Web Design in Istanbul: What to Check First

Hiring a web design agency in Istanbul can be quick: many studios and freelancers can show a good-looking portfolio. The harder part is what happens after the launch. If the domain is in someone else's name, if you cannot edit a page without paying for it or if the English version is a machine translation on the same address, the website becomes a cost you cannot control.

This guide is for international businesses in Istanbul and for business owners who prefer to work in English. It explains what to check before you hire: ownership, content management, languages, speed, KVKK and support after launch.

What does a web design agency in Istanbul do?

A web design agency plans, designs and builds a business website: it defines the page structure, writes or edits the content with you, builds a site that works on mobile, sets up forms, analytics and basic search settings, and hands over a site the business can run after launch.

Solya Agency: an Istanbul-based digital agency that provides web design and corporate web design for businesses in Turkey, together with SEO consulting and conversion tracking and analytics. Prices are published on the packages page, and the scope is agreed in writing before work begins.

Ownership first: domain, hosting and accounts

Before you look at designs, check who will own what. These assets should be in your name or your company's name:

• The domain: the registration should show you as the owner, and you should be able to log in to the registrar.
• The hosting account: you should know where the site runs and have your own login, even if the agency manages it day to day.
• Analytics and Search Console: the Google Analytics property and the Search Console access should belong to your account, with the agency added as a user.
• Design files and code: ask what you receive at the end, for example the source files, the theme and a full backup.

If the agency keeps these in its own name, changing provider later can mean rebuilding the site or losing its search history. Google's guide to site moves and migrations shows how much care a change of addresses needs; it is easier when you already control the domain.

Content management after launch

A website needs small changes every month: a new service, a price note, a team photo, an opening-hours update. Ask how these will be done:

• Can you edit pages yourself, and which parts are locked?
• Is there a short handover, a written guide or a recorded walkthrough?
• Who can publish, and is there a way to see or undo a change?
• What does a change cost if you ask the agency to do it?

A content management system is useful only if someone in your team can actually use it. If you will not edit the site yourself, agree on how requests are sent and how quickly they are handled.

Languages: English, Turkish and Arabic

Many businesses in Istanbul serve customers in more than one language. A second language is more than a translated menu:

• Separate addresses for each language, with links between the versions. Google explains how to tell it about localised versions of a page.
• No automatic redirect by location or browser language. Google's guidance on multi-regional and multilingual sites recommends language switch links instead, so visitors and search engines can reach every version.
• Right-to-left layout for Arabic. Arabic text needs the page direction set correctly, as the W3C explains in its note on the HTML dir attribute; menus, icons and forms have to follow that direction too.
• Human-checked text. Ask who writes or checks each language. A machine translation that no one reads can say something your business does not offer.

Speed and mobile

Many visitors will open your site on a phone. Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing, as described in its guide to mobile-first indexing, so the mobile pages should contain the same content as the desktop pages.

Ask how the agency checks speed. Google's Core Web Vitals measure loading, responsiveness and visual stability. A good answer names the tool, shows a test of a page it has built and explains what slows a page down, such as large images, heavy sliders or too many scripts.

KVKK, cookies and forms

If your site has a contact form, analytics or advertising tags, it collects personal data. In Turkey, the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) applies. Check that the agency plans for:

• A privacy notice linked from every form.
• A cookie approach that matches what the site really loads, so analytics or advertising tags do not run before the visitor has made a choice where consent is required.
• Form data that goes to an inbox or system you control, not to an account only the agency can open.

An agency is not a law firm. It should build the technical side and tell you clearly which texts your legal adviser needs to confirm.

Maintenance and support after launch

Ask what happens in the months after the launch, and get the answers in writing:

• Updates and security: who updates the system, plugins and certificates, and how often?
• Backups: where are they kept, and have they ever been restored in a test?
• Support: which requests are included, how you send them and how quickly they are answered.
• Measurement: whether forms, calls and WhatsApp clicks are tracked, so you can see what the site brings in.

Questions to ask before you hire

Use these questions in your first meeting:

1. Will the domain, hosting and analytics be in my name?

2. What exactly is included: pages, languages, content writing, photos and forms?

3. How will I edit content after launch, and what does a change cost?

4. How will the English or Arabic version be built and checked?

5. How do you test speed and mobile use?

6. How do forms and cookies follow KVKK?

7. What support is included after launch, and for how long?

8. What do I receive if we stop working together?

Red flags

• Promises of a fixed search ranking in a fixed time. No agency controls Google's results.
• The domain or hosting registered in the agency's name, with no written transfer plan.
• One price with no written scope, so every later change becomes an extra cost.
• A second language added on the same address, switched automatically by location.
• No answer on KVKK, or a cookie banner that does not change what the site loads.

Template, custom build or freelancer?

• A ready template works for a simple site with a few pages, if you are ready to manage it yourself.
• A freelancer can be a good fit for a single-language site with a clear, stable scope.
• An agency fits when you need design, several languages, measurement and support handled together, or when the site has to work with ads and SEO from the first day.

Talk to us about your website

If you are comparing web design agencies in Istanbul, start with ownership, languages and support, then compare designs. Solya Agency works with businesses in Turkey in English and Turkish. Send your current website, if you have one, and a short note on your customers and languages through the contact page, and we will plan the page structure with you.