The verdict in three sentences
A private business school rarely loses applicants for lack of awareness: it loses them in an admissions funnel that is too long, between the brochure download and the completed application. A 60-page site with online application, connected to the national admissions platform and an admissions CRM, costs EUR 30,000 to 55,000 excl. VAT (roughly GBP 26,000 to 47,000, comparable to London agency rates) and ships in 12 weeks. Lifting visitor-to-applicant conversion from 0.9% to 2.5% on 80,000 annual visitors means over 1,200 additional applications, an order of magnitude of 150 extra enrolments.
Where does the admissions funnel leak?
The benchmark comes from a 1,200-student post-secondary school in Bordeaux, and the same five steps apply to a London school recruiting through UCAS and direct entry: programme visit, brochure request, open day, application created, application completed. Measurements on school websites in 2025 and 2026 show massive losses in two places: the brochure (no follow-up) and the application form (too many fields, no save).
| Funnel step | Observed rate (old site) | Target after redesign | Main lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programme page to brochure | 4.5% | 7% | Brochure personalised per programme |
| Brochure to open day registration | 18% | 30% | Email and SMS follow-up sequence |
| Open day to application created | 35% | 50% | Direct application link on the day |
| Created to completed application | 40% | 70% | Auto-save, mobile upload |
| Completed application to admitted | 60% | 60% | Unchanged (panel) |
| Overall visitor to applicant | 0.9% | 2.5% | Sum of levers |
The biggest gain comes from the "created to completed" step: a 4-screen form with auto-save and phone upload lifts completion from 40% to 70%.
Budget for a 60-page business school website
The scope below matches a school offering a bachelor, a grande école programme and MSc degrees, with mixed recruitment through the national platform and direct admissions.
| Item | Content | Indicative 2026 budget (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| UX and design (applicant research, mockups) | Interviews with students and parents, tested prototype | EUR 6,000 to 10,000 |
| 60-page development + CMS | Programmes, campus, student life, employers | EUR 10,000 to 18,000 |
| Online application module | Multi-step form, supporting documents, fee payment | EUR 6,000 to 11,000 |
| Admissions CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce Education Cloud) | Scoring, follow-ups, tracking per admissions officer | EUR 4,000 to 8,000 |
| National platform bridge (Parcoursup or UCAS codes, tracking) | Trace applicant source | EUR 1,500 to 3,000 |
| Content, SEO and migration | Copywriting, redirects, Course markup | EUR 2,500 to 5,000 |
A school reusing its existing CRM stays around EUR 30,000. A multi-campus school with an English-taught international track and online fee payment reaches EUR 55,000. The 12-week timeline ideally targets an October launch, before the application window opens in January.
National platform and CRM: what integration really achieves
Neither Parcoursup nor UCAS offers schools a public write API, so integration means tracing applicant origin: "Apply via the platform" buttons with tracking parameters, importing application exports into the CRM, and matching them with brochure and open day leads. The admissions team then knows which campaign produced which application and can follow up with a student who downloaded the brochure without applying. For direct entry (second or third year), applications happen on the site itself, with application fees (often EUR 60 to 120) paid by card.
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Nicolas is marketing director at a Bordeaux business school (1,200 students, average tuition EUR 9,500 per year). The site attracts 80,000 visitors a year for 720 applications, or 0.9%. After a EUR 42,000 redesign with online application and CRM, the rate climbs to 2.1% in year one, or 1,680 applications. With a 60% admission rate and 15% of admitted students enrolling, he gains about 86 additional enrolments (151 instead of 65 from the site). Even counting only 20 extra enrolments attributable to the site, the EUR 190,000 in first-year tuition covers the investment 4.5 times.
FAQ
How much does a private business school website cost?
Budget EUR 30,000 to 55,000 excl. VAT for 60 pages with online application, admissions CRM and platform bridge. A redesign without an application module sits closer to EUR 18,000 to 28,000.
What visitor-to-applicant conversion rate should we target?
An unoptimised school site often sits between 0.5 and 1%. With a 4-screen application funnel and automated follow-ups, 2 to 2.5% is a realistic goal within 12 to 18 months.
Can the national admissions platform be integrated directly?
Parcoursup and UCAS do not offer schools a write API, so integration relies on click tracking, importing application exports and matching them in the CRM. That is enough to attribute 80 to 90% of applications to a marketing source.
Which admissions CRM should we choose?
HubSpot suits schools under 3,000 students with a licence budget of EUR 800 to 3,600 per month. Salesforce Education Cloud targets multi-campus groups, with significantly higher licence and integration costs.
When should the redesign start?
Ideally in June or July for an October launch, before the January to March application window. Launching in February sacrifices part of the recruitment cycle.
Let's scope your project. Share your visitor volumes, programmes and current CRM, and we will price a complete admissions funnel between EUR 30,000 and 55,000 with a 12-week plan aligned with your recruitment cycle. 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.
