A few months ago, a shop network allocated over 200,000 SAR in traditional marketing with underwhelming returns. After transitioning just 30% of that budget to smartphone advertising, they achieved a 328% growth in store visits.
If you're building or revamping a website for the Saudi market, I urge working with professionals who genuinely comprehend the nuances of Arabic user experience rather than simply translating Western layouts.
Someone I know who runs a eatery in Riyadh at first was shocked at the additional 12,000 SAR for an online reservation system, but afterward mentioned me it became profitable within a quarter by cutting personnel resources spent on phone reservations.
For a investment client, we developed a content series about household money management that featured Shariah-compliant approaches. This content outperformed their previous standard investment tips by 417% in interaction.
For a 360 Digital agency service, we discovered that their foreign language material was substantially higher quality than their native information. After upgrading their local language standards, they experienced a significant improvement in sales from Arabic-speaking users.
For a high-end retailer, we discovered that Snapchat and Instagram substantially outperformed Meta for connection and purchases, leading to a intentional redistribution of effort that enhanced complete effectiveness by one hundred sixty-seven percent.
Last quarter, a local business contacted me after using over 120,000 SAR on international SEO services with disappointing returns. After executing a customized Saudi-focused ranking approach, they saw first-page rankings for twenty-three high-value keywords within just 90 days.
Today's network preferences in Saudi Arabia:
- Visual platform: Dominant for lifestyle brands
* Snapchat: Highly effective with younger demographics - Twitter: Substantial for news and community dialogue
- TikTok: Rapidly growing notably with Gen Z audiences
- Professional platform: Valuable for business-to-business messaging
Rather than fixating solely on finding the lowest price, consider the possible results that a superior website will deliver for your business. A professionally created site is an advantage that will keep generating returns for years to come.
During a recent business networking in Riyadh, I questioned 17 company managers about their web design experiences. The budget spectrum was surprising – from 2,500 SAR for a basic site to over 150,000 SAR for advanced e-commerce platforms.
In my latest project for a investment company in Riyadh, we observed that users were frequently clicking the wrong navigation options. Our behavior competitive landscape analysis demonstrated that their attention naturally moved from right to left, but the main navigation elements were placed with a left-to-right emphasis.
I remember the astonishment on my brother-in-law's face when he received a quote for 75K SAR for his company website. "It's just a website!" he shouted. Not long after, he ultimately with a inexpensive 3,000 SAR site that looked terrible and didn't attract a single lead.
- Position the most critical content in the top-right section of the viewport
- Organize page sections to flow from right to left and top to bottom
- Apply more prominent visual weight on the right side of symmetrical designs
- Verify that pointing icons (such as arrows) direct in the correct direction for RTL designs
My cousin Ahmad at first chose the least expensive offer for his corporate website, only to realize later that it didn't include content creation – causing an unforeseen 8,000 SAR charge for expert copywriting.
I toured a web design studio in Jeddah last week where they displayed me the contrast between their themed and unique projects. The aesthetic difference was clearly noticeable – the bespoke sites appeared clearly more refined and memorable.
Last month, my colleague Nora obtained quotes spanning 22,000 to 58,000 SAR for virtually the same business website. The disparity? The more expensive quotes featured bespoke design features rather than template-based approaches.
- Repositioning CTA buttons to the right area of forms and interfaces
- Rethinking information hierarchy to move from right to left
- Redesigning user controls to match the right-to-left viewing pattern
A few weeks ago, I was helping a major e-commerce business that had invested over 200,000 SAR on a stunning website that was performing terribly. The reason? They had just converted their English site without accounting for the basic experience variations needed for Arabic users.
- Restructured the form flow to match right-to-left cognitive patterns
- Developed a dual-language data entry process with smart language switching
- Optimized mobile interactions for one-handed Arabic typing
- Distinctly mark which language should be used in each form element
- Automatically switch keyboard layout based on field requirements
- Locate input descriptions to the right-hand side of their corresponding inputs
- Confirm that validation messages appear in the same language as the expected input