The verdict in three sentences
For an interior design studio in Doha, the website is first a portfolio that has to load fast despite heavy imagery, filter enquiries by budget and protect the privacy of private clients on The Pearl or in Lusail. A Doha agency wins when Arabic is the main language and the projects still need to be photographed, because it handles the shoot and the copy on site; a remote studio with a fixed price (Kolonell: USD 2,900 Starter, USD 4,900 Growth, USD 8,900 Premium) wins when the photos exist and clients read English first. Either way, require written ownership of the domain, the code and the photo licences.
What should a Doha interior design studio's website do?
Doha studios work on villas and apartments on The Pearl, in Lusail or in residential districts, on offices in West Bay and on hospitality and retail projects around Msheireb. The website needs follow from that:
- a portfolio organised by project type: residential, hospitality, offices, retail;
- optimised large-format images (WebP or AVIF, lazy loading) to stay fast on mobile;
- clear rights on every photo: licence granted by the photographer, consent from the owner or operator;
- privacy for private clients: no address, no name, no faces without written consent;
- an enquiry form that qualifies the type of project, floor area, budget range and timeline;
- Instagram and Pinterest as simple links, with no embedded feed slowing the pages down;
- English and Arabic with right-to-left layout: that is the Premium tier (the multilingual tier, languages and RTL scope set in the quote).
Doha agency or remote studio: which criteria weigh most?
Two studio profiles, scores out of 5, weights in percent. Profile A: Arabic-speaking clients first, projects still to be photographed. Profile B: expatriate and corporate clients, English first, photos already available.
| Criterion | Weight profile A | Weight profile B | Doha agency score | Remote studio score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-site project photo and video | 20% | 5% | 5 | 3 (local photographer, third-party cost) |
| Quality of Arabic and RTL | 20% | 10% | 4 | 3 (native Arabic writer, third-party cost) |
| Fixed price and clear scope | 15% | 25% | 3 | 5 |
| Delivery time | 10% | 20% | 3 | 5 |
| Time zone (Doha on UTC+3) | 10% | 10% | 5 | 4 |
| Meetings at the studio or showroom | 10% | 5% | 5 | 2 |
| Domain, code and photo licences in the studio's name | 15% | 25% | 4 | 4 |
Weighted results out of 5: profile A, agency 4.15 against remote studio 3.65; profile B, agency 3.95 against remote studio 4.20. The choice therefore depends on your clients and the state of your photography, not on a general rule.
What does each option cost?
2026 ballpark, based on typical agency quotes and public Doha agency rate pages, converted at the fixed rate of about QAR 3.64 to USD 1.
| Option | Budget (QAR) | Approximate equivalent | Usual timeline | Often included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | QAR 8,000 to 25,000 | USD 2,200 to 6,900 | 4 to 8 weeks | English brochure site, simple portfolio |
| Doha agency | QAR 25,000 to 80,000 | USD 6,900 to 22,000 | 8 to 14 weeks | English and Arabic, on-site support |
| Top-tier agency | QAR 80,000 to 200,000 | USD 22,000 to 54,900 | 12 to 20 weeks | branding, video, campaigns |
| Kolonell Starter | fixed price | USD 2,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | 5 pages, English or French |
| Kolonell Growth | fixed price | USD 4,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | filterable portfolio, qualified form |
| Kolonell Premium (multilingual tier) | fixed price | USD 8,900 | 3 to 4 weeks | languages and RTL set in the quote |
| Local photographer (third-party cost) | QAR 3,000 to 10,000 per project | USD 820 to 2,750 | 1 to 2 days | licence to negotiate |
The Kolonell price includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting, delivery in 3 to 4 weeks and 3 months of support; maintenance after that is on quote. A private client area to share plans and material boards, or a connection to a project management tool, is on quote. Everything is detailed on the international websites offer page.
When is the Doha agency clearly better?
If your projects are not yet photographed and you want one team to organise shoots in private villas, with the owners' consent, the local agency saves you time. The same goes if your main clients are Qatari and expect editorial-grade Arabic copy, or if you want to review the project in your showroom at every stage. The remote studio takes the lead for an English-first site, with existing photos, a price fixed in advance and a launch within a few weeks.
Questions to ask both types of provider
- Who holds the domain, the hosting account and the code at handover?
- Do the photo licences allow use on the website, social media and design award submissions?
- Who writes the Arabic, and who validates the RTL layout on mobile?
- What is the maximum page weight, and what mobile load time is targeted?
- How is form data (budget, property address) stored and protected?
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Compliance: personal data and accessibility
Qatar has a personal data privacy law (Law No. 13 of 2016): keep it simple and careful, with a privacy notice, explicit consent on the form, collection limited to what is necessary and a defined retention period. Entities established in the Qatar Financial Centre fall under their own rules: check your status. For accessibility, aim for WCAG 2.1 level AA, including the Arabic version (alt text, contrast, RTL reading order). This is not legal advice.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Noor, founder of a 7-person studio in Msheireb. She receives about 40 enquiries a month via Instagram, 70% of them below her range (minimum budget of QAR 150,000 for a villa). Each of those 28 enquiries takes her 30 minutes: 14 hours a month. A form asking for floor area, budget and timeline brings the unqualified enquiries she handles down to 8, so 4 hours. The 10 hours saved per month add up to 120 hours a year; at an internal cost of QAR 300 an hour, that is QAR 36,000, about USD 9,900. The Premium tier at USD 8,900, in English and Arabic, pays back in just under 11 months.
FAQ
Can a remote studio handle a right-to-left Arabic site?
Yes, in the Premium tier at USD 8,900, with the RTL scope set in the quote. The Arabic copy is handled by a native Arabic writer, a third-party cost to budget.
How many projects should the portfolio show?
Between 8 and 15 well-documented projects beat 50 thumbnails. Plan 6 to 10 images per project, optimised to load in under 2.5 seconds on mobile.
Can we publish photos of a private villa?
Only with the owner's written consent and a licence from the photographer. Remove addresses, names and personal items; many Doha studios anonymise 100% of their residential projects.
What timeline should we expect?
Allow 3 to 4 weeks with Kolonell once the photos and copy are ready, against 8 to 14 weeks in general for a Doha agency.
What does maintenance cost after the 3 included months?
It is on quote at Kolonell. On the Doha market, the usual assumption ranges from USD 100 to 300 a month depending on the service level.
Let's scope your project. A fast portfolio filtered by project type, in English with an Arabic RTL option, from USD 4,900 to 8,900, delivered in 3 to 4 weeks. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.