Belgrade has hundreds of web studios. Seven questions that separate a partner who builds your business from one who fills a template.
Search for a web design agency in Belgrade and you'll find hundreds of them: one-person studios, template shops, 200-person software houses and everything in between. Most of their websites say the same things. So how do you tell them apart?
I run a studio in Belgrade, so I'm not neutral. But these are the questions I'd ask if I were on the other side of the table, and they work for any studio in any city.
1. Who actually does the work?
This is the question that matters most, and the one agencies answer least clearly. In many studios, the person who pitches you, usually the founder or a senior partner, disappears after the contract is signed. The work goes to a team you never meet, sometimes to subcontractors.
Ask directly: who will design my website, and who will write the code? Then ask to speak with them. If the answer is vague, you have your answer.
At Unlockd, the answer is the founder, on every project, which is why the studio takes on no more than two projects a month.
2. Which live projects can I check?
Screenshots prove nothing. Ask for links to live websites the studio designed and built, then check them yourself:
- Open them on your phone. Do they load quickly?
- Run them through Google PageSpeed Insights (PageSpeed Insights).
- Click through to the contact form. Is the next step obvious?
A studio that builds well will be glad you checked. Our ANiX Fire Solutions site, for example, scores 100 for performance, best practices and SEO in Lighthouse on desktop, and anyone can verify that in a minute.
3. Is the price fixed, and what does it include?
Hourly billing puts the risk of every underestimate on you. For a defined scope, ask for one fixed price, agreed before work starts, with a written list of what's included: design, copy, development, SEO setup, revisions and launch.
Then ask how many revision rounds are included, and what happens if you want to change the scope halfway through.
4. Who owns the code, the domain and the accounts?
Some agencies keep your site on their hosting, under their accounts, on a proprietary builder you can't leave. It feels convenient until you want to move.
The answer you want: you own everything, the code repository, the hosting account, the domain, the analytics, and you get documentation so any developer can take over.
5. How will the site be found?
A beautiful site nobody finds is a brochure in a drawer. Ask how the site will be built for search:
- Is every page sent as complete HTML, or rendered in the browser with JavaScript? Many AI crawlers can't read JavaScript-only sites at all.
- Is structured data (schema markup) included (Google Search Central: structured data)?
- Will old URLs be redirected if you're replacing an existing site?
In 2026, "found" also means found by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers. Ask what the studio does for that. We build every site with answer-first pages, schema and an llms.txt file.
6. How fast do they reply?
The speed of replies during the sales process is the best predictor of the speed of replies during the project. If it takes three days to answer a question now, it will take a week when they're busy with another client.
7. What happens after launch?
Ask what's included after the site goes live: support, fixes, training for your team, and the handover package (files, logos, brand guidelines). Then ask what ongoing care costs, if you want it.
Belgrade specifically
If you're hiring from abroad, Belgrade has real advantages: a strong engineering community, Central European Time, and studios that work in English every day. The risk isn't the city, it's the outsourcing model. Use question 1 to rule it out.
If you'd like to put these questions to us, we're a founder-led studio in Belgrade working with companies across Europe. You'll get a straight answer to every one of them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a web design agency in Belgrade?
Ask seven things: who does the work, which live sites you can check, whether the price is fixed, who owns the code, how the site will be found in Google and AI search, how fast they reply, and what happens after launch. The answers separate studios that build businesses from studios that fill templates.
Is it a good idea to hire a Serbian web agency from abroad?
It can be. Belgrade has a deep engineering talent pool, works on Central European Time and in English. The risk isn't the location, it's the outsourcing model: make sure the person you meet is the person who builds your project.
Should a website agency give a fixed price?
Yes, for a defined scope. A fixed price, agreed before work starts, puts the risk of estimating on the agency, which is where it belongs.
