The verdict in three sentences
For a private or international school in Zurich, a redesign hinges on timing: go-live must fall outside the admissions season, and the pages that already bring in expatriate families must be redirected one by one. On Kolonell's fixed grid, plan CHF 2,700 (Starter), CHF 4,500 (Growth) or CHF 8,200 (Premium, the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote, for example German and English with French as an option), delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. The admissions portal, tuition payment and school management system integration stay on quote, as separate lines.
Why do Zurich schools redesign their sites?
| Signal | Concrete example | Risk of waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Confusing admissions path | Three different pages for Apply, Enrol and Anmeldung | Families lost before the visit |
| German and English out of sync | Fees and dates current in English, outdated in German | Contradictory information |
| Intrusive form | Report cards or health data requested in an open form | Sensitive data about children |
| Programmes poorly described | The site mentions the IB without stating which programmes are actually authorised | Loss of credibility |
| Slow mobile pages | Heavy photo galleries on the home page | Parents browsing on the tram give up |
| No hreflang | Language versions compete in Google | Wrong language shown |
What budget over three years?
Local ranges are a 2026 ballpark based on typical agency quotes and public rate pages of Zurich agencies. Maintenance amounts are market assumptions, never Kolonell prices.
| Option | Redesign | Maintenance over 3 years (market assumption) | Indicative total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich agency, bilingual redesign | CHF 25,000 to 80,000, here CHF 45,000 | 36 x CHF 300 = CHF 10,800 | CHF 55,800 |
| Freelancer | CHF 8,000 to 20,000, here CHF 15,000 | 36 x CHF 150 = CHF 5,400 | CHF 20,400 |
| Kolonell Growth | CHF 4,500 | 3 months included, then 33 x CHF 200 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote) = CHF 6,600 | CHF 11,100 |
| Kolonell Premium | CHF 8,200 | 3 months included, then 33 x CHF 200 (market assumption; Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote) = CHF 6,600 | CHF 14,800 |
| Admissions portal, tuition payment, school management system | On quote | On quote | Depends on scope |
Every tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, 3 months of support and delivery in 3 to 4 weeks. Native German copy is supplied by the school or reviewed by an independent translator, a third-party cost. Details on the international offer.
How do you fit the schedule around the school year?
The Zurich school year starts in mid-August. For many schools, admissions enquiries cluster in the months before that start: that is the window to avoid for a switch.
| Phase | Duration | Recommended window |
|---|---|---|
| URL inventory, Search Console export | 3 days | As soon as the decision is made |
| Copywriting and sign-off by leadership | 2 to 4 weeks, school side | During a quiet term |
| Design and build | 2 weeks | After content sign-off |
| 301 map, hreflang, compliance review | 3 to 4 days | Before the switch |
| Go-live and monitoring | 1 day, then 4 weeks | Outside the admissions peak, for example in autumn |
Which risks, and how do you control them?
- Traffic loss: the admissions, fees, curriculum and boarding pages that rank each get a 301 redirect, checked in Search Console.
- Data about children: the public form is limited to the parent's name, contact, the child's age or target grade and the desired start date. No report cards or health data in an open form. The nLPD (revFADP), in force since 1 September 2023 under FDPIC oversight, applies; the GDPR may also come into play if you target families living in the EU. This is not legal advice.
- Content claims: programmes (IB or others) listed only where the school actually holds them; cantonal approval described accurately; no invented exam results, rankings, university admissions or pupil numbers.
- Integrations: the existing admissions portal is embedded or linked and tested before the switch.
- Downtime: DNS switch on a weekend outside admissions season, with a fallback page showing the school office contact.
Need a professional website?
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Questions to ask any provider: who writes the 301 map? Is the portal rebuilt or embedded? Do mobile tests cover the admissions form?
When is a Zurich agency the better choice?
If the school wants in-person workshops with its foundation board, native German copywriting produced locally, or a custom admissions portal connected to its management system and maintained by the same provider, a local agency is the better fit. The same applies to on-campus video production.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Claudia Brunner, admissions lead at Felsenegg International School, a fictional school on the shore of Lake Zurich, needs to redesign an ageing bilingual site. She picks Premium (the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote) at CHF 8,200, adds an independent German reviewer, a third-party cost estimated at CHF 900, and a local photographer, a third-party cost estimated at CHF 1,200: CHF 10,300 in total. Against a local quote of CHF 45,000, the gap is CHF 34,700, before the admissions portal integration line, priced on quote. Go-live is planned for October, well away from the admissions peak.
FAQ
When should we start the redesign? Ideally after the August start of term, for an autumn go-live. The project takes 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready.
Is the admissions portal included? No, it stays on quote, embedded or linked. The CHF 4,500 site covers the public pages and the first-contact form.
Do we need three languages? German and English are often enough, with French as an option. Premium at CHF 8,200 is the multilingual tier, languages set in the quote.
Can we show our IB results? Only official figures the school holds and can document. We never invent results or rankings, and leadership signs off every figure before launch.
What happens after 3 months? The included support covers the first 3 months. Maintenance after that is on quote.
Let's scope your project. A bilingual redesign from CHF 2,700 to 8,200, timed outside admissions season and delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. 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.
