The Situation
Derya Arms is a well-established Turkish firearm manufacturer with a strong reputation in Turkey for quality firearms and accessories. As they expanded manufacturing operations to America, they needed their first flagship website to introduce the brand to firearms enthusiasts and dealers. The difficulty they faced was entering a market dominated by long-established domestic brands with polished digital presences. They needed a site that could compete immediately and establish credibility from day one. Without a professional, competitive website at launch, they risked being overlooked in favor of competitors who had spent years building their market presence.
The Core Challenge
Derya's biggest challenge was building a competitive website from scratch that could establish instant digital credibility in the American market. While they were already selling firearms in America, they had no online presence to compete with brands that had spent decades earning trust through polished digital experiences. Firearms enthusiasts research extensively before buying, comparing specs, reading reviews, and evaluating manufacturers' credibility. Without a professional website showcasing their products with quality visuals and detailed information, Derya would be overlooked in favor of brands with established online presences. This wasn't a build + design where they could improve gradually, this was their introduction to American firearms buyers, and the site needed to position them as a legitimate competitor from launch.
Additional Obstacles
Building from scratch also meant solving technical challenges unique to their business model. As a firearm manufacturer, they couldn't sell firearms directly online—customers researching firearms needed to be directed to authorized dealers through a dealer locator, while accessories and parts required standard eCommerce checkout. This meant building two distinct product page templates within one site. Beyond functionality, Derya wanted product pages that showcased their firearms like landing pages with large, impactful imagery, and they needed full control to customize these pages themselves. The team required the ability to rearrange page layouts, reorder content sections, swap imagery, and adjust design elements without being locked into a fixed template or needing developer assistance. This flexibility was crucial for adapting quickly to the American market and presenting different products with the visual impact they deserved.
SEO added another layer of urgency: without ranking in search results from launch, Derya would remain invisible to firearms enthusiasts researching their next purchase, giving established competitors an even bigger advantage.