Bilingual & Arabic-first websites

Area: Website & E-Commerce Development · Usual shape: bilingual build, or repair of an existing side · Languages: Arabic and English

Most "bilingual" sites are an English site with an Arabic version added, and it shows immediately: broken direction, type that does not suit Arabic, missing content. We build both languages as one system — direction is part of the architecture, the Arabic face is chosen and measured, the content is matched — and this site is itself the example of what that means.

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What this solves

The Arabic version is obviously a translation, and the layout breaks in it.
The English side is incomplete and quietly out of date.
Switching language throws the reader back to the home page.
Numbers, dates and mixed-direction lines come out rearranged.

What we build

One content model serving both languages, so neither can drift.
A direction architecture built on logical properties rather than duplicated rules.
An Arabic face chosen deliberately, with its line height set per size.
A language switch that keeps the reader on the same page.
Per-page metadata and locale alternates in both languages.
Correct handling of numerals, dates and mixed-direction runs.
Editorial review of both languages, not a proofread of one.
Visual verification of every page in both directions before handover.

Where it is used

An English site that needs a real Arabic side rather than a translated one.
An Arabic site whose English version is an afterthought.
An organisation addressing both audiences equally.
Content that has to stay matched across both with every update.

What this does not include

Translation as a standalone service is not what we offer.
No certified or legal translation.
More than two languages is wider work, agreed separately.
We do not promise matched text lengths between the languages — that is something designed for, not promised.

How the work goes

We look at what breaks in the existing Arabic side, specifically, before proposing anything.
We agree one content model that both languages sit on.
We design and build both directions together rather than mirroring one afterwards.
We check every page in both directions before handover.

Corporate & marketing websites
when the site itself does not exist yet.
Website rebuild & migration
when the whole site needs replacing, not only its Arabic side.
Product & app interface design
when the screens themselves need designing in both scripts.
Design systems & component libraries
when several products need the same bilingual vocabulary.

Questions about this service

Do you translate the content, or do we supply it?

You supply it, and we review both languages editorially. Translation as a service is not what we offer, and a site whose Arabic was produced mechanically reads exactly like one.

What if the Arabic runs longer than the English?

It usually does, and that is a design constraint rather than a surprise. Layouts are built to hold both lengths instead of being tuned to one and patched for the other.

Can the Arabic side be fixed without rebuilding the site?

Sometimes. It depends on whether direction was built into the structure or bolted on. We look first and tell you which, because the answer changes the size of the work considerably.

Which language is the default?

Yours to decide, and it is a real decision rather than a setting. We will ask who the site is primarily for, and the answer shapes more than a toggle.

How do you handle numerals and dates?

Deliberately, and it is agreed in the scope. A phone number is a dialling sequence rather than prose, and it should not be rearranged by the direction of the paragraph it sits in.

Tell us which language is failing you, and where.

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