What your company website needs in Arabic and English
What your company website needs in Arabic and English
Your website is often the first thing a customer checks before calling you. They hear about you from a friend or see an ad, then open the site on their phone to find out who you are, what you offer and how to reach you. If the answers do not come quickly, they leave.
In Saudi Arabia, a company site usually speaks to an Arabic reader first, alongside readers who prefer English, such as expatriates and foreign partners. That is where the details begin that separate a persuasive site from one that looks hurriedly translated.
Write each language for its reader
The most common mistake is writing the English first and translating it literally, which leaves the Arabic heavy and unlike anything people actually say. Settle the core message once, then write it in each language in that language's own way. The sentences need not match. The meaning and the facts must.
- Use clear Modern Standard Arabic that is close to the reader and free of stiffness.
- Keep service names the same across all pages, and never render one name two ways.
- Have the text read by someone who reads that language every day, not only by the translator.
Think about page direction, not just text
Arabic reads right to left, and that applies to the whole page: the menu, arrows, column order and forms. The giveaways of carelessness are an arrow pointing the wrong way, a scrambled phone number, or a small Arabic font that strains the eyes. Choose a clear Arabic typeface and test every page in Arabic as thoroughly as you test it in English.
Switching language should be easy to find, and it should take visitors to the same page in the other language rather than back to the home page.
Begin with the core pages
You do not need dozens of pages at the start. These are enough, so long as they are complete and honest:
- Home: says on the first screen what you offer and to whom.
- Services: a clear page for each main service, covering what the customer receives and how you work.
- About: who you really are and how you operate.
- Work: real projects you are able to mention.
- Contact: clear ways to reach you and a short form.
- Articles: if you can keep writing regularly.
Design for the phone first
Many visitors will arrive on a phone, so open your site on yours before you sign it off. Is the text readable without zooming? Are the buttons easy to tap? Can someone call you with a single touch? Do the images load quickly?
Help search engines understand you
Your customers search in their own language and their own words, not your company's terminology. Think about what they really type in Arabic, which may differ a lot from a literal rendering of the English term. Then check the basics:
- A title and description of its own for every page, in each language.
- Real subheadings on the page, and alternative text for images.
- An up-to-date sitemap that tells search engines about your pages.
Make contact easy
Never make visitors hunt for a way to reach you. Keep the contact button in plain sight and the form short, asking only for what you need to start the conversation. Then decide who receives enquiries and answers them, because the finest website is no use if its requests go unanswered. Take specialist advice when writing your terms and privacy policy, rather than copying them from another site.
Keep it alive after launch
A site that has not changed in years suggests the company has stopped too. Decide who updates the content, and revisit your pages regularly: services, phone numbers, team and work.
If you want a site along these lines, GenAI Web Studio from GenAI Hub gives you a website in right-to-left Arabic and in English, with pages prepared for search engines, designs in your colours and logo, and a Dashboard where your team edits and publishes content. Our team prepares the system and runs it with you.