The Qatar business website checklist: bilingual, QPAY-ready and compliant with Law 13 of 2016

Qatar is the most demanding Gulf market per visitor. The population is small, incomes are high, and the people deciding whether to call you have seen the best websites in the world. A site that would pass in a larger market gets judged harshly in Doha. Here is the checklist we use when building for Qatari clients.

Design to an international standard

Lusail's developers, West Bay's consultancies and The Pearl's retailers all present themselves at a level set by London and Singapore, not by the regional average. In practice that means:

• A bespoke design, not a template that visitors have seen on three competitors.
• Load times under two seconds on a phone. Qatar has some of the fastest mobile networks anywhere, so slowness is noticed immediately.
• Photography and copy that match the price point. Stock images of generic skylines read as lazy in a city whose own skyline is this recognisable.

English and Arabic, both polished

English is the working language of most business in Doha, and for many companies it carries the site. But three groups expect Arabic: Qatari nationals, government and semi-government bodies, and the family-owned groups that control much of the private sector. Arabic searches on Google.qa also have little competition, which makes an Arabic version one of the cheapest wins in local SEO.

Build the Arabic version properly: right-to-left layout, an Arabic typeface, Arabic titles and descriptions, and hreflang="ar-QA" and "en-QA" tags so each language ranks on its own.

Checkout for Qatar

There is no VAT in Qatar as of 2026, which simplifies pricing. Payment habits are specific, though:

• NAPS debit cards (the Himyan scheme) are what most residents use day to day, so your gateway must accept them, not only Visa and Mastercard.
• QPAY, the national gateway, and Apple Pay and Google Pay on mobile.
• Fawran for instant bank transfers, useful for invoices and larger B2B payments.
• Cash on delivery for first-time retail buyers.

Gateways such as QPAY, Dibsy, SkipCash and Checkout.com cover these; make sure the methods are shown before the final step.

Law No. 13 of 2016: data privacy

Qatar's Personal Data Privacy Protection Law applies to any website that collects personal data from people in Qatar, which includes a contact form. The Compliance and Data Protection Department enforces it. What a business site needs:

• A privacy policy in Arabic and English explaining what you collect, why, how long you keep it and how someone can access or delete it.
• Consent for marketing, and a cookie notice that genuinely offers a choice for analytics and advertising cookies.
• Extra care with sensitive data: health, religion, ethnic origin and children's data need explicit permission from the regulator in some cases, which matters for clinics and schools.
• A clear contact for privacy requests.

Companies registered in the Qatar Financial Centre follow the QFC's own data-protection regulations instead.

Signals that you are a local business

• Your Commercial Registration number (from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry) or QFC licence in the footer, with the registered Arabic name.
• A Qatari phone number (+974) and a WhatsApp button.
• A street address in a named area, such as West Bay, Lusail, Al Wakrah or Msheireb, matching your Google Business Profile.
• LocalBusiness schema with addressCountry: "QA", opening hours and the Friday–Saturday weekend.
• A .qa domain, or at least the .qa version of your name pointing at the main site.

Sector notes

• Clinics: the Ministry of Public Health licenses facilities and practitioners, and advertising needs MOPH approval. Show the facility licence on the site and keep claims factual.
• Real estate: Lusail and The Pearl buyers expect bilingual listings with floor plans, payment plans and a WhatsApp button on every unit.
• Hospitality and events: booking and ticketing integrations have to accept NAPS cards, and your schema should include Event or Hotel types so Google can show availability.

A checklist before launch

1. Bespoke design, under two seconds on mobile.
2. English and Arabic versions, both reviewed by native speakers.
3. NAPS, QPAY, Apple Pay and cash on delivery at checkout.
4. Privacy policy and consent written for Law 13 of 2016 (or the QFC regulations).
5. CR or QFC licence, +974 number, WhatsApp and an area address in the footer.
6. LocalBusiness schema, a Google Business Profile and a .qa domain.

Run your site through the GCC Website Checker with Qatar selected to see which of these are already in place.