Web design Leuven
Web design in Leuven
Sites for spin-offs, labs and practices that need to be read in English and Dutch.
A university town that hires the world
Web design in Leuven is mostly web design for people who did not grow up in Leuven. The city has 105,357 inhabitants and started the 2026 academic year with about 60,000 students. South-east of the ring road lies the Haasrode Research Park, 136 hectares with more than 5,000 people at work, where spin-offs such as Materialise grew up. Research groups, start-ups and international teams work in English; their landlord, their accountant and many of their customers work in Dutch.
At the end of 2025, 10,788 companies had their seat in Leuven, and 1,237 of them were in information and communication: more than one in ten, about twice the Flemish average. This page is for founders, lab managers and practice owners who need a site that explains complex work in plain English, hires internationally and later carries a client portal or a dashboard.
A spin-off grows, and its site grows with it
- First monthsOne page that says what your research solvesA one-pager in English: the problem, the technology in plain words, the team and a contact address. In the market 500 to 1,500 euros.
- First customersA page per applicationA page per sector or use, pilot cases and a demo request. In the market 2,000 to 6,000 euros.
- First hiresJobs and a team people can findA careers page in English and Dutch, because researchers and developers come from all over the world.
- Funding roundA page for investorsMilestones, publications, patents and press in one place, so an investor does not dig through your blog.
- Product launchSite and software togetherA client portal or dashboard behind a login, built on the same base as your site.
Who reads a Leuven site
A spin-off site has more readers than a shop site, and each wants something different.
| Reader | What they look for | What the page needs |
|---|---|---|
| A researcher or engineer applying | what they would work on, with whom | a careers page in English, the team, the tools |
| An industrial partner | the use case, a pilot, a name to call | a page per application, a demo request |
| An investor | milestones, patents, the team | an investor page with the facts in one place |
| A patient or local customer | how to book, where to park | Dutch pages, opening hours, a booking form |
Write for the reader who knows the least. Say first which problem you solve and for whom, then how. A paper abstract on a homepage loses the partner in three lines.
English first, or Dutch first
- Choose English first ifyou are a spin-off or tech company that sells or hires internationally. Your Dutch version can be shorter and serve local contacts.
- Choose Dutch first ifyou run a practice, a law firm, a contractor or a shop with customers from Leuven and the region. English then mainly serves expats and international students.
- Choose both in full ifyou hire and sell in both languages. Plan a second set of titles, descriptions, forms and confirmation emails.
Each language is its own version with its own address, linked with hreflang so Google shows the right one. How we set that up without two sites to maintain is on our page on multilingual website development.
Site and software on one base
Many Leuven firms start with a site and need more within a year: a portal where partners upload data, a dashboard for pilot customers, a request flow that does not end in an inbox. Built on a different base from the site, that means two systems, two logins and two suppliers.
We build sites and platforms with the same technology. For Business Centrum, a social secretariat office in Ghent, we built a site in four languages and, next to it, a management platform that replaced their spreadsheet, with encryption, two-factor login and 65 abuse tests that run on every change. What a first platform looks like for a Leuven company, and what it costs in the market, is on software development in Leuven. The general picture is on our pages on client portals and custom software.
Budgeting a Leuven site
| What you build | Belgian market, excl. VAT | Typical in Leuven for |
|---|---|---|
| A first page for a new venture | 500 to 1,500 euros | a spin-off in its first months |
| A site with a page per application or service | 2,000 to 6,000 euros | a practice, an office, a growing tech firm |
| A store with its own checkout | 4,000 to 15,000 euros or more | a brand that sells its own product |
Keep a yearly line for updates and small changes too. Custom work with us starts at 1,500 euros, and after the first conversation the project price is fixed, with what is in and what is not. Try your own combination in the website cost calculator; the full explanation is in website cost. Wondering whether to start with a site builder yourself? Read build your website yourself or hire someone.
What investors and candidates look for
An investor who opens your site before a meeting wants three things in a minute: what you solve, how far you are, and who is on the team. A candidate wants to know what they would work on, with whom, and whether you are still hiring. Neither reads a research summary. Give each a page: an investor page with milestones, publications and press, and a careers page that is updated when a job is filled. Both work best in English, with a Dutch summary for local readers.
For a practice or shop in the city centre the readers are different: someone from Heverlee who wants an appointment today. There a page per treatment or service, online booking and a Google Business Profile with the right hours matter more than anything else; see create a Google Business Profile.
What the Dutch version should cover
Even an English-first company in Leuven needs some Dutch. Local suppliers, the municipality, a Flemish customer or a candidate from the region will look for it. Keep it short and accurate rather than complete: what you do, who you work for, how to reach you, and the vacancies you also want to fill locally. A Dutch summary that is kept up to date is better than a full translation that falls behind after six months.
A local note: the Leuven starter grant is on hold
Leuven offered starters a grant of 2,500 euros, covering 70 percent of costs, which could also pay for marketing advice and a website. The city has paused it for now. Do not plan your launch around it; check leuven.be to see whether it returns. The Flemish support schemes are covered in our guide to Flanders digitalisation grants.
Speed on a student budget of bandwidth
Many visitors open a Leuven site on a phone, on campus wifi or mobile data. Heavy video headers and uncompressed photos cost them seconds and cost you visitors. Keep the homepage light, load images in the right size, and test it with the website speed test before launch.
Mistakes we see on Leuven sites
- Explaining the science before the problemPartners read three sentences.
- Jobs only on an external job boardA candidate who googles you lands on your site; without a careers page you look like you are not hiring.
- An English homepage with Dutch pages behind itInternational readers leave at the first click.
- A base that cannot carry softwareIf a portal is coming, pick a base that can take it; see custom website or WordPress.
Check your current site with the SEO checker and the website speed test.
From Ghent to Leuven
From the Sint-Baafsplein to Leuven is 88 kilometres: 68 minutes by car, about an hour by direct train. So most of the work runs remotely, on a test address where you watch the site grow. We come to Leuven for a first meeting if you like, and for photos of your team, lab or practice.
There is no Leuven client in our portfolio yet, and no spin-off; we say that plainly. What we can show answers the same questions: a site in four languages and a management platform for Business Centrum and its platform. How we build sites is on website design.
Website design
How VBS helps you with this
We build your site from design to copy, imagery and code, in one team, so that Google and your buyers find it and get in touch.
- Design and copy built on your buyers' questions
- Fast, multilingual when you need it, at a fixed price
- Forms, cookieless analytics and hosting on AWS
How we approach it is on our page about Website design.
Your spin-off, lab or practice online?
Tell us who your readers are and which language they search in. We will say which site you need now, and which later.
Rather get in touch right away?