Effective Digital Transformation for Saudi Businesses
Key improvements included:
- Including preferred Saudi transaction options like Mada
- Reducing location information for Saudi locations
- Providing Arabic language support throughout the transaction experience
- Displaying delivery estimates specific to Saudi areas
This involved:
- Visible display of Saudi location information
- Inclusion of local financial services like Mada
- Comprehensive exchange processes with regional specifics
- Arabic customer service availability
For a digital service, we discovered that their English content was considerably stronger than their Arabic content. After enhancing their local language standards, they saw a significant increase in sales from Arabic-speaking visitors.
- Reorganized the application process to align with right-to-left user expectations
- Built a dual-language data entry process with smart language changing
- Enhanced touch interfaces for one-handed Arabic text entry
A fashion retailer saw a substantial improvement in mobile conversion after implementing these improvements:
- Reduced form fields
- Easy-to-touch buttons
- Simplified checkout process
- Reduced waiting times
Our research has revealed that Saudi users particularly value these trust signals:
- Physical presence details
- Local authorization badges
- Clear refund procedures
- SAR costs with full transportation fees
A few weeks ago, I was advising a prominent e-commerce platform that had invested over 200,000 SAR on a beautiful website that was performing terribly. The issue? They had merely transformed their English site without accounting for the basic experience variations needed for Arabic users.
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Locate the most critical content in the right upper corner of the page
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Organize information segments to flow from right to left and top to bottom
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Apply heavier visual weight on the right side of symmetrical layouts
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Verify that pointing icons (such as arrows) orient in the correct direction for RTL designs
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Distinctly indicate which language should be used in each form element
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Dynamically switch keyboard layout based on field requirements
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Locate field labels to the right of their associated inputs
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Verify that validation messages appear in the same language as the expected input
If you're creating or redesigning a website for the Saudi market, I urge working with designers who genuinely comprehend the complexities of Arabic user experience rather than merely translating Western designs.
- Relocated product images to the left side, with product information and purchase buttons on the right side
- Modified the product gallery to progress from right to left
- Implemented a custom Arabic typeface that maintained clarity at various scales
Assisting an electronics retailer, we identified that their typical purchase process was creating needless difficulties for Saudi users. After executing tailored improvements, their purchase cancellation rate dropped by over a third.
Key considerations:
- Involving spiritual guides in evolution planning
- Honoring religious periods in execution programs
- Developing traditionally respectful training initiatives
- Emphasizing alignment with Saudi goals
Through comprehensive research for a cuisine platform company, we found that promotions shown between evening hours significantly exceeded those presented during traditional optimal periods, achieving 163% higher conversion rates.
- Use fonts specially created for Arabic on-screen viewing (like Boutros) rather than classic print fonts
- Increase line spacing by 150-175% for enhanced readability
- Set right-justified text (never Middle East UX Best Practices-aligned for body text)
- Stay away from condensed Arabic typefaces that reduce the unique letter shapes
Helping a healthcare provider, we changed their reading-intensive wellness content into visual storytelling with infographics. This approach improved their material readership by two hundred nineteen percent.
For a investment client, we developed a online platform that skillfully combined international standards with locally relevant design elements. This approach increased their visitor trust by ninety-seven percent and applications by seventy-four percent.
For a financial services company, we created a information campaign about generational wealth that incorporated Islamic financial principles. This content outperformed their former standard investment tips by four hundred seventeen percent in interaction.
In my recent project for a banking company in Riyadh, we discovered that users were repeatedly clicking the wrong navigation items. Our user testing demonstrated that their attention naturally moved from right to left, but the main navigation elements were located with a left-to-right importance.
Recently, an web retailer was experiencing a dismal 0.8% conversion rate despite significant site users. After executing the techniques I'm about to discuss, their sales percentage improved to 3.7%, generating a three hundred sixty-two percent growth in sales.