Serving customers in both Arabic and English is a real advantage in the Gulf and across the Middle East, but a bilingual site is more than a language switcher. These are the points that decide whether it works.
Design for right-to-left, not just translation
Arabic reads right to left, so layouts, navigation, icons with direction (arrows, carousels) and form alignment must mirror properly. Fonts also matter: choose a typeface designed for Arabic with good readability at small sizes.
URL structure and hreflang
Give each language its own URL, for example /ar/ for Arabic, and link the versions with hreflang tags so search engines serve the right one to the right audience. Avoid serving two languages from the same URL based on cookies.
Bilingual SEO
- Research keywords separately in each language; direct translation often misses how people search.
- Translate titles, descriptions, headings and image alt text.
- Use bilingual structured data and a sitemap that lists both versions.
Content workflow
Decide who maintains each language. A good setup lets editors update either version without breaking the other, with clear indicators when one is out of date.
Performance and accessibility
Arabic web fonts can be heavy. Subset them, preload carefully and test on mobile networks. Check contrast, focus order and screen-reader behaviour in both directions.
Common mistakes
- Machine-translating the whole site without a native review.
- Forgetting to mirror forms, tables and icons.
- Leaving the Arabic version out of the sitemap.
I built the full English and Arabic website for Qatar’s national technology provider. If you are planning one, see how I approach it or book a free call.
