Comparison
Brandyland vs an agency for franchise location websites
An agency or freelancer builds sites by project and makes changes when asked. Brandyland gives every location a site on one engine that franchisees edit themselves. Both have a place, and they are good at different things.
Facts checked September 26, 2026
The short answer
Agencies are strong at making things. Location sites mostly need upkeep.
An agency is the right call for a brand launch, a rebrand, photography or a campaign: work with a start and an end. Location websites keep going after launch. Hours change, holidays come, classes move, and a closure needs a notice today. When every change goes through the agency, each one waits for a request and usually an invoice. Brandyland gives franchisees those edits from a phone, inside the brand's locked theme, for a price per location.
| An agency or freelancer | Brandyland | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's priced | Per build, then per change or a retainer | $99 or $199 per location per month |
| Building the existing sites | Quoted per project | Free for franchise networks, migration included |
| Who edits hours and schedules | The agency, on request | The franchisee, from a phone |
| A new location | A new build | Added on the same engine, in the brand's theme |
| Brand consistency | Depends on each build staying in step | Theme, fonts, colors and shared sections locked by corporate |
| Inquiries | The form you brief | On-brand reply within sixty seconds, follow-ups, a leads inbox per location |
| Network view | Not usually part of the work | Network health dashboard, worst first |
| Custom design | Anything you brief | Your theme on a shared set of sections |
| Leaving | Set by the contract | One-click export of content and images, no exit fee |
How an agency engagement usually works
Most agencies and freelancers work by project. They design and build a site, hand it over, and then make changes as requested, billed by the hour, per change, or through a monthly retainer.
That model fits work with an end date. It fits less well when the work is dozens of small changes, spread across dozens of locations, every month for as long as the locations are open.
Every change is a request
Under an agency model, a franchisee who needs to post a snow day emails corporate or the agency, someone makes the edit, and the site changes when they get to it. Each step is reasonable. Together they are slow for anything that matters today.
In Brandyland, the franchisee makes the change. Today's hours, holidays, the weekly schedule of named sessions, events, photos and a notice bar with an end date are all edited from a phone. The notice takes itself down after its last day, so nobody has to remember to remove it.
Each new location starts over
When sites are built by project, a new location usually means a new build, a new invoice, and a site that drifts a little from the others over time: a different photo here, an older logo there.
Brandyland adds a location to the same engine, already in the brand's theme. If it has not opened yet, it gets an opening-soon page with the date and a form, and the full site takes over on opening day. The brand site, with its find-a-location page and franchise inquiry form, runs on the same engine.
For franchise networks, the build and migration of existing sites are free. There is a $299 one-time launch fee per location, waived for pilot networks.
What happens to an inquiry
An agency builds the form you ask for. What happens after someone submits it, who sees it and how fast they answer, is usually left to each location.
In Brandyland, inquiry forms for parties, classes, consultations and boarding send an on-brand reply within sixty seconds. Follow-ups go out in the brand's words and stop when a person answers. Each location has its own leads inbox, and corporate sees leads left waiting on the network health dashboard, worst first.
Using both
An agency and Brandyland are not either-or. The agency can design the brand, shoot the photos and video that go into the approved library, and write the shared pages corporate publishes to every location. Brandyland runs the sites those pages live on.
Whichever you choose, ask the same questions of every provider: who owns the content, who holds the domain and hosting, and what it takes to leave. With Brandyland, every site's content and images export with one click at any time, with no exit fee. The first term is 12 months, then month to month.
Pick an agency if
- You need a brand identity, a rebrand or a campaign with a start and an end
- You want a fully custom design with no shared structure
- You need photography, video or copywriting, which Brandyland does not do
- You run one or two locations whose sites rarely change
Pick Brandyland if
- Franchisees need to change hours, schedules and notices without sending a request
- Each new location should launch on brand without a new build
- You want every inquiry answered within a minute and followed up in your words
- You want to see every location's health on one screen
Questions
Questions people ask
Can our agency still work on our brand?
Yes. Brandyland uses your brand's theme: fonts, colors and the rest. An agency can shape that look, write shared pages and shoot photos and video for the approved library, while Brandyland runs the sites.
How does a franchise website agency's cost compare with Brandyland?
Agencies price by project and by change, or by retainer, so the total grows with the number of locations and changes. Brandyland is $99 per location per month for Local and $199 for Insights, with the build and migration of existing sites free for franchise networks.
Do franchisees edit the whole site?
No. They edit what is theirs: hours, holidays, the weekly schedule, events, notices, photos and their own pages. Corporate sets the theme and can lock it, along with any shared section.
What happens to the sites our agency already built?
For franchise networks, Brandyland builds the network and migrates the existing sites for free. Bookings stay on each location's current system, such as Roller, Zenoti or Gingr.
Can we leave Brandyland later?
Yes. The first term is 12 months, then month to month. Every site's content and images export with one click, any time, with no exit fee.
See your own network on Brandyland before you decide.
Leave your email. A person replies within a day, and the first conversation is about your locations, not a demo script.