Opening an online store in Arabic is not the same as translating a store built for English. Customers notice quickly when a checkout reads backwards, a search finds nothing because of one letter, or a courier can't find the house.
Here is a practical checklist, from what we learned building Basmti, an Arabic store for personalised children's books.
1. Right-to-left, all the way to the receipt
The product pages are the easy part. Check the parts people skip: the cart, the checkout form, error messages, order emails, the receipt and the WhatsApp message a customer gets. Prices, phone numbers and order numbers must stay readable inside Arabic text, with the shekel sign in the right place.
2. Payments people here already use
Take cards through a payment provider that supports shekels and Israeli cards, and consider the options your customers already use, such as Bit or payment on delivery. Show the full price, including delivery, before the last step. A surprise at checkout is where carts get left behind.
3. Addresses a courier can find
In many towns, an address has no street name or house number a courier can rely on. Don't force a format that doesn't fit. Ask for the town, a free-text field for directions or a landmark, and a phone number, and let customers drop a pin on a map if you can. Agree with your delivery company which towns they cover before you promise delivery everywhere.
4. WhatsApp next to the "Buy" button
Many customers want to ask one question before they pay. A WhatsApp button that opens a chat with the product name already written can save that sale. After the order, a WhatsApp confirmation is often read faster than an email.
5. Search that understands Arabic spelling
People type the same word in different ways: ة or ه, أ or إ or ا, ى or ي, with or without diacritics. If your search treats these as different letters, customers see "no results" for products you have. Normalise the letters before searching, and test with real customer spellings, including Arabic words typed in Latin letters.
6. Receipts and the legal basics
In Israel, every sale needs a receipt or a tax invoice. Connect the store to your invoicing service so each paid order gets one automatically, in the customer's language if the service allows it. Most commercial websites also have to meet Israel's accessibility regulations, including an accessibility statement, so plan for it from the start.
7. Product pages that answer questions
Good photos, sizes or ages, delivery time, and what happens if something arrives damaged. For personalised products, let people see their version early: on Basmti, parents type the child's name and choose boy or girl before they browse, so every book they see is already made for their child.
8. Built for phones first
Most shoppers will see your store on a phone, often on a slower connection. Keep pages light, buttons big and forms short, and test the whole purchase on a real phone, in Arabic, before you launch.
9. A way to buy in bulk
Schools, kindergartens and companies buy in groups. A simple form for group orders, or a discount code for larger orders, opens sales you would otherwise handle one message at a time.
A short checklist before launch
- Place a test order on a phone, from search to receipt, in Arabic
- Check prices, phone numbers and order numbers in every message
- Try search with three spellings of your best-selling product
- Make sure delivery towns and costs are clear before checkout
- Confirm every paid order creates a receipt
- Publish your accessibility statement
How we build stores
We build stores in Arabic and English from the first screen, with right-to-left done properly and the payment, delivery and invoicing pieces connected. If you're planning one, book a free 30-minute call. We'll go through this list with you and send a fixed quote within 48 hours.
