Launching properly, once, beats relaunching twice
Most of the pain we see with UAE websites happens after launch: a domain that doesn't render the trade licence properly, a VAT line that's wrong, an Arabic page nobody proofread, or analytics that were never connected so the first three months of traffic are simply gone. This checklist is the one we work through before any site goes live. Some of it is technical, some of it is regulatory housekeeping — for the regulatory points, treat this as a starting checklist, not legal advice, and confirm current requirements with the relevant UAE authority or your advisor before launch.
Domain and naming
- Decide between a .ae domain and a .com. A .ae domain signals a UAE presence clearly and is worth it for most local businesses; .com is more familiar to international visitors and easier if you plan to expand outside the UAE.
- Registering a .ae domain generally requires supporting documents (trade licence, Emirates ID or passport) via an accredited registrar — build in a few extra days for this step.
- Buy the obvious misspellings and the alternate extension if budget allows, and redirect them to your main domain rather than leaving them unclaimed.
Hosting and speed for GCC visitors
- Choose hosting with a server location in or near the region, or a CDN with edge nodes covering the Middle East, so pages load quickly for local visitors rather than routing every request through Europe or the US.
- Test load speed from an actual UAE mobile connection, not just an office network — this is where slow sites get caught out.
- Confirm your host or platform can handle traffic spikes around campaigns or Ramadan/Eid promotional periods without the site slowing down or falling over.
Content rules and where to check them
UAE content regulation is handled primarily by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), alongside general UAE media and cybercrime law. Before launch, it's worth checking TDRA's current published guidance directly, since requirements and enforcement priorities are updated periodically. As a general rule, avoid content that could be considered defamatory, avoid unverified health or financial claims, and be careful with content touching religion, politics, or public morality. If your business is in a regulated sector — health, finance, legal, education — check whether your sector regulator has additional website content requirements on top of general TDRA rules.
VAT display and invoicing basics
- If you're VAT-registered, prices shown to consumers are generally expected to be inclusive of the current 5% VAT rate, with the total clearly stated — check the Federal Tax Authority's current guidance for the exact wording expected in your sector.
- Any invoices generated or downloadable from your site should include your TRN (Tax Registration Number), a clear VAT breakdown, and the other fields the FTA specifies for a valid tax invoice.
- If you sell to both UAE and international customers, be clear on the site about how pricing and VAT differ, so buyers aren't surprised at checkout.
Trade licence and contact details
- Display your trade licence number and issuing authority somewhere reachable from every page, typically the footer — this is both good practice for buyer trust and something UAE consumer protection guidance generally expects of commercial websites.
- Include a real physical address, a working phone number, and an email address that's actually monitored. A contact form alone, with no other way to reach you, reads as evasive to UAE customers used to being able to call a business directly.
Privacy policy and consent
- Publish a privacy policy that explains what data you collect, why, and how long you keep it, aligned with the UAE's Federal Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) if you handle personal data of UAE residents.
- If you use cookies for analytics or advertising, a simple consent notice on first visit is good practice even where not strictly mandated for your specific business type — check current PDPL guidance for your sector.
- Keep the privacy policy in plain language rather than a copy-pasted template from another jurisdiction; mismatched references to laws that don't apply here undermine trust rather than building it.
Arabic and RTL: decide deliberately
- Decide early whether you need a full Arabic version, a partial one (key pages only), or none for now — this affects information architecture, not just translation, so it's expensive to bolt on later.
- If you do add Arabic, budget for proper translation and a right-to-left layout review, not machine translation dropped into an unmodified template. Poorly executed Arabic pages often do more damage to credibility than having no Arabic page at all.
- Government, healthcare, and education-adjacent businesses should check whether Arabic content is a specific requirement for their sector rather than a nice-to-have.
Payment gateway options
- Popular options for UAE businesses include Stripe, Telr, Network International, and PayTabs, each with different fee structures and settlement currencies — compare based on your typical transaction size and whether you need multi-currency support.
- Confirm the gateway supports the card types and local payment methods your customers actually use, and that checkout works cleanly on mobile, since most UAE online purchases now happen on phones.
- Test a full live transaction, including the refund flow, before relying on the gateway for real customer payments.
Analytics and Search Console
- Install analytics (Google Analytics 4 or a privacy-respecting alternative) before launch, not after, so you have baseline data from day one.
- Verify the domain in Google Search Console and submit a sitemap immediately at launch, so indexing starts as early as possible rather than weeks later.
- Set up basic conversion tracking — form submissions, WhatsApp clicks, calls, purchases — so you can tell which pages are actually generating business.
Email deliverability
- Configure SPF, DKIM, and ideally DMARC records for your domain before sending any marketing or transactional email from it. Without these, a meaningful share of your emails will land in spam, including order confirmations customers are waiting for.
- Test a real email from your new domain to a Gmail and an Outlook address before launch and check it lands in the inbox, not spam.
Accessibility and mobile testing
- Check colour contrast, font sizes, and tap-target sizes on an actual phone screen, not just a desktop browser resized smaller.
- Make sure forms are usable with a mobile keyboard — correct input types for phone numbers and email fields save real friction.
- Test with a screen reader on at least your homepage and contact page; basic accessibility fixes are usually quick and benefit every visitor, not only those using assistive technology.
Pre-launch QA
- Test every form end-to-end, including what happens after submission (confirmation message, email received, lead landing in your inbox or CRM).
- Click every link and menu item on both desktop and mobile.
- Check the site on the actual browsers your customers use — for UAE audiences that usually means Safari on iPhone alongside Chrome.
- Proofread Arabic and English copy separately; don't assume a translation pass caught everything.
- Confirm the trade licence number, VAT/TRN details, and contact information are current and correctly spelt.
Post-launch maintenance
A launched site isn't a finished project. Plug-ins, platforms, and security patches need regular attention, broken links accumulate as listings or offers change, and content needs refreshing to stay relevant. If you don't have someone in-house to own this, a monthly care plan that covers updates, backups, and small content changes is usually cheaper than the cost of an outage or a stale, out-of-date site. Our pricing page covers what's included in ongoing care plans alongside the initial build cost.
Ready to launch properly?
If you'd rather hand this checklist to a team that runs through it on every project, get started here and we'll scope your launch — domain, build, and the compliance basics — in one conversation rather than piecing it together yourself.