The verdict in three sentences
For a Gaborone wealth firm, the cheapest redesign on day one is rarely the cheapest over 3 years: a BWP 5,000 template tends to be rebuilt within 18 to 24 months, while a properly structured site keeps its disclosures, insights and search traffic intact. Local Gaborone agencies typically quote BWP 40,000 to 150,000 (about USD 3,000 to 11,000) in 2026, and Kolonell redesigns on a fixed grid of USD 2,900 (Starter), USD 4,900 (Growth) or USD 8,900 (Premium), delivered in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. Compare total cost of ownership with explicit maintenance assumptions, and insist on a compliance sign-off and a redirect map before go-live.
Why do Gaborone wealth firms redesign?
Wealth firms in the CBD, around Masa Square and out in Phakalane serve mining and diamond sector professionals, senior civil servants, business owners and a share of diplomatic and expatriate families. Many started as the advisory desk of an accounting practice and still live on a page of that practice's website.
The redesign usually follows one of these events:
- The wealth arm becomes a separate company and needs its own domain, brand and disclosures.
- The regulatory status, complaints procedure and fee disclosure are hard to find or out of date after a licence change with NBFIRA.
- A template bought cheaply in 2021 no longer updates safely, and plugins break the contact form.
- Partners want to publish market commentary and team bios, but the template has no proper insights section.
- Clients ask for a Setswana welcome page or contact details, and the site cannot handle a second language.
What does a redesign cost over 3 years?
Figures are a 2026 ballpark from typical Gaborone agency quotes and public rate pages, converted at roughly BWP 13.5 per USD. Maintenance and hosting lines are market assumptions for comparison only; Kolonell includes 3 months of support and quotes maintenance afterwards.
| Option | Build (USD) | Maintenance and hosting, 36 months (market assumption) | Likely rework | 3-year total (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap template, built in-house | 400 | 40 a month, 1,440 | Rebuild at month 18, about 1,500 | 3,340 |
| Freelancer redesign | 2,000 | 80 a month, 2,880 | Minor fixes, budget 500 | 5,380 |
| Gaborone agency, mid-range | 7,000 | 150 a month retainer, 5,400 | Usually none | 12,400 |
| Kolonell Starter | 2,900 | Months 4 to 36 on quote; assumption 80 a month, 2,640 | Usually none | 5,540 |
| Kolonell Growth | 4,900 | Months 4 to 36 on quote; assumption 80 a month, 2,640 | Usually none | 7,540 |
The template row looks cheapest, yet the gap to a structured Starter site is about USD 2,200 over 3 years, and the template usually lacks author pages, an insights archive and clean disclosure pages. Premium at USD 8,900 is the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote, if you want English and Setswana. Compare tiers on the international website offer.
How long does it take?
| Phase | Kolonell | Typical Gaborone agency | What you prepare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory of current pages and URLs | 2 to 3 days | 1 week | Access to the old site and analytics |
| Content freeze | Before kick-off | 2 to 3 weeks | Bios, services, fee disclosure, complaints procedure |
| Design and build | About 2 weeks | 3 to 6 weeks | Brand assets, team photos |
| Migration and 301 redirects | 3 to 4 days | 1 week | Approval of the redirect map |
| Compliance sign-off | 2 to 4 working days | 2 to 4 working days | Your compliance officer's review |
| Go-live and monitoring | 1 day, then 4 weeks of checks | Similar | Search Console access |
Total with Kolonell: 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready. A Gaborone agency typically needs 8 to 12 weeks, partly because the content freeze happens during the project rather than before it.
Which risks matter most for a spin-out?
- Losing the pages that rank today. If wealth content sits on the accounting firm's domain, every old URL needs a 301 redirect to the new domain, and both sites need Search Console checks for 4 weeks.
- Mixed disclosures. The new site must show the wealth company's own regulatory status and complaints procedure, not the accounting practice's. Inventory each disclosure page and keep it reachable from the footer.
- Insights migration. Older commentary should carry a visible date and an "archived" label, so a 2022 view never reads as current advice.
- Client portal and custodian links. Keep and test them; the portal itself is not rebuilt inside a fixed-grid site and any work on it is on quote.
- Over-collecting data. Contact forms ask for name, email, phone and preferred time, never account numbers or asset values. Botswana has data protection legislation overseen by the Information and Data Protection Commission, and data minimisation is the safe default.
- Marketing claims. No promised returns, no performance figures and no testimonials unless your compliance officer confirms they are permitted under NBFIRA expectations.
- Downtime. Lower the DNS TTL 48 hours ahead and switch at a quiet hour.
This is not legal advice.
Questions to ask any provider
- Which maintenance cost should I assume from month 4, in writing?
- How many URLs are redirected, and who approves the map?
- Are disclosure pages migrated first and tested on staging?
- What is on quote: portal, CRM, Setswana translation?
Need a professional website?
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When is a local Gaborone agency the better choice?
Choose a local agency if partners want face-to-face workshops in the CBD, if you need Setswana copy written natively from the start, if procurement requires a Botswana-registered supplier, or if the redesign comes with a new client portal or a CRM integration. A remote studio fits a public-site redesign with frozen content and a tight deadline.
Mini case study
Illustrative example, hypothetical firm. Kagiso heads "Mokolwane Wealth", the advisory arm spun out of a Gaborone accounting practice. Today the wealth offer is 12 pages and 30 commentary posts on the practice's site.
- Option A, cheap template: USD 400 now, about USD 3,340 over 3 years with a rebuild.
- Option B, Kolonell Growth: USD 4,900, plus a market assumption of USD 2,640 for months 4 to 36, so USD 7,540.
- Option C, Gaborone agency quote: BWP 95,000, about USD 7,000, plus USD 5,400 of retainer, so USD 12,400.
- Redirects needed: 12 pages plus 30 posts, a 42-line map from the practice's domain.
Kagiso picks Growth: USD 4,860 less than option C over 3 years, with insights and author pages that option A lacks.
FAQ
Can we keep the wealth pages on the accounting firm's site?
You can, but separate regulatory status and complaints details become harder to present. Most spin-outs move to their own domain and redirect the 10 to 40 old URLs.
Do we need Setswana?
It is optional. A short Setswana welcome and contact page is common; a full second language means the Premium tier at USD 8,900, with languages set in the quote.
How much should we budget for maintenance?
Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months is on quote. For comparisons, a market assumption of USD 50 to 150 a month in Gaborone is reasonable.
Will we lose search traffic?
A dip of 2 to 6 weeks is common with a domain change. A complete 301 map and Search Console checks limit the loss.
What happens to the client portal?
It stays with its vendor; links are tested before go-live. Portal changes are quoted separately from the USD 2,900 to USD 8,900 grid.
Let's scope your project. Share your page count, commentary archive and languages, and we will send a fixed price and a 3 to 4 week plan with a 3-year view. 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.
