The verdict in three sentences
For an executive search firm in Riyadh, the website is read by two very different audiences: boards and CEOs who want proof of sector depth, partner seniority and discretion, and senior candidates who want to see live mandates and submit a CV safely. A redesign that fixes both usually costs 8,000 to 40,000 USD with a Riyadh agency in 2026, while Kolonell's fixed grid starts at 2,900 USD (Starter), with 4,900 USD (Growth) and 8,900 USD (Premium, the multilingual tier). The real risks are losing existing search visibility, mishandling candidate data under the PDPL, and launching an Arabic version that reads like a translation.
Signs your current site is costing you mandates
Clients in the Kingdom rarely shortlist a search firm from its website alone, but they check it before the first call, and so do the people they forward it to. Common warning signs:
- Practice areas listed as a single paragraph, with no sector pages for energy, financial services, giga-projects, healthcare or family businesses.
- Partner profiles without career history, languages or sector focus, or photos from a decade ago.
- An Arabic version that is missing, partial, or not laid out right to left.
- A "Submit your CV" form that asks for national ID numbers, family details or photos on first contact.
- No visible statement on confidentiality, process or how mandates are run.
- Slow pages on mobile, which is where most senior candidates first open a link sent over messaging.
Budget: what the Riyadh market charges and what the Kolonell grid covers
The local figures below are prudent 2026 ballparks from typical agency quotes and public rate pages, converted from riyals at the peg of 3.75 SAR to the dollar, so approximate. They are not a survey.
| Option | Indicative budget (USD) | What it usually includes | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance designer or developer | 2,000 to 8,000 | Template-based site, limited Arabic | No project management, uneven RTL work |
| Riyadh mid-size agency | 8,000 to 25,000 | Custom design, Arabic and English, CMS | Timelines often 8 to 14 weeks |
| Riyadh premium or international agency | 25,000 to 60,000 and more | Brand work, strategy workshops, content | Large share of budget on process |
| Kolonell Starter | 2,900 | Focused firm site, native English or French copywriting, 3 months of support | Gated areas and integrations on quote |
| Kolonell Growth | 4,900 | Fuller structure for practice areas and partner pages | Languages beyond the base on Premium |
| Kolonell Premium | 8,900 | Multilingual tier, Arabic scope and RTL defined in the quote | Candidate portal or ATS link on quote |
| Maintenance after launch | 300 to 1,200 per month (market assumption) | Updates, hosting, security patches | Kolonell maintenance after the 3 included months on quote |
Every Kolonell project includes a project manager reachable in your time zone and delivery in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready (4 to 6 weeks for Premium). A candidate portal, an integration with your applicant tracking system or a client extranet is scoped separately, on quote. See the international offer for the full grid.
Timeline and risks, phase by phase
| Phase | Typical duration (Kolonell) | Main risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery and URL inventory | Week 1 | Forgetting pages that bring candidates from Google | Crawl the old site, export Search Console data |
| Content and partner profiles | Before build, depends on the firm | Delays waiting for partner approvals | One owner per section, deadline agreed upfront |
| Design and build | Weeks 1 to 3 (Premium up to 5) | Arabic treated as an afterthought | Design RTL layouts at the same time as English |
| Compliance and data review | Week 3 | CV form collecting too much personal data | Minimal fields, retention period stated, privacy notice |
| Redirects and launch | Week 3 to 4 (Premium up to 6) | Loss of rankings, broken links in old emails | Full 301 map, Search Console check after launch |
| Post-launch | 3 months of support | Small regressions found by users | Weekly checks during the first month |
On data, the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law has been enforced by SDAIA since September 2023. A search firm handles a lot of personal information about senior people, so the site should collect the minimum at first contact, explain how long CVs are kept, and avoid sending candidate data to tools nobody has reviewed. Your counsel should confirm the details. This is not legal advice.
When a Riyadh agency is the better choice
Be honest about fit. A local agency is often the better option if you need frequent in-person workshops with several partners, if the project includes a full rebrand with print and office signage, if you want Arabic copy written from scratch by a team that works daily on Saudi corporate content, or if procurement requires a locally registered supplier. A remote studio makes sense when the firm already has its positioning, wants a fixed price and a short timeline, and has someone internally who can approve content quickly.
Questions worth asking any provider: who writes the Arabic, and who reviews it? How will the old URLs be redirected? Where will candidate data be stored and for how long? What exactly is on quote, and what is fixed?
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Mini case study
Illustrative example, fictional firm: Najd Board Partners, four partners covering energy, banking and public sector boards. Two Riyadh agencies quoted 18,000 and 32,000 USD with 10 to 12 weeks of work. The firm chose a Premium build at 8,900 USD, plus a separately quoted link to its applicant tracking system. Even if that integration were quoted at 3,000 USD, the total of 11,900 USD stays 6,100 USD under the lower local quote. If one additional retained search per year comes from better credibility, at a typical fee of 25 to 33 % of a 300,000 USD package, that single mandate covers the redesign several times. These figures are assumptions, not results.
FAQ
How much does an executive search website redesign cost in Riyadh?
Typical 2026 quotes from Riyadh agencies run from about 8,000 to 40,000 USD, and more for brand-led projects. Kolonell's fixed grid is 2,900, 4,900 or 8,900 USD, with integrations on quote.
How long does it take?
Kolonell delivers in 3 to 4 weeks once content is ready, and 4 to 6 weeks for Premium. Local agencies commonly plan 8 to 14 weeks, partly because of workshops and approvals.
Do we need Arabic and English?
For most Riyadh firms working with Saudi boards and international candidates, yes. Multilingual work and right-to-left layout sit in the Premium tier, with the language scope set in the quote.
Can candidates upload CVs directly on the new site?
Yes, through a simple form that collects only what is needed, with a stated retention period. A full candidate portal or an ATS integration is scoped on quote.
Will we lose our Google visibility?
Not if the URL inventory and a complete 301 redirect map are done before launch, then checked in Search Console in the first two weeks. Skipping that step is the most common cause of traffic loss after a redesign.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your practice areas, your target tier (Growth at 4,900 USD or Premium at 8,900 USD) and the date you want to be live. 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.
