What shapes a website for the Qatari market
In Qatar a website often has two readers at once: the person who needs your service, and the person who has to approve you as a supplier. The second reader is the one most sites forget.
| Topic | What it means for your website | Decide early |
|---|---|---|
| Who reads the site | Large buyers and government bodies ask suppliers to register and prequalify. Their staff look for a company profile, registrations, capabilities, safety and quality policies and a record of past work | Which credentials are public, and which are sent on request |
| Two languages | English is the shared language of business and reaches most residents. Arabic is the official language and is expected by government bodies and by Qatari customers. Each version needs its own writing, not a word-for-word copy | The default language, and who writes and approves the Arabic |
| Domain | The .qa domain is run by the Qatar Domains Registry under the communications regulator and is registered through accredited registrars. Some categories, such as .com.qa, are meant for entities registered in Qatar | Which address you qualify for, and whose name it is registered in |
| Selling or taking payment online | A 2026 decision of the commerce ministry set up a licence for selling online without physical premises. Licence holders show their commercial registration number, licence number and customer service contacts on the site. Local debit cards work only with payment providers that support the national network | Whether the site sells, and what your licence and provider require |
| Forms and personal data | Enquiry, careers and newsletter forms collect personal data. The privacy law expects a stated purpose, and prior consent before marketing messages are sent by electronic means | What each form asks for, and where the answers go |
| Hosting and speed | Most visits come from phones. A marketing site needs fast delivery to visitors in Qatar, and cloud regions inside the country exist for cases where a contract asks for data to stay there | Whether any client or sector rule limits where form data is stored |
Journeys we build into websites for Qatar
A corporate site earns its place when the right person finds the right proof and gets in touch. These four journeys cover most of that work.
Enterprise enquiry in two languages
For companies whose enquiries come from procurement teams, partners and the public alike.
- Visitor finds a capability page
- Chooses the type of enquiry
- Writes in Arabic or English
- Enquiry reaches the right department
- Acknowledgment sent in the same language
- Logged with its source
Prequalification pack request
For contractors and suppliers asked for the same documents by every new client.
- Buyer opens the credentials page
- Requests the full pack
- Company details captured
- Pack released after a quick check
- Sales follow up
Project reference pages
For firms whose best argument is the work they have delivered.
- Marketing drafts a project page
- Client permission confirmed
- English and Arabic versions prepared
- Published under its sector
- Linked from the matching service page
Careers applications
For employers hiring from inside and outside Qatar.
- Vacancy published
- Candidate applies with a CV
- Consent recorded
- HR notified
- Application kept for a set period, then deleted
What we build
Bilingual corporate design
English and Arabic layouts designed together, each with type and spacing chosen for its script, so neither reads as a translation.
Credentials sections
Registrations, policies, capabilities and project records organized the way a prequalification reviewer reads them.
Enquiry routing
Forms that ask what the visitor needs, send the message to the right team and record where it came from.
Content management
A CMS your team can run, with paired English and Arabic pages and an approval step before anything is published.
Search foundations
Page structure, language tagging and structured data, so each language version is found by the people searching in it.
Redesign and migration
Moving an older site without losing its search positions, as laid out in our website redesign planning checklist.
What we need from you
- Your commercial registration and any licences the site should show
- The company profile and prequalification documents you send today
- Project references you have permission to publish
- English and Arabic content, or a writer for each
- The departments that receive enquiries, and a contact in each
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
A readiness checklist for a website in Qatar
Before design starts
0 of 8 checkedWhat to do next
Tell us who the site has to convince, which documents buyers ask you for and what you have online today. We will reply with a structure, the pages to build first and how the two languages would be handled. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Writing the brief yourself? Our guide to writing a website project brief gives the headings to fill in.
Common questions
Should a website in Qatar lead with English or Arabic?
Follow your audience. English reaches most residents and is the usual language between companies, so many business sites open in it. Arabic is expected by government bodies and matters to Qatari customers, and a site aimed at them should open in Arabic. Whichever leads, build the other as a full version with its own writing. A thin second language is noticed at once.
Do we need a .qa domain?
No rule obliges a business to use one, and many companies in Qatar use .com. A .qa address signals that the business is established in the country. It is registered through accredited registrars under the Qatar Domains Registry, and some categories are reserved for locally registered entities. Check the registry's current policy, and register whichever name you choose under your company's name.
Can our website sell or take payments in Qatar?
It can, once the commercial side is in place. Selling online is a licensed activity, and a 2026 ministerial decision added a licence for businesses without physical premises, whose holders display their registration and licence numbers and customer service contacts on the site. You also need a payment provider, and should confirm that it accepts local debit cards. Take advice on the licence before design begins.
Does our website's data have to be hosted in Qatar?
For a marketing site, usually not as a matter of general law. Speed for visitors in Qatar matters most, and a content delivery network takes care of that. The question changes when the site stores personal data or serves a client whose contract requires data to stay in the country. Cloud regions in Qatar make that possible. Your contracts and your adviser decide.
Where to go from here
Related serviceWebsite DesignWebsites designed as studio projects, with concept work to browse