The verdict in three sentences
For a private school group with 3 campuses and 2,800 students in Montréal, the website has two jobs: process admissions without queues at the front office and reassure families relocating from abroad who choose a school remotely. In the Quebec market in 2026, a complete project costs an indicative CAD 35,000 to 80,000, including CAD 7,000 to 15,000 for the application form with document upload, delivered in 8 to 12 weeks. The decisive constraint is Law 25: student files are personal information of minors and must be handled accordingly.
What families look for before applying
Local families compare graduation results, tuition and campus life. Families relocating to Montréal in 3 months also want to know whether the curriculum is Quebec, French or international, whether mid-year entry is possible, and how French-language rules under Bill 96 affect their child. The site must answer all of this without a phone call.
| Family question | Estimated share of front office requests | Online answer |
|---|---|---|
| Seats available by grade | 25% | Indicator by campus and grade |
| Tuition and application fees | 20% | Public fee table by cycle |
| Documents required | 15% | Dynamic list by grade and status |
| Curriculum and exams | 15% | Academic pages by cycle |
| Transport and lunch programme | 12% | Bus route map and menus |
| Campus visits and open days | 13% | Online booking |
During admissions season, these requests often reach 150 to 250 calls or visits per week per campus. The site absorbs a large share of them.
The budget of a school group website in Montréal
| Module | Indicative 2026 cost (CAD) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery, multi-campus sitemap, wireframes | 3,500 to 7,000 | 2 weeks |
| Institutional site (mission, cycles, campuses, news) | 14,000 to 30,000 | 4 weeks |
| Application form with document upload | 7,000 to 15,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Admissions dashboard for staff | 5,000 to 12,000 | 2 weeks |
| English version alongside French | 3,500 to 9,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Performance, compressed photos and video | 2,000 to 7,000 | 1 week |
| Total | 35,000 to 80,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
An application form people actually finish
The form collects the student, target grade, campus, the last two report cards and the parent's ID. Attachments are compressed in the browser, which avoids failed uploads from overseas connections. Admissions staff receive a complete file, approve it or request a missing document in one click, and the family tracks progress by email or SMS.
A fast site for international visitors
Families browsing from Paris, Casablanca or Mumbai often use mobile data. A 6 MB home page with an autoplay video takes more than 10 seconds to load abroad. With WebP images, on-demand video and lean code, you get under 1.5 MB and 3 seconds. Languages are set in the quote; French and English cover most needs, and French must remain the default under Quebec's Charter of the French language.
Protecting student data under Law 25
Application files contain personal information about minors. Quebec's Law 25 requires a privacy impact assessment before deploying the system, a designated person in charge of personal information, consent for each purpose and destruction of files once their purpose is fulfilled. Fines can reach CAD 25 million or 4% of worldwide turnover. In practice: encrypted hosting, named staff accounts, and deletion of unsuccessful applications after 12 months. For a comparison with another regulated sector, see our article on a health insurance member portal in Dublin.
Mini case study
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Julie, director general of a 3-campus private school group in Montréal, serves 2,800 students and receives 1,200 applications a year. Each paper file takes 45 minutes of staff time between intake, data entry and follow-ups.
- Current time: 1,200 x 45 minutes = 900 hours a year.
- With online applications, 15 minutes per file: 300 hours, so 600 hours saved.
- At CAD 38 per loaded hour, savings reach CAD 22,800 a year.
- Relocating families make up 8% of enrolments. If the site converts 6 more of them at average tuition of CAD 16,000, that adds CAD 96,000 in annual revenue.
For a site budgeted at CAD 60,000, the staff savings and 6 extra enrolments pay it back in about 6 months.
FAQ
Can we collect application fees online?
Yes, by card or Interac. Processing fees run at an indicative 1.5 to 3% per transaction.
How long does launch take?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks. Go live at least 3 months before admissions open so search engines can index the pages.
One site per campus or a single site?
A single site with one page per campus is simpler and cheaper. It avoids maintaining 3 sites and concentrates search visibility on one domain.
How do we reassure families relocating from abroad?
A 3-minute virtual tour per campus, exam results for the last 3 years and a direct WhatsApp or video call option reduce hesitation significantly.
What annual maintenance budget should we plan?
An indicative 10 to 15% of the initial cost each year, so CAD 6,000 to 9,000 for a CAD 60,000 site, including security and backups.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your campuses, cycles and admissions calendar, and we will scope the site, the application form and the launch timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
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.
