer. It costs EUR 600 to 1,500 excl. tax and cuts calls on the topic by about 50%.
How long to rank for "notary" plus our city?
Count 3 to 6 months for strong local ranking with EUR 600 to 1,500 of initial SEO and an up-to-date Google profile. Neighbourhood pages speed up visibility on local searches.
Which scheduling subscription should we pick?
For 10 calendars with SMS reminders, budget EUR 60 to 120 per month. Reminders cut no-shows by 20 to 30% as an order of magnitude.
Let's scope your project. A 12 to 20 page site with online booking, document upload and fee calculator for EUR 6,000 to 14,000 excl. tax, delivered in 7 weeks. 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.
