Website redesign for a commodity trading house in Riyadh: budget, risks and credibility (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For a trading house based in Riyadh, the website is read by trade finance banks, industrial counterparties, authorities and recruits, and each of them looks for proof of governance before looking for a product. A bilingual Arabic and English redesign costs 60,000 to 300,000 SAR with a local agency as a 2026 ballpark, against 8,900 USD for the Kolonell Premium tier, multilingual with the right-to-left Arabic scope set in the quote. The delicate part is not visual: it is the compliance review of sanctions, KYC and sourcing pages, and keeping visibility intact during migration.

Five signs your site undermines confidence

A credit analyst preparing a financing line, or the KYC team of an Asian buyer, looks at your site for a few minutes. What they see shapes what comes next.

• The Arabic version is incomplete or machine translated, while your Saudi contacts read Arabic first.
• No compliance page: no sanctions policy, no compliance contact, no reference to your KYC procedures.
• Entities are not identified: Riyadh head office, Dubai or Singapore subsidiary, representative office, with no registration numbers.
• ESG commitments point to no published document, which an NGO or a bank notices at once.
• The careers page is empty, while recruiting Saudi traders and operators is a major issue.

The regional headquarters programme linked to Vision 2030 has brought more international groups to Riyadh: your counterparties now compare your site with those of global groups a few streets away.

Budget: Riyadh agencies, freelancers and a fixed grid

Market amounts are 2026 ballpark figures from typical local agency quotes, converted approximately at 3.75 SAR to 1 USD.

Every Kolonell tier includes a project manager reachable in your time zone, native English or French copywriting and 3 months of support. Areas reserved for counterparties, portals, integrations with an ERP or compliance tool are on quote, as is maintenance beyond the 3 months. For a house that publishes only in English, the Starter tier at 2,900 USD can be enough for a first sober site. Details on the international offer.

Arabic first: what the redesign really involves

A serious bilingual site is not a translation laid over an English mockup. A right-to-left layout reverses navigation, tables and some visuals; figures, dates and entity names must stay identical in both languages; and the Arabic version must be updated at the same time as the English one. That is why the Arabic scope is set in the quote, page by page. On personal data, Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), enforced under SDAIA's supervision since September 2023, calls for care with contact and application forms. This is not legal advice: have these pages checked by your counsel.

Redesign risks and countermeasures

Indicative timeline once content is ready: inventory and architecture in week one, copy and mockups in week two, development and Arabic version in week three, testing, redirects and go-live in week four; allow up to six weeks on Premium, plus the time for your compliance review.

Questions to ask any provider: who reviews the Arabic, and is it a native speaker? How are redirects handled? Who holds the access?

When is a Riyadh agency the better choice? If you want in-person workshops every week, if your board requires an approved local vendor, or if the site must plug into a complex counterparty portal from day one, the local agency is justified despite the price gap.

Mini case study

Illustrative example: Najd Bridge Commodities, a petrochemicals trader based in the King Abdullah Financial District, receives a local quote of 180,000 SAR, about 48,000 USD (180,000 / 3.75). It picks the Premium tier at 8,900 USD, Arabic and English, and plans 8 hours of counsel review at 400 USD an hour, 3,200 USD. Total: 8,900 + 3,200 = 12,100 USD, about 35,900 USD less than the local quote. These amounts illustrate the calculation, not a real project.

FAQ

Do we really need to start with Arabic in Riyadh?

For authorities, some counterparties and Saudi candidates, usually yes. The Premium tier at 8,900 USD covers multilingual, with the right-to-left Arabic scope set in the quote.

What should the compliance page contain?

Policies actually adopted (sanctions, KYC, anti-bribery), a dedicated contact and, where they exist, dated publications. Nothing claimed that cannot be documented in front of 100% of due diligence requests.

How long does the redesign take?

3 to 4 weeks on Growth, 4 to 6 weeks on Premium, once content is ready. Compliance review often adds 1 to 2 weeks depending on your organisation.

Will the redesign lower our traffic?

The risk exists if old URLs disappear. A complete 301 redirect map and 4 to 8 weeks of Search Console monitoring sharply limit the loss.

And after the 3 months of included support?

Maintenance is on quote. On the Riyadh market it often sits between 1,500 and 6,000 SAR per month, a market assumption to compare.

Let's scope your project. A sober Arabic and English site built around governance and compliance, Premium tier delivered in 4 to 6 weeks once content is approved. See the international offer or request a free quote: detailed reply within 48 hours.