Does a Dubai startup need an Arabic website?
If you sell to government entities, large family-owned groups or consumers across the UAE and the wider Gulf, plan for Arabic from day one, even if it launches second. Many Dubai startups sell to international teams first and can launch in English. The mistake is building an English-only site that can't take Arabic later without a rebuild.
Planning for Arabic early costs little: the URL structure, a language switcher, layouts that mirror cleanly, and a CMS that stores both languages side by side. Retrofitting it means redesigning templates. Our guides to designing for multiple languages and RTL and localization versus translation explain the difference.
What does a good right-to-left Arabic layout need?
A good Arabic layout is redesigned, not flipped. Mirroring the page with a direction setting is the start, but typography, icons, numbers and mixed-language lines all need their own decisions. We design both directions in Figma so you review the Arabic layout, not just the English one.
Element | What to do in Arabic | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
Layout | Mirror navigation, grids and reading order | Mirroring only the text alignment |
Type | A proper Arabic typeface paired with your Latin one | Falling back to a default system font |
Spacing | More line height; no letter spacing | Letter spacing that breaks joined Arabic script |
Icons | Flip directional arrows and progress | Flipping logos, checkmarks or media controls |
Numbers and mixed text | Decide on digit style; test English brand names inside Arabic sentences | Product names and prices jumping position |
What do free-zone and government-linked buyers look for?
Enterprise and government-linked buyers in the UAE check who you are before they check what you do. The site should make due diligence easy: the legal entity and where it's licensed, whether that's a free zone such as DIFC, DMCC or Dubai Internet City, or the mainland, plus named leadership and a way to reach a real person.
- A company page procurement can use. Legal name, license jurisdiction, leadership and contact details, in both languages.
- A downloadable company profile. Many buyers still circulate a PDF profile internally, so design one to match the site.
- Formal, precise copy. Fewer startup slang words, clearer descriptions of scope and responsibility.
- Sector rules where they apply. Financial firms in DIFC answer to the DFSA, and virtual-asset firms in Dubai face VARA's marketing rules, so your counsel should review claims.
We aren't lawyers, so treat this as the design side of compliance. For finance and crypto specifics, read fintech website compliance and crypto website compliance, and see our payments industry page.
How do we work with Dubai teams on Gulf time?
Dubai is on Gulf Standard Time, UTC+4, all year, with no daylight saving. That's 4 hours ahead of London in winter and 3 in summer, and 8 or 9 hours ahead of New York. Since 2022 the UAE government has worked Monday to Friday with a shorter Friday, and many private companies follow a similar week.
- A call slot that respects the Gulf week. Agreed when we scope the project, inside your working hours and away from Friday afternoon.
- Async between calls. Written updates and recorded walkthroughs so your team can review in English or share with Arabic-speaking colleagues.
- Reviews in both languages. English and Arabic layouts sit side by side in Figma and on staging, so reviewers comment on the same screen.
- International teams. If your investors or a second office sit in London or New York, we book shared calls in the overlap of the Gulf afternoon.
During Ramadan, many teams in the UAE work shorter days. Plan reviews and launch dates with that in mind, and we'll adjust the call rhythm. Read what to expect week to week for the usual flow.
Which platform suits a bilingual Dubai site?
The platform has to handle right-to-left layouts and two languages without hacks. Next.js gives full control over direction, fonts and URL structure per language, which suits complex bilingual sites. Webflow and Framer both offer localization features, so check their current plans for RTL support and which pages can be localized before committing.
We'll recommend one on the intro call based on who will edit the site and in which language. Our comparison of Webflow and Framer localization and our Next.js development page cover the trade-offs.
How does our process work?
Free 30-minute call
On Gulf time. We learn the product, the buyers, the languages and the deadline, and confirm the fixed-price offer.
English copy and structure
We write the English pages and plan the bilingual structure, so your translator works from final, approved copy.
Design in both directions
Custom design in Figma for English and Arabic, desktop and mobile, with RTL decisions made screen by screen.
Build and launch
Bilingual build with language switching, consent, analytics and forms. Timelines are scoped on the intro call.
How much does a startup website cost in Dubai?
Our prices are fixed in US dollars: $8,000 for a website of up to 6 pages plus $500 per extra page, $6,000 for a landing page, $3,000 for a brand and design sprint and $6,000 a month for a design and development retainer. The UAE dirham is pegged to the dollar, so the price you agree is the price you pay in dirhams too. Agency quotes in Dubai vary widely, so compare scope as well as price, especially what a quote includes for Arabic.
A hypothetical scope for a bilingual Dubai site
For example, suppose a Dubai proptech startup sells to developers and brokers. It needs a homepage, product, pricing, about, a company profile page and contact, in English first with an Arabic version to follow. The English site fits the $8,000 website. How the Arabic versions are counted and built is scoped on the intro call, with the Arabic copy supplied by the client's translator.
We've designed and built sites for real estate and business-services companies, including Properta and Biz Launch Base. To test us on one real page first, the trial week is $1,000. Otherwise, book a free 30-minute call, and every offer is on our pricing section. For budgeting, see how much a multilingual website costs.
