The case for working with a web designer outside your home country has never been stronger — and for EU companies, Zagreb is an increasingly attractive option.
Croatia joined the Eurozone in 2023. Invoices are in EUR, the timezone is CET (same as Austria and Germany), and the legal framework is EU-standard. The practical difference from hiring a local studio in Vienna or Munich is the rate — significantly lower — without a proportional difference in quality or communication.
What a Web Design Project Actually Involves
Web design is a loose term that covers a spectrum from “make something that looks good” to “solve a business problem that has commercial consequences.” The better studios do the latter.
A typical project at GALLAXI runs through these phases:
Discovery
Before wireframes or visual design, we establish what the website needs to do. What action should a visitor take? Who is the primary audience? What makes this offer different from the alternatives they’ll find on page two of Google?
Discovery usually takes 1–2 sessions and produces a brief that the rest of the project references.
Information architecture and copywriting
Most web design projects stall here because clients assume they’ll write the copy themselves and then don’t. I can write website copy as part of the project scope — it’s faster and produces better results when the same person designing the page is also writing for it.
Visual design
Once the structure and copy are confirmed, the visual layer follows. Mockups in Figma, reviewed in 2 rounds. At this stage we also settle typography, colour palette, and any motion or interaction details.
Development
Sites are built in Astro (fast static sites, ideal for brochure and portfolio sites) or Webflow (CMS-powered, ideal for regularly updated content). Both produce fast, SEO-ready output.
Launch and handover
Before launch: a technical SEO check (meta tags, sitemap, redirects, page speed). After launch: a walkthrough of how to update the site, and a 30-day support window for issues.
What to Look for in a Web Design Studio
The difference between a €500 website and a €5,000 website isn’t primarily the visual design — it’s the thinking behind the structure, the quality of the copy, and the technical execution.
Specific signals worth checking:
- Case studies with results, not just screenshots — traffic numbers, conversion improvements, or client outcomes
- A clear process — studios with no defined workflow tend to produce unpredictable timelines
- SEO as part of the scope, not an add-on — a website that no one can find is a liability, not an asset
- Content guidance — a studio that takes your content as-is and doesn’t push back on quality will produce a weaker result
Pricing
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Brand website (5–8 pages) | from €1,900 |
| Landing page (single-scroll, conversion-focused) | from €790 |
| E-commerce (Shopify, up to 50 products) | from €2,400 |
| Web copy (per page) | from €150 |
| Brand photography add-on (half day) | from €490 |
| Monthly maintenance retainer | from €120/mo |
Prices are in EUR. B2B invoices issued with Croatian tax number — standard EU reverse-charge applies for clients with valid EU VAT numbers.
Timeline for a Typical Project
A standard brand website (5–8 pages, no e-commerce, one language) runs approximately:
- Week 1–2: Discovery, sitemap, copy
- Week 3–4: Visual design (Figma), review rounds
- Week 5–6: Development, content integration
- Week 7: QA, SEO check, launch
Photography, if included in scope, is typically scheduled in week 2–3 so images are ready when the visual design starts.
If you’re evaluating studios for a web design project, get in touch — I offer a free 30-minute scoping call (in English or German) to assess fit and give a ballpark scope before any commitment. Response within 24 hours.
For brand photography context, see Brand Photography in Zagreb. For business portrait context, see Business Portrait Photography.