The verdict in three sentences
A trilingual French, Arabic, English corporate website for a holding with 5 subsidiaries costs between 180,000 and 450,000 MAD excl. VAT in 2026 (about 16,500 to 41,000 EUR), with a timeline of 4 to 6 months. Arabic RTL adds 15 to 25% to the development budget, because every template, table, form and directional icon must be mirrored and tested. What saves or wastes weeks every year is the translation workflow: translation memory, per-language approval and independent publishing of each version.
The problem: news held back by the slowest language
In many holdings, a news item (half-year results, appointment, new subsidiary) waits until all three versions are ready. The Arabic version, often handled by an external translator, arrives 3 to 5 days after the French. As a result, the press picks up the story from a release, not from your website.
A well-configured CMS fixes this:
- Per-language publishing: the French version goes live once approved, Arabic and English follow with a "translation in progress" status.
- Translation memory: recurring terms (subsidiary names, job titles, legal notices) are paid for once.
- Approved glossary from the communications department for Modern Standard Arabic.
- Distinct roles: writer, translator, per-language approver, publisher.
- Alerts when a source version changes after translation.
2026 cost: the line items of a trilingual corporate site
Indicative 2026 ranges in Morocco, excluding VAT:
| Item | Indicative budget | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Holding site + 5 subsidiary pages (headless CMS) | 180,000 to 450,000 MAD | Depends on custom design and volume |
| Arabic RTL surcharge (mirrored templates, testing) | 15 to 25% of development | About 25,000 to 90,000 MAD |
| Initial professional translation (40,000 words, 2 languages) | 96,000 to 160,000 MAD | 1.2 to 2 MAD per word per language |
| Editorial workflow and translation memory setup | 20,000 to 50,000 MAD | Roles, statuses, alerts |
| Licensed Arabic web typeface | 3,000 to 15,000 MAD | Or free fonts such as Noto or IBM Plex Arabic |
| Hosting, CDN and security | 1,500 to 5,000 MAD/month | 99.9% uptime |
| Maintenance and editorial support | 4,000 to 12,000 MAD/month | Depends on service level |
For comparison, Kolonell prices this kind of project as a medium-complexity custom application, 4 M to 7 M FCFA, or 6,100 to 10,670 EUR, excluding translation, with maintenance at 50 to 180 EUR per month.
What RTL actually changes
| Element | In French or English (LTR) | In Arabic (RTL) | Extra effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | Left to right | Full mirror, menu on the right | CSS logical properties, test every template |
| Numerals | Western digits | To decide: 0-9 or Eastern Arabic digits | Editorial decision to document |
| Financial tables | Columns left to right | Reversed columns, aligned amounts | Manual review of annual reports |
| Directional icons | Arrows pointing right | Reversed arrows | 20 to 40 icons to check |
| Mixed content | Simple | Latin names inside Arabic text | Bidirectional text handling |
| Text length | Reference | 20 to 30% shorter or longer | Flexible templates |
The most frequent RTL defects found in testing: carousels scrolling the wrong way, reversed phone numbers, and forms whose error messages stay left-aligned.
Mini case study
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Illustrative scenario: Salma, communications director of a holding with 5 subsidiaries in Rabat, publishes 60 news items a year of 500 words each. Without translation memory, she pays for 60,000 words a year in Arabic and English at 1.6 MAD, or 96,000 MAD. With a translation memory reusing an average of 25% of segments, the bill drops to 72,000 MAD, saving 24,000 MAD a year. Per-language publishing also cuts the Arabic go-live delay from 4 days to 1. A 40,000 MAD workflow module pays for itself in under 2 years on translation alone.
FAQ
How much does adding Arabic to an existing site cost?
Allow 15 to 25% of the original development cost for RTL adaptation, plus translation at 1.2 to 2 MAD per word. If the site does not use CSS logical properties, a partial rebuild is often cheaper than retrofitting.
Machine translation then review?
For routine news, machine translation followed by professional review costs 0.5 to 0.9 MAD per word. For financial reports and regulatory documents, full human translation remains recommended.
Which CMS handles Arabic and multi-level workflows well?
Headless CMSs such as Sanity or Strapi manage per-language fields and approval statuses. The front end must be designed RTL from day one, whatever the CMS.
What timeline?
4 to 6 months for a holding with 5 subsidiaries, including 6 to 8 weeks for initial translation and approval. The Arabic version must be tested by a native speaker.
Do we need an Amazigh version?
It is not a legal requirement for a private company in 2026, but some holdings add it on institutional pages. Allow 10,000 to 30,000 MAD for a few key pages.
Let's scope your project. Send us your holding's site structure and publishing volumes: we will price a trilingual corporate site with Arabic RTL and a translation workflow, budget 6,100 to 10,670 EUR excluding translation, delivered in 4 to 6 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
