What "bilingual" should include
Adding Arabic is not the same as adding a language switcher. A site that works for Arabic readers needs:
- Right-to-left layouts. Navigation, columns, icons and forms mirrored, not just the text aligned right.
- Arabic typography. A typeface designed for Arabic, sized and spaced for it; Latin fonts fall back to whatever the phone has.
- Translated content, not machine output. Headlines, buttons and forms written for an Arabic reader.
- Its own pages. Separate Arabic URLs, marked up so Google shows the Arabic page to Arabic searchers.
- Arabic in the parts that convert. Booking flows, WhatsApp messages, confirmation emails and error messages.
What it costs
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Bilingual business website, build | about 8,000–25,000 |
| Website and marketing translation | about 0.40–0.80 per word |
| Translating a 2,000-word site | about 800–1,600 |
Market ranges from the published guides listed under Sources, not Brisk's prices.
Arabic also affects running costs: every later change has to be made, and checked, in both languages. Budget for that if you update the site often. For the overall picture, see what a website costs in Dubai.
Is Arabic worth it?
If your customers search or browse in Arabic — clinics, real estate, car rental and government-facing services often find they do — an English-only site loses them at the first screen. If your buyers are almost all English-speaking, starting in English and adding Arabic later is a reasonable way to spread the cost, as long as the site is built so Arabic can be added without a rebuild.
Where Brisk fits
Brisk plans Arabic in from the start when a site needs it, with right-to-left layout through the booking and enquiry flows rather than a translation added afterwards. Ask for a free homepage mockup to see what yours would look like.
Sources
Ranges are rounded from these published guides and price lists, and reviewed as of the date at the top of this page.