The verdict in three sentences
For a trading house in Singapore, the website does not sell products: it reassures a trade finance bank, a counterparty running KYC, an NGO checking responsible sourcing and an analyst you want to hire. A redesign is justified as soon as these audiences cannot find governance, sanctions policy, offices and the ESG report you actually publish within two clicks. Budgets run from about $11,500 to $46,000 with a local agency, and Kolonell's fixed grid starts at $2,900 (Starter) up to $8,900 (Premium, multilingual).
Signs your current site is costing you credibility
In trading, due diligence often starts with the website. A bank compliance team that opens your page and finds an outdated office address or a 2021 sustainability report logs a point of concern. These are the signals that should trigger a redesign:
- the About page names neither the board nor management;
- no page describes your sanctions, anti-money laundering or counterparty KYC policy;
- the ESG report or responsible sourcing policy is missing, or cannot be found without emailing the team;
- offices (Singapore, Geneva, Dubai, Houston) are out of date;
- the careers page points to a generic email inbox;
- the site does not read well on mobile, where many bankers and recruiters look first.
Never publish volumes, counterparties or flows you do not already publish officially: the redesign reuses what has been approved, it invents nothing.
What does the redesign cost?
Local figures come from typical Singapore agency quotes and public agency rate pages, as 2026 ballpark ranges, converted approximately into USD (1 USD ≈ 1.30 SGD).
| Option | Indicative budget | Timeline | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local freelancer | SGD 8,000 to 20,000 (about $6,000 to $15,500) | 6 to 10 weeks | Design and build, copywriting rarely |
| Mid-sized local agency | SGD 15,000 to 60,000 (about $11,500 to $46,000) | 10 to 16 weeks | Design, CMS, copywriting often optional |
| High-end corporate agency | SGD 60,000 to 150,000 (about $46,000 to $115,000) | 4 to 6 months | Brand strategy, annual report, multi-site |
| Kolonell Starter | $2,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | Corporate site, native English copy, project manager in your time zone |
| Kolonell Growth | $4,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | More compliance pages, news, careers |
| Kolonell Premium | $8,900 | 4 to 6 weeks | Multilingual tier, languages set in the quote |
Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting and 3 months of support. Gated areas (counterparty portal, data room), integrations and custom applications are on quote, as is maintenance after the 3 included months. Details are on the international offer.
Timeline, risks and mitigation
Kolonell's 3 to 4 week timeline (4 to 6 for Premium) runs from the moment content is ready. In trading, what slows things down is almost always compliance and legal sign-off.
| Phase | Typical duration | Main risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page and URL inventory | 3 to 5 days | Losing well-ranked pages | Search Console export and full URL list |
| Copy and compliance sign-off | 1 to 3 weeks on the client side | Unsupported ESG claim | Reuse only the published report, compliance review |
| Design and build | 2 to 3 weeks | Governance pages buried | Governance and compliance one click from the homepage |
| Migration and 301 redirects | 2 to 3 days | Broken links from press and banks | URL-by-URL redirect map |
| Go-live | 1 day | Downtime during cutover | DNS switch outside market hours, rollback ready |
| 30-day check | 1 day | Indexing errors | Search Console and form checks |
On personal data, the PDPA applies to contact and application forms, under the PDPC: collect the minimum and state the purpose. If a group entity is regulated by MAS, its pages need their own review. This is not legal advice.
Questions to ask, and when a local agency is the better choice
Ask each provider who writes the compliance pages, how they handle redirects, where forms are hosted, who owns the accounts and what happens after included support ends. Ask for an example of a corporate site with no e-commerce function.
Need a professional website?
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To be candid: a local agency is the better choice if you need weekly in-person workshops at Raffles Place, a full interactive annual report or a group rebrand. For a credible, well-written corporate site delivered in a month, a fixed grid is often enough.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Meridian Strait Commodities, a 60-person metals trader at Marina Bay. Local agency quote: SGD 48,000, about $37,000, in 14 weeks. Kolonell Premium option: $8,900, English and Mandarin set in the quote, 5 weeks after content sign-off. Difference: about $37,000 minus $8,900 = $28,100. The group allocates $6,000 of that gap to an external legal review of the sanctions and ESG pages and keeps about $22,100 in hand.
FAQ
Which tier suits a trading house?
Growth at $4,900 covers most corporate sites with compliance and careers pages. Premium at $8,900 makes sense once you need several languages, set in the quote.
Can we add a counterparty portal?
Yes, on quote, because authentication and document management change the scope. Allow a separate scoping of a few days before pricing.
Will the redesign hurt our search visibility?
The risk exists if URLs change without 301 redirects. A full inventory and a 30-day check reduce it sharply.
Should we publish our ESG report on the site?
If you already publish one, it should be reachable in two clicks. Add no data that has not been approved in the official report.
What happens after the 3 months of support?
Maintenance is on quote, depending on how often you update. Many trading houses publish 1 to 4 news items a month and need light ongoing support.
Let's scope your project. A Growth or Premium corporate site for a trading house is delivered in 3 to 6 weeks once content is approved. 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.
