The verdict in three sentences
A private or international school in Copenhagen can expect a website redesign to cost roughly EUR 16,000 to 47,000 with a local agency (about DKK 120,000 to 350,000), against a fixed EUR 4,500 (Growth) or EUR 8,200 (Premium, the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) on the Kolonell grid. The build itself takes 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready; the real risks sit in the admissions pages that already rank, the forms that collect data about children and the integrations with your admissions or school management system. Plan go-live outside the admissions peak and keep every integration on a separate quote line.
Is it really time to redesign?
Most schools wait too long. These signals, taken together, usually mean the site costs more than it brings:
- Families email the admissions office questions the site should answer (fees, term dates, bus routes, waiting list rules).
- Only one person can edit the CMS, so the news page lags a term behind.
- The Danish and English versions diverge, or one of them is missing.
- Admissions and fees pages are hard to use on a phone, where most parents first look.
- Old open day pages, PDFs and microsites still appear in Google.
- Policies (privacy notice, photo consent, safeguarding) are scattered or out of date.
If three or more apply, a redesign is cheaper than another year of patching.
What does a redesign cost in Copenhagen in 2026?
Figures are a 2026 ballpark based on typical Copenhagen agency quotes and public rate pages, converted at about DKK 7.46 per euro. Kolonell prices are fixed and quoted in EUR only.
| Option | Typical range | Approx. in EUR | Usually included | Usually extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen agency, full redesign | DKK 120,000 to 350,000 | EUR 16,000 to 47,000 | Discovery workshops, design, Danish and English build | Photography, integrations |
| Copenhagen agency, refresh on existing CMS | DKK 60,000 to 120,000 | EUR 8,000 to 16,000 | New theme, page cleanup | Content rewrite, redirects |
| Freelancer | DKK 40,000 to 100,000 | EUR 5,400 to 13,400 | Build on a theme | Copywriting, accessibility testing |
| Kolonell Starter | Fixed | EUR 2,700 | Compact site, one language | Admissions portal, school system |
| Kolonell Growth | Fixed | EUR 4,500 | Full pages, one language, native English copy | Same |
| Kolonell Premium | Fixed | EUR 8,200 | The multilingual tier, languages set in the quote | Same |
Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in Copenhagen business hours, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support; maintenance after that is on quote. The international offer page details each tier.
What stays on quote whatever the provider: the admissions portal or application form connected to your school management system, online fee payment, parent portal single sign-on, calendar or lunch menu feeds, and any custom booking tool for tours.
How long does it take, phase by phase?
| Phase | Duration | Led by | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content audit and URL inventory | 1 to 2 weeks | School, with provider template | List of pages to keep, merge or retire; current URLs exported |
| Copy and photo selection | 2 to 4 weeks | Admissions and communications | Approved texts, photos with documented consent |
| Design and build | 3 to 4 weeks | Kolonell | Templates, pages, forms, languages per the Premium quote (multilingual tier) |
| Review and compliance check | 1 week | Head of school, DPO or adviser | Signed-off claims, privacy notice, accessibility checks |
| Redirects and go-live | 1 to 2 days | Provider | 301 map live, Search Console updated |
| Monitoring | 6 weeks | Provider and school | Crawl errors fixed, enquiry flow verified |
A realistic total is 8 to 12 weeks from kick-off, most of it on the school side. A good window is late October to early December, or late June once the summer intake is settled, rather than the months when most families apply for an August start (often January to April; check your own calendar).
What can go wrong, and how do you prevent it?
| Risk | What happens | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Lost rankings on admissions and fees pages | Fewer enquiries in the next intake | URL inventory, 301 map approved by the school, Search Console checks for 6 weeks |
| Forms over-collecting children's data | GDPR exposure, complaints to Datatilsynet | Enquiry forms limited to parent contact, year group and start date; no health, report or passport data in open forms |
| Photos of pupils without valid consent | Withdrawal requests, reputational damage | Consent register checked before upload; use images of spaces when unsure |
| Broken integrations | Applications or payments fail silently | Test the admissions portal link, payment page and feeds on staging and after go-live |
| Unverifiable claims | Curricula, accreditations or results stated wrongly | Mention IB or other curricula, accreditations and inspections only as actually held; no rankings or university destinations unless documented |
| Downtime on an open day | Families land on an error page | Go-live on a quiet weekday morning, rollback plan ready |
Danish private schools and friskoler work under specific national rules; keep regulatory statements factual and have them checked. This is not legal advice.
Questions to ask any provider
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- Who exports our current URLs and who approves the 301 map?
- Which integrations are in the price, and which are separate lines?
- How do you test accessibility against WCAG 2.2 AA, and on which templates?
- Where is the site hosted, and are domain and admin accounts in the school's name?
- Who writes the Danish version, and who reviews it?
When is a local agency the better choice? When you need on-site workshops with governors in Danish, a native Danish copywriter as part of the team, a tender process requiring a Danish contract, or a deep integration with your school management system built and maintained by the same team. In those cases the higher budget buys something real.
Mini case study
Illustrative example. "Nordlys International School" is a fictional bilingual school in Hellerup. Its head of admissions, Mette, receives a local agency quote of DKK 180,000 (about EUR 24,100) for a redesign with a Danish and English site.
She compares it with Premium at EUR 8,200, plus two third-party costs: a native Danish reviewer (EUR 900) and a local photographer for one day of campus images without identifiable pupils (EUR 1,200). Total: EUR 10,300. The admissions portal stays linked, not rebuilt, and its integration would be quoted separately.
Over three years she adds hosting and maintenance after the 3 included months at EUR 120 per month (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote): 33 x 120 = EUR 3,960, so about EUR 14,260 in total. The agency route, if its quote includes more workshops and Danish copywriting she needs, may still win on fit, but she now knows the gap she is paying for.
FAQ
How much does a school website redesign cost in Copenhagen?
Local agencies typically quote about DKK 120,000 to 350,000 (EUR 16,000 to 47,000) for a full redesign. Kolonell's fixed grid is EUR 4,500 for Growth and EUR 8,200 for Premium, integrations on quote.
Can we keep our admissions portal?
Yes, and it is usually the safest option: the new site links to it or embeds it. Any deeper integration is a separate line, tested on staging before go-live.
What data can an admissions enquiry form collect?
Keep it to the minimum, often 5 to 7 fields: parent name, email, phone, child's year group and intended start date. Health, school reports or passport copies belong in a secure admissions system, not an open form.
How long will we be without a working site?
Normally a few minutes at the DNS switch. Redirects go live at the same moment and are monitored for 6 weeks.
Do we need both Danish and English?
Most international schools publish in English first and add Danish for local families. Premium is the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your page count, languages and admissions tools, and we will confirm the tier, the integration lines on quote and a go-live date outside your admissions peak. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
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.
