A few days ago, a company director expressed frustration that his online presence was costing massive amounts of riyals with little performance. After reviewing his tactics, I pinpointed multiple critical errors that are extremely typical among Saudi businesses.
A beauty brand transitioned from numerous one-time partnerships to sustained relationships with fewer influencers, resulting in a one hundred sixty-four percent improvement in purchases and a 43% reduction in promotion spending.
Helping a restaurant chain, we created a technique where influencers genuinely incorporated products into their normal activities rather than producing obvious advertisements. This approach resulted in engagement rates 218% better than traditional promotional material.
- Realigning CTA buttons to the right-hand portion of forms and interfaces
- Restructuring content prioritization to progress from right to left
- Redesigning clickable components to align with the right-to-left viewing pattern
A few months ago, a skincare retailer invested 300,000 SAR in conventional marketing with limited outcomes. After moving just 25% of that investment to social collaborations, Westzoneimmigrations.Com they experienced a dramatic growth in sales.
Last quarter, a retail chain allocated over 200,000 SAR in conventional advertising with minimal returns. After transitioning just 30% of that spending to handheld promotion, they saw a 328% increase in customer arrivals.
Important elements:
- Classical vs. colloquial Arabic employment
- Regional dialect differences fitting for the prospective customers
- Honorifics application representing appropriate deference
- Faith-based expressions used with sensitivity
- Figures of speech that resonate with local culture
Key timing insights:
- After worship times offering interaction possibilities
- Late evening usage spikes considerably more than global norms
- Weekend behaviors notably varied from business hour engagement
- Seasonal variations during Ramadan necessitating customized strategies
- School schedule impacts on particular audiences
After considerable time of disappointing performance despite substantial marketing investments, their optimized engagement approach generated a two hundred seventy-six percent improvement in interaction and a 143% growth in sales.
In my latest project for a investment company in Riyadh, we found that users were consistently selecting the wrong navigation items. Our behavior analysis showed that their attention naturally flowed from right to left, but the main navigation items were located with a left-to-right importance.
Important platform discoveries:
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WhatsApp as primary engagement platforms UI/UX for Middle Eastern markets client support
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Temporary content performing remarkably successfully for specific segments
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Motion content consumption at significantly higher amounts than global averages
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Twitter substantial impact on social conversation
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Instagram notably successful for aspirational businesses
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Place the most essential content in the right upper section of the viewport
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Structure information segments to flow from right to left and top to bottom
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Use heavier visual importance on the right side of equal designs
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Ensure that indicating icons (such as arrows) point in the appropriate direction for RTL layouts
Essential graphic components to assess:
- Proper portrayal of individuals honoring traditional values
- Tone decisions with awareness of traditional meaning
- Architecture and settings that connect with Saudi identity
- Attention to details that show local knowledge
- Heritage designs integrated appropriately
As someone who has developed over 30 Arabic websites in the last half-decade, I can tell you that applying Western UX practices to Arabic interfaces simply doesn't work. The unique characteristics of Arabic script and Saudi user behaviors require a totally unique approach.
Recently, I was advising a large e-commerce company that had poured over 200,000 SAR on a impressive website that was converting poorly. The problem? They had just converted their English site without addressing the fundamental UX differences needed for Arabic users.
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Choose fonts specifically designed for Arabic digital display (like Dubai) rather than traditional print fonts
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Expand line leading by 150-175% for improved readability
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Implement right-justified text (never center-aligned for primary copy)
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Stay away from condensed Arabic fonts that compromise the unique letter forms
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Restructured the form flow to align with right-to-left cognitive patterns
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Built a Arabic-English form system with smart language changing
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Optimized touch interfaces for right-handed Arabic typing
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Relocated product visuals to the left portion, with product specifications and purchase buttons on the right-hand side
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Adjusted the photo slider to move from right to left
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Implemented a custom Arabic typeface that maintained clarity at various scales
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Distinctly indicate which language should be used in each input field
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Intelligently switch keyboard language based on field expectations
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Position form text to the right side of their connected inputs
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Confirm that system feedback appear in the same language as the required input