The verdict in three sentences
A patent and trademark attorney firm in London or Berlin does not need a £18,000 website to win filings from start-ups: it needs pages per technical field, a readable fee guide and an intake form that qualifies the matter before the first call. With a trademark filing billed at £800 to £2,200 in London or €900 to €2,500 in Berlin, four to six inbound matters pay for a well built site. The real question is not what the website costs, but how many qualified enquiries it produces each month.
What start-ups and innovative SMEs look for before calling an IP firm
A deeptech founder or an SME's head of R&D compares three or four firms online before picking up the phone. They want to know whether the firm understands their technical field, what a first filing costs and how quickly they will hear back. A site that only lists "patents, trademarks, designs" sends them to a better documented competitor.
The pages that convert in this profession are specific: one page per field (chemistry and materials, electronics and telecoms, software and computer implemented inventions, medical devices), one page per route (UKIPO or DPMA national filing, EPO, PCT, EU trademark at the EUIPO), and an indicative fees page. Firms that publish ranges usually receive better prepared enquiries, because the prospect has already accepted the order of magnitude.
| Service (2026 order of magnitude) | London, fees ex VAT | Berlin, fees net | Official fees on top |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trademark clearance search | £300 to £700 | €300 to €800 | none |
| National trademark, 1 to 3 classes | £800 to £1,400 | €900 to €1,500 | £170 or €290 upwards |
| EU trademark | £1,400 to £2,200 | €1,500 to €2,500 | from €850 |
| Drafting and filing a national patent | £4,000 to £8,500 | €4,500 to €9,500 | a few hundred |
| European patent (EPO) | £5,500 to £13,000 | €6,000 to €15,000 | several thousand euros |
| PCT application | £2,800 to £5,500 | €3,000 to €6,000 | about €3,500 |
On the website this table does two jobs: it reassures the prospect and it filters out enquiries that do not fit. A founder who sees that a European patent costs well over €10,000 all in arrives at the meeting with a realistic budget.
What an IP firm website costs in 2026
London agencies that specialise in professional services quote £7,000 to £18,000 for a firm website, Berlin agencies €8,000 to €20,000, with 8 to 14 weeks of delivery. The Kolonell showcase grid covers the same need from a leaner base, with 6 to 8 weeks for this scope. Kolonell prices are set in EUR and FCFA and are not converted. Languages (English plus German or French for foreign correspondents) are set in the quote.
| Option | Budget | Timeline | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generalist freelancer | £2,000 to £4,500 | 4 to 6 weeks | theme, 6 to 8 pages, little sector content |
| Specialist London or Berlin agency | £7,000 to £18,000 / €8,000 to €20,000 | 8 to 14 weeks | strategy, copywriting, bespoke design |
| Kolonell showcase Starter | 1,220 to 1,830 EUR | 6 weeks | core pages, qualifying form |
| Kolonell showcase Growth | 1,830 to 3,050 EUR | 6 to 7 weeks | field pages, blog, analytics |
| Kolonell showcase Premium | 3,050 to 5,340 EUR | 7 to 8 weeks | animations, advanced SEO, route pages |
| Kolonell maintenance | 53 / 114 / 183 EUR a month | ongoing | updates, backups, security |
For a six attorney firm, Premium is usually the right fit: it carries a dozen technical and procedural pages, which match what founders actually search for ("file a software patent UK", "EU trademark cost").
How many matters pay back the website
The payback maths is simple in this profession, because each inbound matter has a known value. The table below takes a Premium site at 5,340 EUR, the top of the grid, and compares it with a £13,000 agency build.
| Inbound matter type | Average fee | Matters to recoup 5,340 EUR | Matters to recoup £13,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| National trademark only | £1,100 | 5 | 12 |
| EU trademark | £1,800 | 3 | 8 |
| Search plus national trademark | £1,500 | 4 | 9 |
| National patent | £5,500 | 1 | 3 |
| Start-up portfolio (2 marks and 1 patent) | £8,000 | 1 | 2 |
One patent from the site repays the project. The risk lies in poor follow up: a form that asks for the technical field, the stage (idea, prototype, funding round) and any disclosure deadline lets the partner reply within 24 hours with the right attorney.
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Mini case study
James Whitfield, managing partner of a six attorney IP firm in Holborn, London, gets about 3 enquiries a month from his current site, and one becomes a matter. After a rebuild with 4 technical field pages, a fees page and a qualifying form, the target is 8 monthly enquiries with a 40 % conversion rate.
Over 12 months: 8 enquiries × 40 % = 3.2 matters a month, about 38 a year. With a cautious average fee of £1,600 (mostly trademarks, a few patents), that is £60,800 in annual fees. Before the rebuild the firm signed 12 matters a year from the site, or £19,200. The estimated annual gain is £41,600, against a Premium site between 3,050 and 5,340 EUR and Standard maintenance at 114 EUR a month. The investment is covered in the second month.
FAQ
Should an IP firm publish its fees online?
Indicative ranges are compatible with IPReg and patentanwalt professional rules as long as they stay informative. Firms that publish them filter out around 30 % of off budget enquiries and save time in first meetings.
How many pages does a six attorney firm need?
Plan 12 to 18 pages: home, team, 4 technical fields, 4 filing routes, fees, news and contact. That is the scope of a Premium showcase site, delivered in 6 to 8 weeks.
Does the site need a second language?
For a firm handling PCT and EPO work, a second language usually helps, because 20 to 40 % of enquiries come from foreign correspondents. At Kolonell, languages are set in the quote.
How long before Google sends enquiries?
Well written route pages start ranking within 3 to 6 months for searches like "trademark attorney London". A monthly SEO plan speeds this up on competitive queries.
How do we protect invention confidentiality in the form?
The form should never ask for a detailed technical description before an NDA is signed. Limit it to field, stage and deadline, with data hosted in the EU or UK and encrypted.
Let's scope your project. Technical field pages, a fee guide and a qualifying intake form for your firm, delivered in 6 to 8 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.
