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UAE · 7 min read

An Arabic website is not an English website with the words swapped. Layout, type, forms, search and content all change. Here is what a business in the UAE should plan for before the build starts.

A designer sketching a brand mark on paper beside a tablet

Short answer: a proper Arabic website is designed right to left from the start, uses a typeface chosen for Arabic, has content written for Arabic readers, and is set up so Google understands which page serves which language. Translating the words is the smallest part of the job.

Layout: the whole page mirrors

Arabic reads from right to left, so the page does too. The logo moves to the right, the menu runs the other way, and progress steps, sliders and breadcrumbs all reverse. Icons that show direction, such as arrows and back buttons, flip. Icons that do not, such as a clock or a phone, stay as they are.

This is why Arabic has to be planned in the design stage. A layout built only for English often breaks when it is mirrored: text overflows, images crop in the wrong place and buttons end up under the wrong thumb.

Typography: Arabic needs its own typeface and more room

  • Choose an Arabic typeface that matches the character of your English one. Do not let the browser pick a default.
  • Arabic letters have more height and detail, so the text usually needs a slightly larger size and more space between lines to read comfortably.
  • There are no capital letters, so headings that rely on capitals for emphasis need a different treatment, such as weight or colour.
  • Letter spacing that looks elegant in English breaks Arabic words, because the letters join. Leave it at normal.

Numbers, dates, forms and mixed text

Decide early whether the site shows Western digits (1, 2, 3) or Arabic-Indic digits, and use one consistently. Phone numbers, prices and email addresses stay left to right even inside an Arabic sentence, and the code has to handle that so they do not appear scrambled.

Forms need care. Labels and error messages move to the right, name fields should accept Arabic characters, and a visitor should be able to type an address in either language.

A phone and a laptop showing the same website design
Test the Arabic version on a phone first. That is where most visitors in the UAE will see it.

Content: write it, do not just translate it

Machine translation produces Arabic that is understandable and plainly not written by a person. For a clinic, a law firm or a property developer, that costs trust. Have a native writer adapt the content, especially headlines, calls to action and anything legal or medical.

Decide which Arabic you are writing. Modern Standard Arabic suits most business websites in the UAE. A more local Gulf tone can work for consumer brands and campaigns.

Search: tell Google which page is which

  • Give each language its own address, for example /ar for Arabic, so both versions can be indexed.
  • Mark each page with its language and its matching page in the other language. This is done with hreflang tags, and it stops the two versions competing.
  • Research Arabic search terms separately. People do not search for a direct translation of the English keyword.
  • Translate page titles, descriptions, image text and the address shown when a page is shared.

What to ask a development company

  • Can you show an Arabic site you built, on a phone?
  • Is the Arabic layout designed, or is the English layout mirrored by a plugin?
  • Who writes and checks the Arabic content?
  • Can my team edit both languages in the content system without a developer?
  • How are the two languages set up for search?

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an Arabic website in Dubai?

If you serve government bodies, Emirati families, healthcare patients or property buyers from the wider Gulf, yes. For many businesses it is also a matter of respect and trust, even when most enquiries arrive in English.

Can I add Arabic to my existing website later?

Sometimes. If the current site was built with flexible layouts, Arabic can be added. If it was not, it is often quicker and cleaner to rebuild the templates with both languages in mind.

Does an Arabic version help SEO?

Yes. Far fewer pages compete for Arabic search terms than for English ones in the UAE, so a well built Arabic page can rank for searches where the English page would struggle.

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