The verdict in three sentences
For an industrial SME whose website is 8 years old, a partial redesign at EUR 6,000-12,000 excl. VAT is enough if the CMS is still maintained, pages load in under 3 seconds and your product pages already rank well. A new website at EUR 15,000-35,000 excl. VAT pays off as soon as the catalogue relies on PDFs, the site displays poorly on mobile or the technology is no longer updated. In both cases, keeping the URLs that drive traffic and a 301 redirect plan determine a payback of 12 to 18 months.
Partial redesign or new website: both options costed
A partial redesign keeps the technical foundation and reworks the design, key pages and speed. A new website rebuilds the structure, CMS, catalogue and content. Here are 2026 ballpark figures for a manufacturer with 40 to 100 employees (example: Grenoble, France).
| Criterion | Partial redesign | New website |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | EUR 6,000 to 12,000 excl. VAT | EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT |
| Timeline | 4 to 8 weeks | 10 to 16 weeks |
| Scope | design, 8 to 12 key pages, speed | structure, CMS, catalogue, content |
| Catalogue | PDFs kept, a few pages | filterable HTML product pages |
| SEO risk | low | medium, controlled by a 301 plan |
| Useful life | 2 to 3 years | 5 to 7 years |
| Maintenance | EUR 80 to 150/month | EUR 150 to 350/month |
To decide, ask your current provider five questions: is the CMS version still supported? Are Core Web Vitals green in Search Console? What share of product pages is indexed? What share of traffic is mobile (often 35 to 45% even in industrial B2B)? Do quote forms land in a tracked tool? Two or more negative answers point to a new website.
Technical PDF catalogue or HTML product pages
The catalogue is often the real issue. A buyer searching for « hardened steel guide bushing h6 tolerance » will never find page 27 of your 40-page PDF. One HTML page per product family, with dimensions and materials, captures these long-tail queries.
| Criterion | PDF catalogue | HTML product pages |
|---|---|---|
| Google indexing | 1 URL for 40 pages | 1 URL per reference or family |
| Search by dimension or material | impossible | material, tolerance, diameter filters |
| Updates | full reissue | 5-minute edit |
| Audience tracking | downloads only | views and requests per page |
| Quote request | generic email | form prefilled with the reference |
| Setup cost | EUR 0 | EUR 40 to 90 excl. VAT per page |
| Mobile readability | poor | good |
For 120 references, budget EUR 4,800 to 10,800 excl. VAT for the template and data entry, often the largest line in a new-site budget. Keep the PDFs as a complementary download: engineering offices still print them.
Keeping the URLs that rank: the line item you must not cut
A poorly prepared redesign commonly loses 30 to 60% of organic traffic for 3 to 6 months. The safeguard costs under EUR 4,000 excl. VAT and must appear in black and white in the quote.
| Step | Content | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| 16-month Search Console export | pages receiving clicks | included |
| Crawl of the old site | full URL inventory | EUR 300 to 600 |
| 301 redirect matrix | old URL to new URL | EUR 600 to 1,500 |
| Pre-launch acceptance | test 100% of redirects | EUR 400 to 800 |
| 8-week post-launch monitoring | 404 errors, rankings, indexing | EUR 500 to 1,000 |
Simple rule: any page that received at least 10 clicks over 16 months keeps its URL or gets a 301 redirect to the closest page, never to the homepage.
Mini case study
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Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Marc runs a 60-employee precision machining SME near Grenoble. His 8-year-old site gets 1,400 visits a month and generates 6 quote requests, 20% of which become orders, with an average gross margin of EUR 2,000 per order. The catalogue is a 48-page PDF.
Partial redesign option at EUR 9,000: an estimated +2 requests a month, i.e. 0.4 orders and EUR 800 of monthly margin, paid back in 11 months but capped by the PDF catalogue and due for a redo in 3 years. New website option at EUR 26,000 with 90 product pages: an estimated +5 requests a month, i.e. 1 order and EUR 2,000 of monthly margin, paid back in 13 months, then EUR 24,000 of annual margin for 5 years. Marc chooses the new website, with a 301 plan covering the 140 URLs that receive clicks.
FAQ
How much does a new website cost for an industrial SME in 2026?
Between EUR 15,000 and 35,000 excl. VAT depending on the number of product pages, languages and integrations (ERP, CRM). A bilingual site with 100 product pages and a simple configurator sits around EUR 28,000 to 32,000.
Does a redesign hurt SEO?
Without a redirect plan, yes: 30 to 60% of organic traffic can disappear for several months. With a 301 matrix tested at 100% and 8 weeks of monitoring, the drop usually stays under 10% and recovers within 4 to 6 weeks.
Should the site be translated into English or German?
If more than 15% of your revenue comes from exports, yes. Budget EUR 2,500 to 6,000 excl. VAT per language for 30 pages and 100 product pages, including reviewed technical translation.
Can the website be subsidised?
Some regions and chambers of commerce offer digital diagnostics or grants for industrial SMEs, with caps that vary by 2026 scheme. Check before signing, because the grant often has to be requested before the quote.
How long between signing and going live?
Allow 4 to 8 weeks for a partial redesign and 10 to 16 weeks for a new website. Product page entry and internal sign-off by the engineering team often account for 40% of the total timeline.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current site address and your number of references: we price the partial redesign and the new website side by side, with a 301 plan and a 10 to 16-week schedule. 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.
