Urban digital services, as key components of smart city initiatives, play a crucial role in facilitating urban operations, reducing costs, and enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of urban environments. This article aims to design and present a policy-making framework that guides the development of these services with a focus on citizens’ needs and participation. By conducting a systematic review of the literature and semi-structured interviews with experts, this research provides a comprehensive framework comprising the dimensions and components that influence the development of urban digital services. This framework assists authorities and policymakers in identifying the necessary policy axes and domains for developing citizen-centric urban digital services. The proposed framework, focusing on technological enablers, governance enablers, community enablers, knowledge mediators, participation enablers, functional enablers, acceptance-development enablers, and adaptation enablers, helps identify citizens’ needs and priorities. This approach, by increasing citizen participation and trust, prevents the formation of manager-centered island projects and paves the way for the realization of a citizen-centric smart city in Iran. As an example of the application of the proposed framework, the “Shahrzad” application, one of the prominent projects in the field of urban digital services in Iran, was selected and analyzed in 2024, considering its characteristics.