Business Law Firm Multilingual Website Cost: FR, EN and Arabic RTL (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

A business law firm courting foreign investors, whether in Dubai, London or Casablanca Finance City, can no longer rely on a single-language site with a hastily translated English page. The sensible 2026 trade-off sits between a bilingual theme-based site at 15,000 to 22,000 USD for a boutique of 3 to 5 lawyers and a custom FR/EN/Arabic site with RTL at 30,000 to 45,000 USD once the firm has several partners and publishes regularly (in Morocco, the equivalent range is 35,000 to 60,000 MAD versus 120,000 to 220,000 MAD). The most underestimated line item is legal translation, which can account for 25 to 40% of the total budget.

Bilingual theme or custom trilingual: what you are actually buying

The gap is not only about design. A WordPress theme handles right-to-left (RTL) Arabic poorly: menus flipped the wrong way, Latin typography forced on Arabic text, broken forms. A custom build plans a mirrored layout from day one, a readable Arabic typeface (IBM Plex Sans Arabic or Noto Kufi) and distinct URLs per language with hreflang tags.

For a firm advising on corporate, tax and arbitration matters for general counsel at French, Emirati or American groups, the partner page is often the first one visited. It must show bar admissions, working languages and closed deals, while respecting professional secrecy.

Legal translation and professional conduct: the two items that derail budgets

An average business law site holds 25,000 to 45,000 words once practices, profiles and ten publications are written. Translating that into English and then Arabic with a specialist legal translator quickly costs more than building a theme-based site.

In London and Dubai, specialist legal translators often charge 0.20 to 0.30 USD per word, so budget accordingly. On professional conduct, bar rules (Moroccan bars, the SRA in England, the Dubai Legal Affairs Department) restrict lawyer advertising: no promised outcomes, no client names without consent, no comparisons with other firms. In practice we build matter highlights in anonymised form (« advising a European fund on a 40 million USD acquisition ») and add a legal notice in all three languages. Data protection rules (Morocco's Law 09-08, UK GDPR, UAE PDPL) apply as soon as a contact form collects names and emails.

Typical 10-week schedule

Mini case study

Me Benjelloun, managing partner of a firm with 4 partners and 9 associates based in Casablanca Finance City, receives around 6 qualified enquiries a month through referrals. He chooses a custom trilingual site at 165,000 MAD (about 16,500 USD) plus 58,000 MAD (about 5,800 USD) of translation, so 223,000 MAD in total. If the site brings just 2 extra enquiries a month from English-speaking investors and one in four converts with average fees of 90,000 MAD, the firm adds 6 matters a year, or 540,000 MAD in fees. The investment pays back in under 6 months of normal business.

FAQ

Is Arabic essential for a business law firm?

Not always, but it becomes valuable for Gulf clients and for litigation before Arabic-language courts. Adding it at design stage costs 2,500 to 4,000 USD of development, versus 6,000 USD or more as a retrofit.

Can we publish client names?

Only with written consent, and soberly. Most firms showcase 6 to 10 anonymised matters with an amount and a sector, which is enough to reassure a general counsel.

How long until we rank on Google in English?

Allow 3 to 6 months to rank for queries such as « corporate lawyer Casablanca » or « arbitration lawyer Dubai ». One English publication a month shortens that noticeably.

Who handles updates after launch?

The CMS lets the office manager edit profiles and publications independently. Maintenance at 500 to 1,200 USD a month covers security, backups and minor changes.

Can the site include appointment booking?

Yes, through a calendar connected to Outlook or Google Workspace, for 800 to 1,500 USD. Enquiries go through a form that filters the type of matter to avoid out-of-scope requests.

Let's scope your project. We price your trilingual site from your number of partners, practices and languages, with an indicative budget of 30,000 to 45,000 USD and an 8 to 12 week timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.