Web Design and Development UAE: Bilingual Arabic-English Sites That Convert, With RTL Done Properly
Most UAE websites are English sites with an Arabic page bolted on: a machine translation, a layout that breaks when the text runs right to left, a WhatsApp number in the footer and a checkout that stops at cards. The Arabic-reading half of the market leaves, the licence and TRN details a UAE buyer looks for are missing, and the page loads from a server in Frankfurt.
We build UAE sites from the enquiry or order backward and in both languages from the first wireframe. Every build starts with a review of the current site, is built on WordPress or Shopify with right-to-left templates designed rather than mirrored, carries the trade licence, TRN and regulator details your sector’s buyers check, takes Tabby, Tamara and cards, routes enquiries to WhatsApp with tracking, is hosted with a UAE edge and migrated with every URL mapped. Pricing is in AED excluding VAT, with the SEO foundation included. The build types are listed below.
Which UAE build fits your situation
Match the row to what your current site is failing to do; the free review confirms the scope and an AED estimate.
| If this is you | Start with |
|---|---|
| Service business with traffic but few enquiries, no Arabic, WhatsApp untracked | Website conversion design UAE: rebuilt templates in both languages, WhatsApp and form tracking |
| Retailer on Shopify competing with Noon and Amazon.ae, losing orders at checkout | Shopify design with category architecture, Tabby, Tamara and card checkout, Aramex and Fetchr delivery promise |
| Company whose Arabic site is a translation with a broken layout | Bilingual rebuild with native Arabic content, RTL templates and hreflang |
| Company on an old WordPress theme or page builder hosted outside the region | WordPress rebuild on a lean theme with UAE-edge hosting, content migrated and redirects mapped |
| Store replatforming from Magento, WooCommerce or a marketplace-only presence | eCommerce build with an SEO migration plan so rankings survive the move |
UAE web design and development services
Each card opens a build-type page with scope, AED pricing and FAQs for UAE businesses.
More UAE web design and development pages (3)
Further UAE pages in this section. The services above are the ones most UAE clients start with; these cover narrower situations.
What a UAE website has to get right, and what each build costs
| Requirement | Why it matters in the UAE | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic done as a language, not a translation | Arabic-reading buyers leave translated pages; Google treats ar-AE as its own market | Native Arabic content, right-to-left templates designed for Arabic typography, hreflang ar-AE and en-AE, language-aware navigation and WhatsApp routing |
| Licence and TRN trust signals | UAE buyers check that a business is licensed and VAT-registered before enquiring | Trade licence number, TRN, regulator and free-zone details in the footer and on enquiry pages; Google reviews with real names |
| Payments and instalments the market uses | Tabby and Tamara buy-now-pay-later drive UAE eCommerce conversion; cash on delivery still matters | Tabby, Tamara, cards and Apple Pay through Telr, PayTabs, Checkout.com or Stripe UAE; COD rules by emirate; VAT-inclusive pricing |
| Speed from a UAE edge | Sites hosted in Europe or the US add latency on du and Etisalat networks | Hosting or CDN with a UAE or Gulf edge; Core Web Vitals measured in the field on UAE mobile |
| Data protection and the working week | Federal Decree-Law 45/2021 on personal data; Monday to Friday week; Ramadan hours | Consent and privacy notices under the PDPL, forms and tracking configured accordingly, calls on Gulf Standard Time Monday to Friday |
| SEO migration | Any rebuild risks rankings in both languages | URL map per language, 301 redirects, preserved titles and structured data, crawl before and after launch |
UAE builds are quoted in AED from the free review: conversion redesigns on an existing platform typically AED 20,000–45,000, bilingual WordPress or Shopify builds AED 40,000–120,000 depending on pages and integrations, and eCommerce replatforms by catalogue size, excluding VAT (5%). Ranges are indicative, not quotes.
Results from the same process
The result below is one documented example from the same process; the client’s name is withheld under NDA and the figures come from their analytics, not estimates.
- 6×Organic sales growth
- +180%Organic traffic
- 3 monthsTime to that result
- Jewellery retailOnline and in-store, competitive category
How we work in the United Arab Emirates
- 1Free website review (days 1–3)Conversion, speed from the UAE, Arabic coverage, trust-signal and SEO review of the current site, with the build type that fits and an AED estimate.
- 2Scope, wireframes and migration map (weeks 1–3)Templates designed from the enquiry backward in both languages, RTL wireframes, licence and TRN elements placed, URL and redirect map, payment and consent plan.
- 3Build and test (weeks 4–10)WordPress or Shopify build, native Arabic content, RTL testing, Tabby and Tamara checkout testing, Core Web Vitals field testing on du and Etisalat, WhatsApp and form tracking verified.
- 4Launch, verify and hand over (week 11 onward)Redirects live per language, crawl compared with the old site, Search Console checked for both, documentation and training handed over; optional SEO or CRO retainer from month two.
“Ren Hao SEO turned organic search into our biggest pipeline source. We finally have a channel that compounds.”
“The transparency is unlike any agency we’ve worked with. We always know what’s happening and why.”
Frequently asked questions
How much does web design cost in the UAE?
Do you build proper Arabic right-to-left sites?
Can the site take Tabby and Tamara?
Will a new site lose our Google rankings?
Do you work with UAE businesses remotely?
About this page
Written by the Ren Hao SEO team and reviewed by Ren Hao, Founder & Lead SEO Strategist (LinkedIn). Ren Hao SEO is an international SEO agency headquartered in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, serving eight country markets including the United Arab Emirates (company LinkedIn). Last substantive update: October 2026. Pricing ranges come from our UAE SEO pricing guide; the case result is documented in the linked case study. Drafting is assisted by AI tools and every page is edited and fact-checked by our team before publication; see how we create our content. For SEO after launch see SEO services UAE; for improving an existing site’s enquiries without a rebuild see CRO services UAE.