The verdict in three sentences
For a family office in Frankfurt, the website rarely exists to attract traffic: it exists to reassure a family or a deal partner who has just been given your name and checks within five minutes that the structure is serious, well governed and discreet. A redesign with a local agency commonly costs 25,000 to 70,000 EUR, while the Kolonell fixed grid runs from 2,700 EUR (Starter) to 8,200 EUR (Premium, the multilingual tier). The real risk lies elsewhere than price: losing search history, publishing unreviewed regulated content or launching a poorly secured client area.
Signals that cost you credibility
A single family office can easily do without a public site. A multi family office, on the other hand, is judged on its home page by prospective families, custodian banks and co-investors.
| Signal on the current site | What a demanding visitor concludes |
|---|---|
| No team page, or stock photos | Opaque or unstable structure |
| Governance and ownership not described | Doubts about independence |
| Machine-translated English version | Limited international reach |
| Incomplete or hard-to-find Impressum | Carelessness about basic duties |
| Non-compliant cookie banner, undeclared third-party tracking | Questionable discretion with data |
| Contact form asking for net worth | Excessive, clumsy data collection |
| Latest news item dated 2021 | Dormant activity |
In Germany, the Impressum duty now sits under the DDG, and personal data follows the GDPR and the BDSG, supervised by the Hesse state data protection authority. For regulated structures, any communication about investment services may fall under BaFin rules: every statement on performance, risk or services deserves a review by your compliance team before going live. This is not legal advice.
What budget for a redesign in Frankfurt?
2026 ballpark for the build, amounts excluding VAT, based on typical local agency quotes and public rate pages.
| Option | Redesign budget (EUR excl. VAT) | Usually included | Budget separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | 5,000 to 15,000 | Theme-based design, build | Copywriting, English, security |
| Mid-size local agency | 25,000 to 70,000 | Custom design, CMS, workshops | 3 to 5 month timelines |
| Finance-specialist agency | 80,000 to 180,000 | Brand, content, supported compliance | Large-group budget |
| Kolonell Starter | 2,700 | Focused site, native English or French copy, 3 months of support | No custom features |
| Kolonell Growth | 4,500 | Services, team, governance and news pages | Integrations on quote |
| Kolonell Premium | 8,200 | Multilingual tier, languages set in the quote (German and English, for example) | Secure client portal on quote |
Every tier includes a project manager reachable in Frankfurt's time zone and 3 months of support. Maintenance after that is priced on quote. Details are on the international offer.
Timeline and redesign risks
Once content is ready, delivery takes 3 to 4 weeks (4 to 6 for Premium). A typical schedule:
| Phase | Starter or Growth | Premium | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoping and URL inventory | Week 1 | Week 1 | List of existing pages and 301 redirect map |
| Copywriting and design | Weeks 1 to 2 | Weeks 1 to 3 | Approved mock-ups and copy |
| Development | Weeks 2 to 3 | Weeks 3 to 5 | Staging site |
| Compliance and legal review | Week 3 | Weeks 4 to 5 | Written sign-off from your teams |
| Launch and checks | Week 4 | Week 6 | Live redirects, verified Search Console |
The main risks and how to handle them:
- Search ranking loss: a full URL inventory, a 301 redirect map, submitting the new sitemap in Search Console and monitoring for 8 weeks.
- Content migration: sorting old publications beforehand, archiving rather than silently deleting.
- Regulated content: no services page or performance statement without written compliance sign-off.
- Gated areas and integrations: client portal, reporting and CRM connection priced on quote, with a dedicated security review.
- Downtime: switching over outside market hours, with a rollback ready.
When a Frankfurt agency is the better choice
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A local agency is justified if the redesign comes with a new brand identity, repeated in-person workshops with partners and founding families, or a complex client portal requiring an on-site development team. It is also justified when a group requires a supplier accreditation only a German provider can meet. For a well-written, fast and understated credibility site, a remote studio is a reasonable option.
Questions to ask: who writes the German and the English, and are they native speakers? Who hosts the site, and where? Who handles the redirect map? What compliance review is planned before launch? Who owns the domain and the accounts?
Mini case study
Illustrative example. Mainstein Family Partners, a fictional Frankfurt multi family office, has a 2016 site with 60 URLs and a machine-translated English version. A local quote comes to 52,000 EUR excluding VAT. Management picks the Premium tier at 8,200 EUR for German and English, adds 3,000 EUR of external legal review and postpones the client portal, priced on quote. Immediate cost: 8,200 + 3,000 = 11,200 EUR, versus 52,000 + 3,000 = 55,000 EUR with the local agency, a gap of 43,800 EUR before any decision on the portal. No commercial gain is assumed.
FAQ
Does a single family office need a website?
Not necessarily: many settle for a minimal page with the Impressum. The 2,700 EUR Starter tier is often enough if the only goal is a clean presence for banks and partners.
How long does a full redesign take?
Allow 3 to 4 weeks on Starter or Growth and 4 to 6 weeks on Premium once content is assembled. The compliance review is often the longest phase on the client side.
Can we keep our current search rankings?
Yes, if every useful old URL gets a 301 redirect and Search Console is monitored for at least 8 weeks. For 60 URLs, the inventory usually takes a day.
Is the client portal included?
No, gated areas, reporting and integrations are priced on quote. The 4,500 EUR Growth public site can launch first, with the portal following.
Do we need German and English?
For a Frankfurt family office serving international families, almost always. Premium at 8,200 EUR is the multilingual tier, with languages set in the quote.
Let's scope your project. A Growth or Premium redesign delivered in 3 to 6 weeks depending on the tier, with the redirect map and compliance review built into the schedule. 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.
