The verdict in three sentences
For a gallery or art advisory in Riyadh, the website is the first viewing room: collectors, curators and corporate buyers check the programme, the artists represented and the advisory credentials before they ask for a price list. A redesign can be scoped at $4,900 (Growth) for a focused programme and artist site or $8,900 (Premium), the multilingual tier, when Arabic and English with right-to-left layout are needed, while private viewing rooms and inventory integrations are on quote. The risks that matter are rights to images, lost artwork URLs and unreviewed wording, and each has a known fix.
What collectors read on a gallery site
The audience has grown with the city's programme of public art and events such as Riyadh Art and the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, and with the arrival of regional and international collectors in JAX and Diriyah. They search artist names first, then "contemporary art gallery Riyadh", "Saudi artists for sale", "art advisory for corporate collection KSA" or the Arabic forms of the same questions. What they read on the site decides whether they write.
| Signal | What a collector concludes | What the redesign should do |
|---|---|---|
| Artists listed with no biography or exhibition history | Representation may be loose or recent | Artist pages with CV, exhibitions and selected works, as authorised |
| Past exhibitions missing or undated | No track record to verify | Dated exhibition archive with installation views |
| Works shown without dimensions, medium or year | The gallery is not serious about cataloguing | Structured artwork records |
| "Price on request" with no clear way to request | Friction, the enquiry is abandoned | One-step enquiry per work, answered within a stated delay |
| Advisory services described in one vague paragraph | No method, no accountability | Clear services: acquisition, collection management, commissions |
| Arabic version machine-translated or partial | The gallery does not speak to local collectors | Native Arabic copy, proper RTL layout |
| Heavy images that load slowly on a phone | Poor first impression at an art fair | Optimised images, fast mobile gallery |
Budget: local routes and a fixed grid
Local figures are a 2026 ballpark from typical agency quotes in Riyadh, converted at about 3.75 SAR per USD; they are approximate and not a survey.
| Route | Local quote (SAR, approx.) | USD (approx.) | Arabic and RTL quality | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Riyadh creative agency | 150,000 to 500,000 | 40,000 to 133,000 | Strong, in-house writers | 4 to 8 months |
| Boutique studio | 50,000 to 150,000 | 13,000 to 40,000 | Varies, check samples | 2 to 4 months |
| Freelance designer and developer | 15,000 to 50,000 | 4,000 to 13,000 | Often outsourced | 2 to 3 months |
| Kolonell Starter | 2,900 | Set in the quote | 3 to 4 weeks | |
| Kolonell Growth | 4,900 | Set in the quote | 3 to 4 weeks | |
| Kolonell Premium, multilingual tier | 8,900 | Languages and RTL scope set in the quote | 4 to 6 weeks |
Kolonell prices are fixed in USD and not converted. Each tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery within the weeks shown once content is ready, and three months of support. A private online viewing room, collector accounts, an inventory or CRM link and e-commerce for editions are scoped on quote, as is maintenance after the three included months. Details are on the international websites page.
Risks of a gallery redesign and how to handle them
| Risk | Why it is specific to galleries | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Image and reproduction rights | Artists and estates authorise images for some uses only | Rights checklist per work; publish only what is cleared in writing |
| Artist relationships | An artist who has left still appears, or a new one is announced too early | Roster validated by the director before go-live |
| Lost artwork and artist URLs | Collectors and press link to individual pages | URL inventory, 301 map, Search Console review for 8 weeks |
| Compliance on high-value sales | Anti-money-laundering expectations for art transactions are tightening in many markets, EU and UK included | Keep enquiry forms simple; let counsel decide what checks and notices apply in the Kingdom |
| Personal data of collectors | Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law, enforced by SDAIA, applies to collected data | Collect only what is needed, clear privacy notice, reviewed by counsel |
| Downtime during an opening | The site goes dark the week of a show | Go-live outside exhibition launches, staging site, rollback plan |
These are general points: your counsel decides how the law applies to your gallery. This is not legal advice.
On timing, the weeks above start when the artist roster, cleared images, exhibition archive and Arabic copy are ready. In practice, gathering cleared images takes galleries longer than the build: plan two to three weeks for it before the project starts.
When a local agency is the better choice
Choose a Riyadh agency if you need a full new identity with print, signage and exhibition graphics, Arabic copywriting as a long-term in-house service, or close coordination with institutional partners and cultural events in person. If the identity exists and the issue is a site that no longer reflects the programme, a remote fixed-scope build is usually faster and lighter on budget.
Questions to ask any provider: who writes the Arabic and how it is reviewed; how artwork records are structured and updated by your team; how image rights are tracked; what the mobile gallery weighs; and what happens after the support period.
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Mini case study
Illustrative example: "Wadi Hanifa Art Advisory", a fictional gallery and advisory in Riyadh, represents 14 artists and has 120 artworks on its current site. Its boutique studio quote is SAR 120,000, about $32,000. It chooses Premium at $8,900, with Arabic and English set in the quote, and keeps a private viewing room for a later phase on quote.
The difference, $32,000 − $8,900 = $23,100, pays for professional photography of the inventory. The rights check shows that only 85 of the 120 works are cleared for online publication, so 85 artwork pages go live and 35 old URLs redirect to their artist pages. Go-live is planned for the quiet weeks after the winter season opening.
FAQ
How much does a gallery website redesign cost in Riyadh in 2026?
As a 2026 ballpark, boutique studios quote about SAR 50,000 to 150,000 (approximately $13,000 to $40,000) and large agencies more. Kolonell's fixed grid is $2,900, $4,900 or $8,900, with viewing rooms and integrations on quote.
Can the site be in Arabic and English with a proper right-to-left layout?
Yes, through Premium, the multilingual tier, where the languages and RTL scope are set in the quote. Delivery is four to six weeks once content is ready.
Should we show prices?
Many galleries keep "price on request" for unique works and show prices for editions. What matters is a one-step enquiry and a stated reply time, for example within 24 hours.
What happens to our existing artwork pages?
Each old URL is inventoried and redirected with a 301 map to its new page or to the artist page. Search Console is then monitored for about 8 weeks to catch errors.
Do we need consent to show artists' works online?
Rights depend on your agreements with artists and estates, so check in writing before publishing. A simple per-work checklist avoids most problems.
Let's scope your project. Send us your artist roster, the size of your inventory and your language needs, and we will propose a tier, a timeline and the items on quote. 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.
