Website redesign for a private or international school in Fribourg: budget, timeline and risks (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

In bilingual Fribourg, a private school often publishes its rules, child protection policy and official information in French and German, and that is where redesigns go wrong: outdated documents, diverging versions, PDFs nobody can find. A realistic budget runs from CHF 4,500 (Growth) to CHF 8,200 (Premium) on the Kolonell grid, against a 2026 ballpark of CHF 14,000 to 38,000 with a local agency, with portal and integrations on quote. Before any design, build a document register: where each document lives, who approves it, which version is online.

Which signals say it is time to redesign?

Fribourg private schools, from the Bourg to Pérolles, from Marly to Villars-sur-Glâne, serve French-speaking, German-speaking, university and international families. Typical signs of a site at the end of its life:

• the French school rules online date from 2021, the German version from 2019;
• the child protection policy exists as a scanned PDF that a screen reader cannot read;
• nobody knows who is allowed to edit the official information page;
• three versions of the same PDF sit on the site under three different URLs;
• the exam preparation and admissions pages get traffic but have not been reviewed in two years.

How much does a redesign cost in Fribourg in 2026?

2026 ballpark from typical quotes and public rate pages of agencies in Fribourg, Bern and Lausanne. Indicative amounts, depending on pages and languages.

Starter (CHF 2,700) remains possible for a very small single-language school. These stay on quote, as separate lines: secure admissions portal, fee payment, school management system (SIS/MIS), parent app and calendar feeds. They are kept and linked, never rebuilt. Tiers are detailed on the international offer page.

How should policies and official information be organised?

Child protection pages and documents, school rules and information about cantonal authorisation are the school's own documents, approved by the school. The provider formats them and makes them accessible; it does not rewrite them as marketing copy. Example register to prepare before the redesign:

Each PDF carries a version date in its file name and on its first page; the old URL redirects to the new version, never left as a duplicate. PDFs are made accessible (WCAG 2.2 AA: headings, reading order, real text). On data, the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nLPD/revFADP, in force since 1 September 2023) applies, supervised by the FDPIC, and the GDPR may come into play if you target families living in the EU. This is not legal advice.

Which risks, and what phasing?

• Search rankings: inventory every URL, PDFs included, build a 301 redirect map and monitor Search Console for 6 weeks.
• FR/DE consistency: hreflang tags and a check that every document exists in both languages at the same version.
• Forms: minimal enquiry form (parent contact, year of birth, year group, intended start, language); no health, special needs or school reports; documents through the secure portal, on quote.
• Claims: curricula, preparation for national exams and authorisations described only as the school actually holds them, with no results or rankings.
• Cookies: a consent banner that works with analytics and admissions tags.
• Governance: who updates what after go-live, written down.

Phasing: document register and URL inventory (1 to 2 weeks on the school side), Kolonell build (3 to 4 weeks once content is ready), document approval by the head (2 to 3 days), go-live in July or a quiet holiday, outside exam sessions and open days.

Questions to ask: who manages PDF versions? How is an old version removed? How many editor accounts, with which rights?

When is a local agency the better choice?

If the school wants a document intranet with an approval workflow, fine-grained rights per department and in-person training in French and German, a Fribourg or Bern agency used to those tools will fit better. For a clear public site with a register kept by the school, the fixed grid is enough.

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Collège des Trois-Ponts, a fictional small private secondary school of about 120 pupils in Fribourg, preparing for national exams. Its administrator, Thomas, counts 14 official documents in two languages, 28 files, plus 9 duplicates under different URLs.

Budget: Premium at CHF 8,200 (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) + review of the German version by an independent translator, a third-party cost estimated at CHF 900 = CHF 9,100. After the redesign, 28 current files instead of 37 online (28 + 9 duplicates): 9 fewer files, about 24%, and 9 301 redirects added to the map. Go-live planned for mid-July.

FAQ

Can the provider write our child protection policy?

No. It is the school's own document, approved by the school. The provider lays it out and makes it accessible; allow 2 to 3 days for approval by the head.

Should every document be published in French and German?

In Fribourg, many schools do so. Premium at CHF 8,200 is the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote.

What happens to old PDF versions?

Remove them and redirect their URLs to the current version. In the fictional case, that means 9 redirects.

Is the admissions portal included?

No, it stays on quote, like the SIS and fee payment. The site links to them.

How long does it take?

About 5 to 6 weeks in total: 1 to 2 weeks of register work on the school side, then 3 to 4 weeks of build.

To price your redesign, request a free quote with your document register.

Let's scope your project. Documents, languages and tools to link: we scope a CHF 4,500 to 8,200 redesign, live before the new school year. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.