The verdict in three sentences
Redesigning a private or international school website in Port Louis typically costs Rs 150,000 to 600,000, roughly USD 3,300 to 13,300, with a Mauritian agency in 2026 (ballpark from typical local quotes), against USD 2,900, 4,900 or 8,900 on the Kolonell fixed grid, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. For a school, the most sensitive item is imagery: parental consent, takedown requests, art direction, a third-party photographer and image weight on a 4G connection. The rest is a well-run redesign: URL inventory, 301 redirects, portals kept and linked, and go-live outside the admissions period.
Why do pupil photos weigh so much in a redesign?
Mauritian, expatriate and diaspora families looking at a school in Port Louis, Moka, Curepipe, Floreal, Grand Baie or Tamarin judge it first through its images. English-speaking expatriate families often see the site before they ever visit. That is also where the risks hide: a photo published without consent, a boarding video that shows too much, a 40 MB gallery that never loads on mobile. The Data Protection Act 2017 governs personal data in Mauritius, and the Data Protection Office is the supervisory authority. This is not legal advice: have your consent forms reviewed by your adviser.
| Item | What the redesign provides | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Consent register | Documented parental consent per pupil, date, uses covered (website, social media, brochure) | School |
| Removal on request | Written procedure and a target time set by the school, for example 5 working days | School, with the site editor |
| Art direction | Wide shots, activities, hands, group scenes rather than named portraits | Photographer and head |
| Boarding | No identifiable rooms, no details of location or supervision times | Head |
| Video | Captions (WCAG 2.2 AA), no autoplay with sound | Kolonell |
| Image weight | WebP or AVIF, about 150 to 250 KB per image, lazy loading | Kolonell |
What budget should you plan in Port Louis?
Local quotes are in rupees; the conversion uses an indicative rate of about 45 rupees to USD 1.
| Item | 2026 local quote (ballpark) | Approximate equivalent | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritian agency | Rs 150,000 to 600,000 | USD 3,300 to 13,300 | 8 to 14 weeks |
| Freelancer | Rs 60,000 to 180,000 | USD 1,300 to 4,000 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Local photographer, third-party cost | Rs 25,000 to 60,000 per day | USD 550 to 1,300 | 1 day plus editing |
| Kolonell Starter | Fixed grid | USD 2,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Growth | Fixed grid | USD 4,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Kolonell Premium | The multilingual tier, languages set in the quote | USD 8,900 | 3 to 4 weeks |
Every tier of the international offer includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting and 3 months of support. A site in English and French falls under Premium. On quote, as separate lines: a secure admissions portal, fee payment, the school management system (SIS), the parent app and calendar feeds, all kept and linked from the new site. Maintenance after the 3 included months is also on quote.
Which risks, and when do you deal with them?
| Risk | Measure | When |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic loss on admissions, boarding, transport and curriculum pages | URL inventory, 301 redirect map, 6 weeks of Search Console checks | Week 1, then after go-live |
| Children's data in an open form | Minimal form (parent, contact details, year group, start date); no health file, report, passport or custody data | Week 2 |
| Overstated curricula or registrations | Cambridge, IB or French curriculum shown only if the school holds them; registration with the Ministry of Education and, for secondary, the Private Secondary Education Authority, as it actually exists | Compliance review, week 4 |
| Broken portal links | List and test every SIS, payment and app link | Week 3 |
| Safeguarding rewritten as marketing | Policies published as the school's own approved documents, as accessible PDFs | Week 3 |
| Downtime during admissions | Go-live outside open days, exams and the enrolment peak | Planning |
The school calendar depends on the curriculum: the calendar year for the national system, often September to June for some international programmes. Pick the quietest holiday window in your own calendar.
When is a Mauritian agency the better choice?
If you want a partner who organises photo and video days on campus throughout the year, or frequent in-person meetings with the board, a local agency has a real advantage. Questions to ask any provider: who keeps the consent register? How do we remove a photo within 48 hours? What is the maximum page weight? Who writes the 301 map?
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Mini case study
Illustrative example. Priya heads Collège Morne Vert (a fictional name), a day and boarding school of about 400 pupils in Moka with a boarding house. Her home page shows 24 photos of 1.2 MB each: 24 x 1.2 = 28.8 MB. On a 4G connection at an effective 10 Mbit/s, that takes about 28.8 x 8 / 10 = 23 seconds. Optimised to 0.18 MB, the same images weigh 24 x 0.18 = 4.32 MB, about 3.5 seconds.
Budget: Kolonell Premium in English and French, languages set in the quote, USD 8,900, plus two days of a local photographer (day school and boarding), a third-party cost estimated at 2 x 900 = USD 1,800, giving USD 10,700. Against a hypothetical agency quote of Rs 520,000 (about USD 11,600) plus the same photographer, USD 13,400, the gap is USD 2,700. Priya publishes no photo without recorded parental consent.
FAQ
How much does a school website redesign cost in Port Louis?
Expect Rs 150,000 to 600,000 (about USD 3,300 to 13,300) with a local agency. The Kolonell grid is USD 2,900, 4,900 or 8,900, with portals on quote.
Do we need a new photo shoot?
Often yes, if images are dated or consents are missing. A day with a local photographer costs about Rs 25,000 to 60,000, a third-party cost outside the Kolonell grid.
What image weight should we aim for?
About 150 to 250 KB per image in WebP or AVIF, with lazy loading. A home page under 5 MB stays usable on 4G.
How long does the redesign take?
3 to 4 weeks once texts, policies and consented photos are ready, then 6 weeks of Search Console monitoring.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current pages, languages and portals and we will return a fixed scope from USD 2,900 and a 3 to 4 week plan. 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.
