The verdict in three sentences
For an independent school in Douglas, a redesign is worth it when the site fails basic accessibility checks, admissions pages are hard to find on a phone, or nobody in the school office can change term dates without calling a supplier. With Kolonell the redesign costs £2,300 (Starter), £3,900 (Growth) or £6,900 (Premium) and is delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, while the admissions portal, fee payment and the school MIS remain separate lines on quote. The two real risks are losing visibility on pages that already rank and launching inaccessible PDFs and videos: a URL inventory, a 301 redirect map and a WCAG 2.2 AA review before go-live keep both under control.
Which signals show that your school website needs a redesign?
In Douglas, Onchan or Castletown, families comparing schools often work in finance or e-gaming, or have lived on the island for generations. Nearly all of them browse on a phone, and some rely on assistive technology. The signals below, common on ageing school sites, mean a light refresh will no longer do.
| Signal | What you see | What to check | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policies published as scanned PDFs | Screen readers read nothing | Tagged PDFs or HTML pages | High |
| Videos without captions | Open morning film, sports highlights | Captions and transcript | High |
| Low-contrast brand colours | Grey text over photos | 4.5:1 contrast for body text | Medium |
| Enquiry form unusable by keyboard | Custom drop-downs, visual CAPTCHA | Full keyboard journey, clear error messages | High |
| Term dates edited by a supplier | 2 to 5 days of delay | Editor role for office staff | Medium |
| Form asking for health or SEN details | Sensitive data in an open form | Minimum data, documents via a secure portal | High |
| No accessibility statement | Nothing in the footer | Statement with contact route and known limits | Medium |
On the island, data protection follows GDPR-standard rules applied through Manx legislation and overseen by the Information Commissioner. In practice, an enquiry form about a child should stop at the parent's name, contact details, the child's age or year of entry and a message. This is not legal advice.
What does a redesign cost in Douglas in 2026?
The figures below are a 2026 ballpark based on typical island agency quotes and public rate pages of UK suppliers. They move with the number of pages and documents to migrate.
| Option | 2026 ballpark | Usually included | Usually extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island agency, full redesign | £9,000 to £25,000 | Discovery, design, CMS, migration | MIS links, photography |
| Freelance developer | £2,500 to £7,000 | New theme, partial migration | Accessibility audit, copywriting |
| School-platform template | £1,500 to £5,000 per year | Hosting, news, calendar | Design freedom, URL control |
| Kolonell Starter | £2,300 | Compact site, native English copywriting, 3 months of support | Integrations, on quote |
| Kolonell Growth | £3,900 | Full school site, news, admissions, term dates | Portal, fee payment, on quote |
| Kolonell Premium | £6,900 | The multilingual tier, languages set in the quote, larger migration | Advanced integrations, on quote |
Third-party costs outside Kolonell: professional captioning by a specialist provider (about £1 to £3 per minute), an independent accessibility audit (£800 to £2,500) and a local photographer (£600 to £1,500 per day). Tier details are on Kolonell's international offer.
What is the timeline, and when should you go live?
| Phase | Duration | Owner | Accessibility checkpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit and URL inventory | 3 to 5 days | Kolonell and marketing lead | List of PDFs, videos and forms |
| Content and policy collection | School-paced, often 2 to 4 weeks | School | Policies approved by the school |
| Design and build | 2 weeks | Kolonell | Contrast, visible focus, keyboard |
| Migration and 301 map | 3 to 5 days | Kolonell | Alt text, heading structure |
| Testing | 3 to 4 days | Kolonell and school | Screen reader, captions |
| Go-live and monitoring | 1 day, then 6 weeks | Kolonell | Search Console, broken links |
Kolonell's work takes 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. For the switch, avoid TT fortnight in late May and early June, when the island is crowded and staff are stretched, as well as open mornings, the admissions peak and exam periods. The summer holidays or the October half-term are the safest windows.
What are the main risks, and how do you reduce them?
- Lost search visibility. Admissions, curriculum, open mornings, term dates, transport and boarding pages (if you have boarding) have often ranked for years. Every old URL gets a 301 redirect, then Search Console is watched for 6 weeks.
- PDFs migrated as they are. Each document is sorted: converted to an HTML page, replaced with a tagged PDF, or archived. Term letters get a reusable accessible template.
- Broken integrations. The admissions portal, fee payment, the MIS and the parent app are kept and linked, never rebuilt inside the site. Deeper integration is priced separately.
- Downtime. The DNS switch happens on a quiet evening, with the cache lifetime lowered 48 hours before.
- Unchecked claims. Before go-live the school reviews every statement: curricula, accreditations and inspections only as the school actually holds them. Safeguarding pages remain the school's own documents, and pupil photos appear only with documented parental consent.
- A cookie banner that does not work. Consent must actually block analytics and admissions tags until the visitor accepts.
On quote: admissions portal, fee payment, calendar feeds, parent app and search optimisation work.
Which questions to ask, and when is an island agency the better choice?
Ask any supplier: who tests accessibility, and with which tools? Who writes the 301 map? How many PDFs does the migration cover? Who will edit term dates after handover? What does support cost after the 3 included months (at Kolonell: on quote)?
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To be fair, an island agency remains the better choice if you want weekly face-to-face meetings, photo days run by the same supplier, or if your governors require a local provider. Kolonell works remotely, with a project manager reachable during UK office hours.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Corrin Vale School, a fictional independent day school in Onchan with about 220 pupils and a specialist sport and performing arts programme. Fiona, the marketing lead, must replace a site whose 30 policies are scanned PDFs and whose 40 minutes of video have no captions.
- Kolonell Growth redesign: £3,900
- Captioning by an independent provider: 40 minutes x £2 = £80
- Independent accessibility audit, optional: £1,200
- Cash outlay: £5,180, against a mid-range island agency quote around £14,000, a gap of about £8,820
- Internal time: 30 policies x 20 minutes of review = 10 hours for the school office
Go-live is planned for the second week of August, with Search Console monitoring until the end of September. Hosting and maintenance after the 3 included months: on quote.
FAQ
Should the redesign target WCAG 2.2 AA?
It is the reference level most schools aim for. The site is built and checked against its criteria, such as 4.5:1 contrast, and an independent audit is available from about £800.
How long does the project take?
3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, followed by 6 weeks of Search Console monitoring. Content collection on the school side often adds 2 to 4 weeks.
Can we keep our MIS and parent app?
Yes, both are kept and linked from the new site. Any integration beyond simple links is priced on quote, on top of the £3,900 Growth tier for example.
Will we lose our Google rankings?
A fluctuation of 2 to 6 weeks is common after a redesign. With a complete 301 map and Search Console monitoring, admissions and curriculum pages usually recover their traffic.
What does the site cost after launch?
Support is included for 3 months, then Kolonell maintenance is on quote. As a market assumption, allow £20 to £60 per month for hosting.
Let's scope your project. An accessible redesign from £2,300 to £6,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks outside TT fortnight and exam season. 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.
