E-commerce and bilingual website development for Saudi Arabia
Arabic and English stores and websites on Shopify, Salla, Zid or a custom build, with Gulf payment methods, right-to-left design and Arabic written by native speakers.
Ecommerce website development for Saudi and Gulf buyers
Nawa handles ecommerce website development for brands selling in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and bilingual Arabic-English website development for companies that need to be credible in both languages. We plan, design, build and launch, then stay on after launch to improve conversion.
Arabic website localisation runs through all of it. Arabic pages get their own headlines, product names and calls to action, written for Arabic readers. Layouts mirror for right-to-left reading, prices and dates display correctly, and search engines treat each language as its own set of pages.
Who it is for
Brands launching or rebuilding a site or store in Arabic and English. Some are European companies opening their first Gulf store; others are Saudi brands whose store has outgrown its first version.
What's included
UX and information architecture
Navigation, page types and user flows planned for both languages, based on how your customers browse and buy.
Bilingual RTL and LTR design
One design system that works in right-to-left Arabic and left-to-right English, with Arabic typography chosen for legibility on small screens.
Development on Shopify, Salla, Zid or custom
The platform chosen for your catalogue, markets and integrations. Custom builds use Laravel when a platform can't do what the business needs.
Payments and shipping for the Gulf
Mada, Apple Pay, Tabby and Tamara configured and tested, with shipping options set up for the cities and countries you serve.
Performance and SEO baseline
Fast pages, clean URLs in both languages, hreflang, structured data and analytics in place from launch day.
Conversion optimisation
Product pages, basket and checkout reviewed against real behaviour data and improved in small, measured changes.
Arabic localisation
Copy written by native Arabic speakers for the Gulf reader. A translated English page reads as foreign, and customers notice.
How a project runs
Discover
We study your customers, catalogue, competitors and current analytics, and agree which platform fits.
What you receiveA platform recommendation and written requirementsStrategize
We plan the sitemap, page types and user flows in both languages, and agree what launch must include.
What you receiveA sitemap and wireframesBuild
Design, development, payments, shipping and Arabic content, tested on the phones your customers use.
What you receiveA design system and the launched site or storeOptimize
After launch we watch analytics and checkout data and fix the points where customers drop off.
What you receiveAnalytics, team training and a post-launch optimisation period of [NEEDS CLIENT INPUT: length]Grow
New markets, languages, products or features added on the same foundations, without a rebuild.
What you receiveA roadmap for the next phase
What you receive
Sitemap and wireframes
The structure of every page type in Arabic and English, agreed before design starts.
Design system
Components, typography and colour rules for both reading directions, documented for future pages.
Launched site or store
Live, tested, with payments, shipping and analytics working.
Analytics
GA4 and platform reporting set up to show sales, conversion and drop-off by language and channel.
Training
Your team learns to add products, edit pages and publish in both languages.
Post-launch optimisation
A fixed period after launch to measure and improve. [NEEDS CLIENT INPUT: length of post-launch period]
Choosing a platform and selling in the Gulf
Salla and Zid are Saudi platforms with local payments, shipping and Arabic built in, and they suit brands selling mainly within the Kingdom. Shopify suits brands selling across several countries or already running Shopify elsewhere. A custom Laravel build makes sense for complex catalogues, B2B pricing or deep integration with an ERP.
At checkout, Saudi shoppers look for Mada, the national debit network, and Apple Pay, and many use buy-now-pay-later from Tabby or Tamara. Prices, VAT display, store information and returns are subject to Saudi consumer and e-commerce rules, which your legal and tax advisers should confirm before launch.
For a deeper look at the language side, read our guide to Arabic website localisation.
Questions buyers ask
Salla, Zid or Shopify: which should we choose?
If you sell mainly in Saudi Arabia and want local payments and shipping with little setup, Salla or Zid. If you sell across several countries or already use Shopify, Shopify. We recommend one in the Discover stage after looking at your catalogue, markets and integrations.
Can you localise our existing English website into Arabic?
Yes. We audit the current site, fix the right-to-left layout and write the Arabic content for Gulf readers. If the platform can't handle Arabic properly, we tell you before you spend money on content.
Which payment methods can you integrate?
Mada, Apple Pay, Tabby and Tamara, plus card payments through the gateways your platform supports. Availability depends on your platform and on the merchant accounts you hold, which we help you set up.
How long does a build take?
[NEEDS CLIENT INPUT: typical timelines for a store and a corporate site]. Scope, catalogue size and how quickly content is approved make the biggest difference. You get a dated plan at the end of Strategize.
Will we be able to update the site ourselves?
Yes. Training is part of every launch, and the content management is set up so your team can publish in both languages without a developer.
Plan your store or site with us
Book a consultation and share your current site, your catalogue size and the markets you sell to. We will tell you which platform we'd recommend and why.