How to Start a News Website: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

The short answer to how to start a news website is this: first you define your publishing plan and your niche. Then you register a domain name, choose news website software and install it on capable hosting. Before going live, you appoint an editor-in-chief and file a declaration with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the place where your publication is managed, then publish your imprint. Finally, you become visible on Google with NewsArticle structured data, a news sitemap and fast pages.

In Brief

• In Turkey, an online news website has been treated as a periodical publication under Basın Kanunu (Press Law No. 5187) since 18 October 2022, following Law No. 7418.
• No licence or approval is needed to start publishing. Filing a declaration with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the place of management is enough. The filing goes to the prosecutor's office, not to BİK (the Press Advertising Agency).
• Every news website must have an editor-in-chief (sorumlu müdür) who meets the legal requirements. Imprint details must also be published under a "contact" heading reachable directly from the home page.
• Each article must show its first publication date and any update dates. Content must be kept for two years with its accuracy and integrity preserved.
• There is no application form for Google News. Sites are assessed automatically; transparency, author information and compliance with content policies are what matter.
• Earning official advertising revenue requires meeting BİK's staffing, content and traffic requirements and completing a waiting period. These requirements have been updated several times recently; check the values in force as of November 2026 with BİK.
• There are four software options: WordPress with a news theme, a ready-made news script, managed news software, or custom software.

Before you start a news website: publishing plan, niche and team

The technical setup takes a few days. What keeps a news website running, however, are the decisions made before setup. Choosing software before you are clear on what you will publish, who you want to reach and who will do the work can turn into an expensive migration later.

Niche and type of publication

General news coverage means competing for the same results as large national outlets. For newcomers, more realistic paths are:

• Starting a local news website: municipal, public safety, business and sports news for a province or district. Competition is lower and reader loyalty is higher.
• Vertical (niche) publication: a publication focused on a single field such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, gaming, automotive or law.
• Digital newspaper: the online edition of a printed newspaper, or a fully digital daily.

Target audience and publishing frequency

Estimate where your readers consume news (mobile, desktop, social media, Google Discover) and at what times of day they arrive. Set a clear rhythm, such as daily or weekly, because your publishing interval will also be stated in your declaration later.

Team and roles

Running a news website alone is possible but not sustainable. A minimum team should cover these roles:

• Editor-in-chief: the person who, under the Press Law, is responsible for supervising the publication's content and is liable in the cases set out in the law.
• Editor: the person who reviews stories and checks headlines and accuracy.
• Reporter or web editor: the team that produces content.
• Technical and advertising lead: the person who monitors site health, ad placements and analytics.

Setting up a news website step by step

The six steps below show the order to follow if you want to open a news website. The legal filings in step five must be completed before you go live.

1. Define your publishing plan and niche.
2. Choose a domain name that matches your publication's name.
3. Set up your news software and hosting infrastructure.
4. Build your theme, categories and menu structure.
5. Prepare your imprint and file the declaration with the prosecutor's office before going live.
6. Set up SEO and Google News signals.

1. Publishing plan and niche

Put your publication's name, subject, geography and publishing frequency in writing. Prepare a publishing schedule and content calendar for the first 30 days: how many stories per day in each category, which day for in-depth features, and at what times you post on social media.

2. Choosing a domain name

Your domain name should be short, memorable and identical to your publication's name. For Turkey-focused publications, .com.tr is a strong choice. Since 14 September 2022, .tr domains have been allocated through TRABİS, operated by BTK (the Information and Communication Technologies Authority), and com.tr is now granted on a first-come, first-served basis without supporting documents. You can check availability on our domain search and registration page.

3. News software and hosting

News software is the editorial backbone of the site. Hosting, in turn, must be able to absorb sudden traffic spikes. We compare the options in detail in the next section.

4. Theme, categories and menu structure

Build your category structure around the topics readers look for: Headlines, Business, Sports, Lifestyle, or district names. Keep the number of categories limited at first; empty categories tire both readers and search engines. The home page should include a lead story slider, a breaking news ticker, category blocks and a most-read list.

5. Imprint and legal filings

Appoint your editor-in-chief, file the declaration with the prosecutor's office before going live, and publish your imprint and contact page. Also prepare a privacy policy, a KVKK (Turkish Personal Data Protection Law) privacy notice, a cookie notice, editorial principles and a corrections policy. Details are in the legal section below.

6. SEO and Google News

Add the site to Search Console, submit your news sitemap, test your structured data and create author pages. Track your Google News visibility with the Google News performance report in Search Console.

News website software options: which one suits you?

Anyone who wants to set up a news website has four basic paths. None is best for everyone; the right choice depends on your team, budget and technical skills.

WordPress with a news theme

WordPress is free and flexible. With a news theme and plugins you can go live quickly. However, every need, from an editorial approval workflow to news agency integration, ad management and a news sitemap, means a separate plugin. Plugin compatibility, updates and security monitoring remain your responsibility. It is a good starting point for small and personal publications.

Ready-made news script

The Turkish market has many news scripts sold with a one-time licence. They install quickly and come with modules specific to news websites. The risk is that updates and security patches depend entirely on the vendor. Before buying, ask about the last update date, the support period and who keeps the source code.

Managed news software

Software and infrastructure come from a single provider; you focus on content and your team. This is the fastest route for local and national publications with a staff. Oweb's news software package with hosting included and no extra module fees is an example of this model. Even though the infrastructure sits with the provider, the publisher remains responsible for content and legal obligations.

Custom software

Software built from scratch fits your needs exactly. But development takes a long time, costs are high and maintenance requires a permanent development team. It is usually the choice of large media organisations.

Option	Setup time	Flexibility	Maintenance burden	Best for
WordPress + news theme	Fast	High, with plugins	You track plugins and updates	Small and personal publications
Ready-made news script	Fast	Medium	Updates and security patches depend on the vendor	Publications on a tight budget
Managed news software	Very fast	High, with built-in modules	Infrastructure handled by the provider	Staffed local and national publications
Custom software	Long	Highest	Entirely yours	Large media organisations

Whichever option you use, you are the content provider under Law No. 5651 (Internet Law); content and legal responsibility always remain with the publisher.

Features good news website software should have

Whichever path you choose, a news website script or software package should at least be able to do the following. Use this list as a checklist when talking to vendors.

Editorial workflow

Editorial approval workflow

A story written by a reporter should not go live until an editor approves it. Statuses such as draft, pending approval, published and archived should be clear.

Role and permission management

You should be able to define separate permissions for reporters, editors, the managing editor and administrators. Access for a departing employee should be revocable with a single click. Two-factor authentication on editor accounts is a strong plus.

Timestamps and archive

The Press Law requires the first publication and update dates of a story to be shown in a way that does not change on each visit, and content to be kept for two years. Software that displays these dates automatically and keeps a revision history makes this much easier.

Visibility and distribution

• SEO and Google News sitemap: automatic NewsArticle structured data, a news sitemap containing the last two days of stories, and clean URL and heading structure.
• Push notifications: delivering breaking news to subscribers instantly.
• Media optimisation: automatically converting images to WebP and AVIF and resizing them for different screens.

Content and revenue modules

• News agency integration: pulling AA, İHA or DHA feeds into your dashboard. This feature can only be used if you subscribe to the relevant agency.
• Live data modules: stock market, crypto and match results. This data must come from a licensed or authorised source.
• Ad management: managing ad slots, code blocks and directly sold campaigns from one place.

For example, the Oweb News Software feature list covers most of these points: infrastructure with hosting included; 7 ready-made themes; an unlimited theme builder with 29 block types; an AI assistant powered by OpenAI, Claude, Gemini and Grok; İHA, DHA and AA integration; editorial approval workflow and roles; ad management; push notifications; live stock market, crypto and football data; SEO and a Google News sitemap. No extra module fees are charged. If you need something not on the list, ask the vendor before buying.

What hosting does a news website need?

Short answer: hosting that can absorb sudden traffic spikes, with caching, backups and security measures in place. News website traffic is not steady; a site that is quiet on an ordinary day can receive many times its usual visitors within minutes of a breaking story. Plan your infrastructure for your busiest moment.

• Traffic spikes: page caching and sufficient CPU and memory are essential. A common path is to start on shared hosting and move to a VPS or dedicated server as you grow. We explain the differences in our what is a server guide.
• CDN: serves images and static files from locations close to visitors and reduces the load on your main server.
• Backups: automatic daily backups with a copy in a separate location. The two-year content retention obligation also affects your backup plan.
• Security: SSL, up-to-date software, a web application firewall and DDoS protection. News websites are frequent targets.
• Control panel: an easy panel for email, DNS and file management speeds up your work. For details, see our what is cPanel guide.

Legal obligations for opening a news website in Turkey

The legal requirements for an online news website get the least space in setup guides yet matter the most. The information below is based on the current texts of Basın Kanunu (Press Law No. 5187) and Law No. 5651 (Internet Law) on mevzuat.gov.tr, Turkey's official legislation portal.

Scope of the Press Law and the 7418 amendment

Law No. 7418, adopted on 13 October 2022 and in force since 18 October 2022, brought online news websites within the scope of the Press Law. Under the law, an online news website is a periodical publication established and operated to present written, visual or audio content in the nature of news or commentary on the internet at regular intervals.

What are the requirements for an editor-in-chief?

Every periodical publication must have an editor-in-chief. Under Article 5, the editor-in-chief must:

• be at least 18 years old,
• have a place of residence in Turkey and live there permanently,
• have at least a secondary (high school) education,
• not be under legal restriction or banned from public service,
• not have been convicted of a disgraceful offence (yüz kızartıcı suç).

For foreign nationals, reciprocity is required.

Declaration to the prosecutor's office

What does the declaration include?

Under Article 7, filing a declaration with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office where the publication is managed is sufficient to publish. The declaration includes the publication's name and nature, publishing interval, place of management, the names and addresses of the owner, any representative and the editor-in-chief, the type of publication and an electronic notification address. The owner and the editor-in-chief sign the declaration together. Documents proving the requirements are attached, along with the articles of association for legal entities.

Changes and lapse of the declaration

If the information in the declaration changes, a new declaration must be filed within two weeks. If publishing does not begin within one year of the declaration, or if publishing is suspended for three years, the declaration lapses.

What happens if no declaration, or an incomplete one, is filed?

If deficiencies in the declaration are not remedied after notification, or if no declaration is filed at all, the prosecutor's office may apply to the court for a finding that the site "has not acquired the status of an online news website". There is no publication suspension sanction for online news websites; however, such a finding removes the right to receive official and other advertising and the press card rights of employees. Other responsibilities (for example under Law No. 5651 and criminal legislation) apply in every case. Consult an expert about your own situation.

What should a news website imprint include?

Article 4 requires the news website imprint (künye) details to be kept under a "contact" heading reachable directly from the home page:

Required information	Explanation
Place of management and business address	Full address
Name of the owner and any representative	The person or organisation in the declaration
Trade name	Additionally required for online news websites
Name of the editor-in-chief	The person in the declaration
Type of publication	Recommended to match the wording in the declaration
Email and phone	Must be current and reachable
Electronic notification address	UETS (national e-notification system) address
Name and address of the hosting provider	Your hosting company's details

Failing to show this information, or showing it inaccurately, results in a heavy administrative fine for the editor-in-chief under Article 15.

Date display and content retention

The first publication date and any later update dates of each story must be shown on the content in a way that does not change on each visit. Published content must be kept for two years, with its accuracy and integrity ensured, so it can be handed to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on request. If an investigation or prosecution has been notified in writing, the relevant record is kept until the proceedings end. An editor-in-chief who fails to comply with this obligation faces a fine.

Corrections and right of reply

The editor-in-chief must publish a correction or reply without alteration within one day at the latest of receiving it. The text must appear on the page of the relevant story with a URL link, in the same font size and the same format. If the story has been removed, the text stays online for one week, including the first 24 hours on the home page.

Limitation period: For offences committed through online news websites, criminal proceedings must be brought within four months of the date the criminal complaint about the story was made.

Law No. 5651 and content provider liability

Your news website is the content provider for the content it publishes. Under Article 4 of Law No. 5651, you are responsible for all content you make available. You are not responsible for third-party content you link to; however, if the way you present it clearly shows that you adopt that content, you are liable under general provisions. Article 3 also requires identifying information to be kept up to date on the site.

The provision on removing content for violation of personal rights (Article 9), often cited in older guides, was annulled by a Constitutional Court decision with effect from 10 October 2024. Because the law also has amendments that entered into force in 2026, check the current text for the competent authorities and fine amounts.

KVKK, copyright, press cards and RTÜK

• KVKK (Personal Data Protection Law): prepare a cookie notice, a privacy notice and a privacy policy. Assess with your adviser whether VERBİS (data controller registry) registration is required.
• Copyright: copying another site's story or photo may infringe copyright even if you credit the source. Agency content requires a subscription.
• Press card: Law No. 7418 added the definition of a press card to the Press Law; cards are issued by the Directorate of Communications. Employees of sites that a court has found not to have online news website status cannot benefit from this right; applications are also subject to the conditions in the press card regulations.
• Audiovisual broadcasting: if you will run regular live streams or on-demand audiovisual content on the site, ask your adviser whether an RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council) licence is required.

Google News and news SEO

On news websites, traffic comes largely from Google Search, Top Stories, Google News and Discover. You do not submit a separate application to appear in Google News; you set up the signals below correctly.

Is there a Google News application?

No. According to Google, publishers are evaluated automatically. The Publisher Center transition was completed at the end of March 2025: publication pages are now created automatically, using the favicon as the logo and the site name as the title. Guides telling you to "submit a Google News application through Publisher Center" are out of date. What matters is complying with the Google News content policies. The transparency policy calls for clear dates, author information, publisher and company information, and contact details.

NewsArticle structured data

Google supports the Article, NewsArticle and BlogPosting types. No properties are required, but author (name and a link to the author page), datePublished, dateModified (ISO 8601 with time zone), headline and image are recommended. Provide images in 16:9, 4:3 and 1:1 aspect ratios, each at least 50,000 pixels.

Google News sitemap

A news sitemap should contain only stories published in the last two days. One file can hold up to 1,000 stories; split the sitemap if you have more. Each entry includes the publication name and language, the first publication date and the story title.

Fast pages (Core Web Vitals)

The "good" thresholds are: LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less and CLS of 0.1 or less (at the 75th percentile of page visits). INP replaced FID in March 2024. Reserving space for ad slots in advance (for example by setting a minimum height) reduces ad-related layout shifts. AMP is no longer required for Top Stories.

Author pages and trust signals (E-E-A-T)

E-E-A-T is not a direct ranking score but Google's framework for assessing trustworthiness. In practice it means: an author name and author page on every story, an imprint, about us, editorial principles and corrections policy pages, and clear contact information.

Large image previews

For Discover, images should be at least 1200 pixels wide, with a 16:9 ratio preferred. The max-image-preview:large setting in the robots meta tag allows large previews. Avoid generic, non-distinctive images such as logos, and avoid clickbait headlines.

News agency subscriptions: AA, İHA, DHA

For a small team, the most practical way to stay current all day is a news agency subscription. Agency stories complement your own reporting, but they should not be your site's only content. What sets you apart for readers and for Google is the original reporting you produce yourself.

• Anadolu Agency (AA): subscription requests are submitted through the contact channel on the AA subscription page.
• İhlas News Agency (İHA): states that it serves more than 3,000 subscribers worldwide; request a quote through the agency's corporate contact channels.
• Demirören News Agency (DHA): the dha.com.tr website has a subscription and corporate sales section. DHA clearly states that its content may not be used without permission.

None of the three agencies publish their prices; you need to request a quote. Software that can pull the agency feed automatically lets you get the full value of your subscription.

News website revenue models

A solid news website revenue model does not depend on a single source. The six models below are usually combined.

Programmatic advertising

With Google AdSense or Google Ad Manager, your ad slots are filled automatically. It is the easiest revenue source at the start, but income scales directly with traffic and too many ads slow your pages down.

Direct ad sales

On local news websites this is often the strongest line: selling banners, home page sponsorships or category sponsorships to businesses in the area. Prepare a media kit and a rate card.

Sponsored content

Turkey's Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices prohibits covert advertising; in news media, advertising must be identified in a way that is easy to recognise. Google News also requires sponsorship to be clearly disclosed to readers. For this reason, label every piece of sponsored content visibly.

Official advertising and BİK requirements

The official advertising requirements of Basın İlan Kurumu (BİK, the Press Advertising Agency) have several layers:

1. First, periodical publication status: the prosecutor's declaration, the imprint and an electronic notification address.
2. Next, a written application to the BİK regional directorate and uploading the documents to the system.
3. Meeting the staffing, daily content, traffic, technical and workplace requirements for your category. The place of management must be in Turkey.
4. Completing the waiting period. According to available sources, first-time applicants qualify after meeting the requirements throughout a 24-month waiting period. For sites that meet twice the minimum staffing and daily content figures for their category, as well as twice the daily unique visitor, direct unique visitor and page view requirements, the waiting period is 6 months.

The requirements change frequently. According to BİK announcements, the General Assembly halved the minimum daily content count in November 2025 and lowered the minimum direct unique visitor ratio from 15 percent to 10 percent; these changes are reported to have been incorporated into the regulation through the Official Gazette of 10 December 2025. According to information available as of November 2026, Article 35/A, added to Law No. 195 by Law No. 7587 (adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 24 June 2026 and published in the Official Gazette of 1 July 2026), moved the main framework of online news website qualifications and duties, previously set by the BİK General Assembly under Provisional Article 9, directly into the law; the number of days and the lower and upper limits of sanctions (suspension of advertising) for violations were also set by law. Check the current text in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete). Sites that publish official advertising must also comply with the Press Ethics Principles (Basın Ahlak Esasları).

Newsletters and subscriptions

A daily newsletter builds a loyal readership and creates space you can sell to sponsors. Niche publications can also try paid memberships or exclusive content.

Events and partnerships

Local award ceremonies, panels, industry meetups and content partnerships with organisations are non-advertising revenue sources that also strengthen your brand.

How much does it cost to start a news website?

There is no single figure: the cost of starting a news website varies widely with your software, team and traffic. Because prices change frequently, we list cost items below rather than amounts. You can use this table as a budget template when requesting quotes.

Item	Payment frequency	Note
Domain name	Yearly	.com.tr and .com prices differ
Hosting, VPS or server	Monthly or yearly	Grows as traffic grows
News software or theme licence	One-time or subscription	Check the update and support period
Plugins (if you use WordPress)	Mostly yearly	Each plugin may need a separate licence
CDN and security services	Monthly	May be billed by traffic
News agency subscription	Monthly or yearly	Prices are not public; request a quote
Staff	Monthly	Usually the largest expense
Company, accounting and legal advice	Monthly and one-time	You need to be able to issue invoices to sell ads

In most projects, software and hosting are a small share of the total budget; the real cost is the team and steady content production. That is why choosing a software package with no extra module fees keeps the budget predictable.

Common mistakes when starting a news website

1. Postponing the declaration: the site goes live but its "online news website" status becomes questionable; the path to official advertising and press cards may close. Missing imprint details also carry a separate risk of fines.
2. Copying news from other sites: it carries copyright risk and weakens your original content signal on Google.
3. Not showing date and author information: showing this information is both a legal obligation and a requirement of the Google News transparency policy.
4. Starting on underpowered hosting: the site may slow down or crash on the first big story, losing your most valuable traffic.
5. Opening too many categories: empty categories send a low-quality page signal.
6. Overloading pages with ads: CLS and INP scores suffer and readers leave.
7. Not labelling sponsored content: it violates the covert advertising ban and Google's policies.
8. Not taking backups: it puts the two-year retention obligation at risk.
9. Relying on outdated guides: old advice such as "apply through Publisher Center" or "AMP is mandatory" wastes time.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a company to start a news website?

The Press Law allows the owner of a publication to be either a natural or a legal person. However, the law requires online news websites to show a trade name in their imprint, so in practice a business registration may be needed. If you will sell ads and issue invoices, a business registration is also required. Review your situation with your accountant, and with a lawyer if necessary, before you start publishing.

Do I need a permit or licence to open a news website?

No. Filing a declaration with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for your place of management is enough; it is a notification, and you do not wait for approval. If you will run regular live streams or on-demand audiovisual content on the site, ask your adviser separately whether an RTÜK licence is required.

Can you build a news website with WordPress?

Yes. It is a good starting point for small publications. As your team grows, the number of plugins for approval workflows, agency integration and ad management increases, and the maintenance burden stays with you.

Ready-made news website or custom software?

For most local and niche publications, a ready-made or managed solution makes more sense. Custom software suits organisations with large budgets and their own technical team.

Is it legal to take news from other sites?

Copying another site's story or photo without permission may infringe copyright even if you credit the source. To use agency stories, you need to subscribe to the relevant agency. The safest approach is to verify the information, rewrite the story in your own words and produce original content.

How long must news website content be kept?

Under the Press Law, published content must be kept for two years with its accuracy and integrity preserved. If an investigation or prosecution has been notified in writing, the relevant record is kept until the proceedings end. See the date display and content retention section above for details.

Does it cost money to appear in Google News?

No. There is no application and no fee. Google evaluates sites automatically; you need to produce high-quality, original and transparent content.

Can a news website get AdSense approval?

Yes. News websites that follow Google's publisher policies can use AdSense. A privacy policy explaining the use of cookies and third-party advertising is mandatory; original content and contact information improve your chances of approval. Ad serving may be limited on stories with violent or shocking images due to publisher restrictions.

How quickly must a correction or reply be published?

The editor-in-chief must publish it within one day at the latest of receiving it. If the story has been removed, the text stays online for one week, including the first 24 hours on the home page.

Can a new news website receive official advertising right away?

No. You must first obtain periodical publication status and then meet BİK's requirements throughout the waiting period. According to available sources, this period is 24 months for first-time applicants, and 6 months for sites that meet twice the minimum staffing, daily content, daily unique visitor, direct unique visitor and page view requirements for their category. Confirm the current values on bik.gov.tr.

Conclusion

Starting a news website is no longer just a matter of installing a theme and posting stories. The right niche, solid infrastructure, a legal setup that begins with the prosecutor's declaration and imprint, Google's trust signals and a balanced revenue model all need to work together. Get the order right and you will be a trustworthy publication in the eyes of both readers and search engines from day one.

If you would like to handle the infrastructure in a single package, you can explore the Oweb News Software packages, which include hosting, agency integration, an editorial approval workflow and a Google News sitemap.