Website requirements checklist for a wealth management firm or family office in New York before asking for quotes (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A New York wealth management firm or family office that sends agencies a written requirements checklist gets quotes that can be compared line by line, instead of three proposals that differ by USD 40,000 for reasons nobody can explain. The checklist must cover audiences, pages, compliance sign-off, integrations listed one by one, accessibility, data protection, ownership and SEO migration, because those are the items agencies price differently. Once the scope is written, a fixed grid such as Kolonell's (USD 2,900 Starter, USD 4,900 Growth, USD 8,900 Premium) can be mapped against it in minutes, with client portals and custodian links kept on quote.

What goes into the checklist?

Write it as a two to four page document, in the order below. Each block is something an agency in Midtown, Hudson Yards or a remote studio will ask anyway, so answering upfront saves a discovery call and removes guesswork from the price.

• Goals and audiences. Who must trust the site in under a minute: founders after a liquidity event, finance professionals, multigenerational families, their attorneys and accountants. One primary goal (qualified introductions, for example) and two secondary ones at most.
• Page list and templates. Name every page and group them into templates: home, firm and philosophy, services (wealth planning, investment management, family office services), team, insights, contact, disclosures. Agencies price templates more than pages.
• Content ownership. Who writes, who approves, and who gives the compliance sign-off. Under the SEC Marketing Rule, testimonials, endorsements and any performance presentation carry conditions, so state that your chief compliance officer reviews every page before go-live. Link Form CRS and Form ADV where your counsel requires it.
• Languages. English only, or English plus another language for international families. Say which pages are translated.
• Integrations, listed separately. Client portal login link, custodian links, CRM form routing, meeting booking, newsletter tool, market data or news feeds. One line each, so every quote prices the same list. Complex items (single sign-on, embedded reporting) stay on quote everywhere.
• Accessibility target. WCAG 2.2 AA. ADA Title III website suits are frequent in New York, so ask for an accessibility check in the acceptance criteria.
• Data protection for forms. Minimum fields (name, email, phone, short message), no account numbers or net worth fields in an open form, encryption in transit, a named recipient. The NY SHIELD Act sets security and breach notice duties for private information of New York residents; ask your counsel how it applies to your firm.
• Hosting and domain ownership. Domain, hosting account, analytics and code repository registered in the firm's name, with admin access handed over.
• SEO migration if a site exists. Full URL inventory, a 301 redirect map, Search Console verified before launch, insights articles kept at equivalent URLs.
• Acceptance criteria, timeline and budget range. What "done" means (pages approved, accessibility check passed, redirects tested, forms received), a target date and an honest budget band.

This is not legal advice. Your compliance officer and counsel decide what each page may say.

How does a vague brief change the quotes you receive?

The table below shows 2026 ballpark ranges from typical New York agency quotes for a firm site of 12 to 16 pages. The point is the spread: a vague brief forces each agency to guess, and guesses get priced as risk.

These are ranges, not a survey. The pattern is what matters: precise lines narrow the spread and expose which agency left something out.

How do you score three quotes fairly?

Weight the criteria before opening the proposals, then score each one from 1 to 5. Multiply each score by its weight and add.

Quote A: 1.20 + 0.60 + 0.40 + 0.45 + 0.75 = 3.40. Quote B: 0.90 + 0.80 + 0.80 + 0.60 + 0.45 = 3.55. Quote C: 1.50 + 1.00 + 0.60 + 0.30 + 0.60 = 4.00. Price itself sits outside the score: compare it only between quotes above your quality threshold, say 3.5.

How does the Kolonell fixed grid map to the checklist?

Kolonell publishes a fixed international grid on its international websites page: Starter USD 2,900, Growth USD 4,900, Premium USD 8,900. Every tier includes a project manager reachable in Eastern Time, native English copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, and 3 months of support.

Search work beyond migration, and any maintenance after the 3 included months, are on quote. Kolonell built the site of TR Signing Group, a New Jersey signing services company, which is the kind of professional services brief this checklist is designed for.

Mini case study

Illustrative example, fictional firm. Daniel is COO of "Hollis Park Family Office", a hypothetical multi-family office near Bryant Park. His first brief said "a more modern site with a client login". Three quotes came back at USD 18,000, USD 34,000 and USD 55,000.

He rewrote the brief with the ten blocks above: 14 pages, 5 templates, 2 portal links, CCO sign-off in 2 rounds, WCAG 2.2 AA, 85 URLs to redirect. The new quotes landed at USD 22,000, USD 26,500 and USD 30,000, a spread of USD 8,000 instead of USD 37,000. He also asked Kolonell: Growth at USD 4,900, migration scoped in the quote, portal links as outbound links.

Internal cost of writing the checklist: about 6 hours of his time plus 3 hours from the CCO, roughly 9 hours. Against a spread reduced by USD 29,000, the hours are well spent whichever provider he picks.

FAQ

How long should the requirements checklist be?

Two to four pages is enough for a 10 to 20 page firm site. Longer documents tend to describe design taste rather than scope, which agencies cannot price.

Should the checklist include a budget?

Yes, as a range, for example USD 5,000 to 30,000. Without it, agencies propose what they guess you can afford, and you lose a week comparing proposals built for different budgets.

Can the website show performance figures or client testimonials?

The SEC Marketing Rule allows them only under specific conditions, so list them as "subject to CCO approval" in the checklist. Many firms keep performance off the public site and send it in a controlled format.

What about the client portal?

List it as a separate line: usually 1 or 2 outbound links to the custodian or reporting platform, priced near zero. Single sign-on or embedded reporting is a separate project, on quote with any provider.

How many quotes should a New York firm request?

Three is usually enough when the checklist is precise. Score them with the weighted grid before looking at price, and discard any quote under your threshold.

Let's scope your project. Send us your checklist, or the ten headings above filled in, and we will map it to Starter, Growth or Premium with a fixed price and a 3 to 4 week schedule. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.