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Shopify developer · Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Shopify stores that read right in Arabic and deliver the first time.

I build and fix Shopify stores for brands selling in Saudi Arabia and the UAE: the Arabic store, the courier behind it and the address at checkout. I run the web side of Balqees, whose Saudi store is Arabic first, so these are problems I've already solved on a live store.

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Shopify Partner · 40+ sites across seven industries

A Saudi checkout held until the customer enters a national short address, by Checkout Toolkit KSA
The Balqees Saudi store in Arabic, laid out right to left
The Balqees store in Arabic, and Checkout Toolkit KSA asking for a short address on a test checkout.

Sound familiar?

Where Gulf stores trip up

What I do

What I fix and build for Gulf stores

  • Arabic that reads right to left

    The theme takes its direction from the language. Left and right become logical CSS, arrows and sliders are mirrored, and Arabic headings get their own type. Then checkout and customer accounts are tested in Arabic on a phone.

    How RTL works on Shopify

  • Arabic and English, kept apart

    Arabic by default with English as a second layer, or the other way round. Stray English comes off the Arabic store, and every translated value is read back from Shopify.

    Fixing English on an Arabic store

  • Saudi couriers connected

    A paid order creates the waybill, books the collection and attaches the label, tracking flows back to the customer, and cash on delivery is handled. I built this for Naqel, and the same approach works for any courier with an API.

    Which couriers work with Shopify

  • A short address at checkout

    My app, Checkout Toolkit KSA, holds a Saudi checkout until a valid national short address is entered, on any Shopify plan. It's in Shopify App Store review now.

    Checkout Toolkit KSA

  • A store for each market

    Separate stores or markets for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the rest, with catalogue content moved between them: products, metafields and metaobjects, nothing dropped.

    Shopify Plus development

  • One developer for all of it

    The theme, the courier integration and checkout are handled by the same person, so nothing falls between three vendors.

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Proof

Already done on a live Gulf store

Balqees

Localisation · Custom apps · Integrations

Balqees

Running the web side of a honey brand across three Shopify storefronts — the UAE, the UK and Saudi Arabia.

  • Arabic restored from a full snapshot, and 609 rows of English removed from the Arabic store
  • An English /en layer of 2,489 values, each read back from Shopify
  • 184 metaobject entries and 1,261 product metafields moved to the Saudi store, with no dropped references
  • A Naqel integration for waybills, collection, labels, tracking and cash on delivery, in final testing
Read the Balqees case study
A Saudi short address, RUKN 2952: the incomplete code is rejected and the full one accepted

In App Store review

Checkout Toolkit KSA

Require a valid Saudi short address at checkout, so couriers can deliver the first time.

  • Checks every Saudi checkout, Shop Pay and Apple Pay included
  • Error messages in Arabic and English
  • Works on every Shopify plan
See the app

Written up from the work

Start here

Not sure what's broken? Start with a fixed-price audit.

A full review of your store, written up as fixes ranked by impact and effort. On a Gulf store that includes the Arabic store, right to left, and what checkout asks for in the address.

Fixed price, agreed before I start

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What's included

  • Theme and code review.
  • An app review: what's installed, what's unused, and what each one costs in speed.
  • Navigation, collection, product and cart UX.
  • Checkout, shipping and payment setup.
  • SEO basics and structured data.
  • A written report with fixes ranked by impact and effort.

Questions

Do you work with stores in Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

Yes. I run the web side of Balqees, which has Shopify stores in the UAE, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and all my work is done remotely from Karachi. My working day overlaps fully with the Gulf, and calls are on Google Meet or WhatsApp.

Can my store be Arabic by default, with English as well?

Yes. The Balqees Saudi store is Arabic first, with English at /en. Shopify gives each language its own address, the theme takes its direction from the language, and the work is making sure each version shows only its own language.

My store is translated but still reads left to right. Do I need a new theme?

Usually not. Shopify reports the right direction for Arabic, but most themes have CSS, icons, sliders and drawers that assume the page starts on the left. Fixing those is Liquid and CSS work in the theme you already have.

Which Saudi couriers can you connect to Shopify?

SMSA has an official Shopify app and Naqel has its own plugin. Aramex, SPL and J&T have no Saudi Shopify app, so they connect through an aggregator such as OTO or a custom integration with the courier's API. I built the Naqel integration for Balqees.

Do Saudi customers need a short address at checkout?

Yes. Since 1 January 2026, delivery companies in Saudi Arabia have to refuse parcels without a national short address, and Shopify's checkout has no field for it. My app, Checkout Toolkit KSA, holds a Saudi checkout until a valid code is entered. It's in Shopify App Store review now.

How much does it cost?

Every job gets a fixed price after a short call and a written scope, whether it's a full Arabic store or a single courier integration. If you'd rather start small, the audit has a fixed price.

Tell me what your Gulf store needs.

Book a 20-minute call, or send a WhatsApp message with your store's URL. I reply within one business day.

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