The verdict in three sentences
For a mid-sized private business school, a recruitment-driven bilingual website costs EUR 20,000 to 35,000 (about USD 21,500 to 37,500) in 2026, excluding campaigns. The value does not come from the design but from the application chain: programme page, pre-admission chat, short form, tracking in the admissions CRM. A well-built site brings the cost per application below EUR 40, compared with EUR 70 to 120 with a rushed translation and student fairs.
What a EUR 20,000 to 35,000 budget covers
The communications director launching this project is really buying three things: a content architecture designed for two audiences (local and regional applicants, and international candidates applying directly), a second language written by native writers rather than translated, and integrations with admissions tools.
| Item | Essential version | Full version | 2026 comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoping, applicant journeys, sitemap | EUR 2,500 | EUR 4,000 | Workshops with admissions, international office, faculty |
| UI design and responsive mock-ups | EUR 4,000 | EUR 6,500 | 70% of international applicants arrive on mobile |
| CMS build and programme pages | EUR 6,000 | EUR 10,000 | 25 to 40 pages with fees, intakes, career outcomes |
| Native second-language copy (Arabic or French) | EUR 3,000 | EUR 5,500 | Around EUR 0.18 to 0.25 per word, proofreading included |
| Application portal and direct-entry connection | EUR 2,000 | EUR 4,000 | Deep links, short form, export to the CRM |
| Pre-admission chat and dynamic FAQ | EUR 1,500 | EUR 3,000 | Answers on fees, visas, housing, equivalences |
| Technical SEO, hreflang, QA | EUR 1,000 | EUR 2,000 | Language tags, Course structured data |
| Total | EUR 20,000 | EUR 35,000 | 12 to 14 weeks |
Ongoing maintenance then runs EUR 300 to 600 per month, including updates to tuition fees and intake dates.
The real metric: cost per application
A school spends significant sums every year on fairs, aggregator platforms and ads. The website is the conversion point for all of these channels. If it converts poorly, every euro spent upstream is wasted.
| International recruitment channel | Cost per application (2026 estimate) | Conversion rate to enrolment |
|---|---|---|
| Student fairs abroad | EUR 90 to 150 | 4 to 6% |
| Programme aggregator platforms | EUR 50 to 90 | 3 to 5% |
| Commission-based recruitment agents | 10 to 15% of first-year fees | 25 to 35% |
| Social ads to a poorly translated site | EUR 70 to 120 | 2 to 3% |
| Social ads to an optimised bilingual site | EUR 25 to 40 | 5 to 8% |
| Organic English SEO (after 6 to 9 months) | EUR 8 to 15 | 6 to 10% |
The two levers that lower this cost are form length (going from 22 to 8 fields often doubles completion) and instant answers to blocking questions: fees, visa timeline, housing in Dubai, degree recognition. The pre-admission chat handles 60 to 70% of these questions without human input.
The traps of a bilingual school website
First trap: unreviewed machine translation. A candidate from India or Nigeria compares your page with those of established international campuses in the city. One clumsy sentence is enough to cast doubt on teaching quality.
Second trap: mixing journeys. A local applicant wants to know about scholarships and payment plans. An international candidate wants the required English level, fees and response time. Two distinct entry points from the home page avoid confusion.
Third trap: forgetting structured data and hreflang. Without correct tags, Google may show the wrong language version to a candidate, and the bounce rate then exceeds 70%.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Layla, communications director of an 1,800-student school in Dubai, receives 900 international applications a year at an average cost of EUR 85, or EUR 76,500 a year. After a EUR 28,000 redesign, the school targets 1,100 applications at an average of EUR 38, or EUR 41,800. Annual savings reach about EUR 34,700, and with a 6% enrolment rate, the 200 extra applications mean 12 more students. At EUR 9,500 in annual fees, that is EUR 114,000 in additional first-year revenue. The site pays for itself in under six months.
FAQ
Do we need a separate site for international applicants?
No, one site with a second-language version under its own folder and hreflang tags is enough in 90% of cases. A separate site doubles maintenance, adding EUR 300 to 500 per month.
Can the site connect directly to our application platform?
If your platform has no open API, we use deep links to programme pages plus click tracking. For direct entry, the form feeds the admissions CRM in under 2 minutes.
How long before applications respond?
Paid campaigns show results 4 to 6 weeks after launch. English SEO takes 6 to 9 months to generate a steady flow of applications.
Should the pre-admission chat be AI-based?
A chatbot trained on your validated FAQ costs EUR 1,500 to 3,000 and answers 24 hours a day, which matters for applicants across 6 time zones. Complex questions are routed to an adviser by email or WhatsApp.
What lead time before the intake campaign?
Allow 12 to 14 weeks: to open applications in November, scoping must start in July at the latest.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of programmes, application volumes and target intake date for a precise estimate between EUR 20,000 and 35,000. 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.
