Services · Web development and eCommerce · Shopify store development in Dubai

A UAE Shopify store taken from an empty admin to its first paid order.

Q: Do we need a trade licence before we open the store?

For payments, in practice yes. You can build and design a Shopify store without one, but UAE payment providers and most couriers will ask for a valid trade licence whose activity covers online selling of your products. If you are still setting up the company, we can build in parallel and switch on payments once the licence is issued. We suggest confirming the right activity with your licensing authority.

Q: What will the payment provider ask us for?

Company documents and a store that looks finished. Expect to provide your trade licence, owner identification and bank details, and expect the reviewer to look at your website. They check for clear refund, delivery and privacy policies, contact details, and products that match your licence. We write and publish those pages before the application goes in, which is the most common reason approvals are delayed.

Q: Can we start in English and add Arabic later?

Yes, though planning for it now costs less. We can launch in English and add Arabic a few weeks later. What we avoid is a theme or app choice that makes Arabic hard to add afterwards. We pick a theme that handles right to left properly and keep product data structured, so adding Arabic later is a content job rather than a rebuild.

Q: Who writes the Arabic product descriptions?

A native Arabic writer, not a machine translation. Your team can supply the Arabic, or our writers can prepare it from your English copy and you approve it. Either way we avoid publishing machine translation unchecked, since shoppers notice immediately. We also translate the small things people forget, such as button labels, error messages, the cart drawer and notification emails, so the Arabic experience holds together from the first page to the last email.

Q: Should we offer free delivery across all seven emirates?

It depends on your basket size and courier rates. Free delivery helps conversion, but delivery to some areas costs more and takes longer. Many stores offer free delivery above a basket value, a flat rate below it, and a clear delivery promise per emirate. We model the options with your courier rates so you choose with the numbers in front of you.

Q: How do returns and refunds work on Shopify here?

You set the policy and we build the process around it. We write a returns policy that matches what you can actually handle, set up return requests in Shopify, and agree how a courier collects the item. Card refunds go back through the payment provider, while cash on delivery refunds need a bank transfer or store credit routine, which we document for your team.

Q: Can a fulfilment warehouse ship our orders instead of us?

Yes, many UAE brands use one. If you work with a fulfilment partner, we connect Shopify to their system so orders flow to them automatically and tracking numbers flow back to the customer. We check the connection with test orders before launch and agree with them how stock levels are updated, so the store does not sell items the warehouse no longer has.

Q: What will our team need to do after launch?

Run orders, answer customers and add products. We train whoever will handle orders, refunds and product updates, in English and Arabic, and leave a short written guide. Day to day the store runs without us. If you want us to stay on for campaigns, new collections or seasonal peaks such as Ramadan and White Friday, that can be agreed as ongoing support.

Shopify store development in Dubai for brands opening their first proper online store in the UAE, or moving a shop that lives in Instagram messages onto a real checkout. We handle the store setup, payments, couriers and cash on delivery, VAT inclusive prices, the Arabic storefront and your product data, then run the launch alongside you.

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Built for: Fashion, beauty, home, gifting and food brands launching or relaunching a UAE Shopify store, from founders selling on social media to retailers with a physical shop.
Typical timeline: Decisions and gateway applications in week one. A typical store ready for a soft launch in four to eight weeks, depending on catalogue size and Arabic content.
What you own: The Shopify account, domain, payment accounts, courier accounts and all product data are registered to your business from day one.
Rated: 4.7 / 5 from 23 Google reviews

In short

Most brands that ask us for a Shopify launch are not short of a theme. What slows them down is the list of decisions sitting behind it: which licensed entity owns the store, which payment provider will approve that entity, which courier collects from a warehouse in Al Quoz or a unit in a free zone, and who answers WhatsApp when a parcel is late. We treat the launch as a project with a checklist rather than a design job, and we work through those decisions in the first week so nothing stalls a few days before go live.

Payments take longer than people expect. Approval depends on your trade licence activity, the content of your website and the clarity of your refund and delivery policies, and providers often ask for changes before they switch you on. We write the policy pages they want to see, prepare the business details and start the application early, so the gateway is ready when the store is. UAE shoppers expect cards and Apple Pay, many like buy now pay later options such as Tabby or Tamara, and a large share still want cash on delivery. We help you decide whether to offer cash on delivery everywhere, only above a certain basket, or only in some emirates, because a refused parcel costs you twice.

Prices are a common stumbling block. If your business is VAT registered, prices shown to consumers in the UAE are generally expected to include VAT, so we set Shopify to display tax inclusive prices, show the VAT element at checkout and carry the details your accountant needs on order confirmations. Whether you trade from the mainland, a free zone or a designated zone can change how VAT applies, so we suggest confirming invoice wording with your tax adviser before launch.

An Arabic storefront is more than a translated menu. Product titles, size guides, delivery messages, policy pages and every email notification need Arabic versions written by a person, and the theme has to mirror right to left without breaking galleries, filters or the cart drawer. We set up the second language through Shopify Markets and its translation tools, check every template in Arabic on a real phone, and make sure the language switcher keeps the shopper on the same product rather than dropping them on the home page.

The catalogue decides how good the store feels. Before anything is imported we agree a product structure with you: variants and options, metafields for material, ingredients or care instructions, collections that follow how Gulf shoppers browse, and a standard for photos. A problem we often see is a store launched with product data copied from supplier spreadsheets, which then has to be rebuilt the moment you want filters, Google Shopping or a marketplace feed.

Codeeo is a team of 80+ across Dubai, Riyadh and Karachi, with our office in Dubai Silicon Oasis. You can sit with us and walk through the launch checklist line by line, or run the whole project on WhatsApp and video calls. We stay close for the first weeks after launch, because the first sale, the first refund and the first courier problem tend to arrive in the same week.

200+ companies servedFrom a first store to an ADX listed developer

What you get

Everything a UAE store needs before the first order arrives.

Opening a Shopify store here means getting a set of very local details right: a payment provider that approves your licence, couriers that reach every emirate, cash on delivery rules, prices that include VAT and an Arabic version customers trust. We set each one up in your own accounts and test it with real orders before the public sees the store.

Explain your project

Account and store foundations
Shopify plan, store settings, domain, staff accounts and permissions set up under your company, with store policies written for the UAE. We also connect your business email so order notifications come from your own address.
The store belongs to the business, not to whoever clicked sign up.
Payment provider applications
We prepare the website content, policy pages and business details that UAE payment providers ask for, then guide the application through review. Cards, Apple Pay and buy now pay later are configured and tested before launch.
Payments are approved and working when the store opens.
Couriers and cash on delivery rules
Shipping zones for each emirate, delivery promises you can keep, courier accounts linked for labels and tracking, and cash on delivery limited by basket value or area where that makes sense.
Delivery costs and refused parcels stay under control.
VAT inclusive pricing
Tax settings that display prices including VAT, a clear VAT line at checkout and order documents that carry your tax registration details.
Shoppers see one honest price and your accountant gets clean records.
Arabic storefront
A second language set up through Shopify Markets, a theme checked right to left, and Arabic written by people for products, navigation, policies and notification emails.
Arabic speaking customers get a store that reads naturally.
Product data and import
A product structure agreed before import, with variants, metafields, collections and image standards, then the catalogue loaded and checked item by item.
A catalogue that is ready for filters, feeds and marketplaces later.
Notifications and WhatsApp
Order, shipping and refund emails rewritten in your voice in both languages, plus a WhatsApp button and order update messages where your plan allows.
Customers know where their order is without having to ask.
Launch checklist and soft launch
Test orders on every payment method, a courier pickup, a refund and a cancelled order, followed by a soft launch to friends and existing customers before you spend on ads.
Problems are found by your team, not by your first paying customers.

Who this is for

Three ways brands arrive at a Shopify launch.

The work is the same checklist each time, but the starting point changes what takes longest. These are the three situations we meet most often in Dubai.

Orders arrive through Instagram messages and bank transfers

The brand has demand but every order is typed into a spreadsheet and chased by hand. We move the catalogue into Shopify, add proper payments and cash on delivery, and keep WhatsApp as the place customers ask questions while the store takes the order.

Keep the social following, lose the manual order taking.

A shop in a Dubai mall that now wants to sell online

Stock, pricing and staff already exist, but nobody has run delivery or online refunds. We set up shipping by emirate, click and collect from the shop if you want it, and simple routines so floor staff can pack online orders between customers.

One stock count for the shop and the website.

An overseas brand entering the UAE

The products are proven elsewhere, but the store needs a UAE entity, a local payment provider, a warehouse or fulfilment partner here, Arabic content and prices that include VAT. We work through the local setup with your team and your fulfilment partner.

A local store, not an international one with a UAE flag.

Four stages from first decision to first order.

01DecideEntity, payment provider, couriers, cash on delivery rules, languages and launch date agreed in writing, with gateway applications started straight away.
02ConfigureStore settings, tax, shipping zones, theme and Arabic set up, with a private preview link your team can click through on their phones.
03LoadProducts, collections, policies and notification emails added and checked in both languages, followed by test orders on every payment method.
04LaunchA soft launch to existing customers, a short list of fixes, then the public launch with tracking in place and our team on hand for the first weeks.

How we work together

Three ways to launch on Shopify with us.

Most clients buy the launch as a fixed scope project with a clear checklist. Some add a few months of support for the first season, and brands with an existing store sometimes bring us in only for the Arabic version or the payments and couriers. We can meet at our Dubai Silicon Oasis office or at your premises.

Fixed scope

A defined build with a deadline

We agree what the product has to do, write it down with a price and a date, and build exactly that. Changes are priced before they are made, not discovered on the invoice.

Written scope and acceptance criteria
Fixed price and delivery date
Weekly build on a URL you can open
30 days of fixes after launch

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Dedicated team

A product that keeps evolving

Named engineers who work your hours, join your standups and stay on the codebase. You direct the backlog; we own the quality of what ships.

Senior engineers, not a rotating bench
Your tools, your repo, your process
Monthly, cancel with 30 days notice
A lead who answers for the team

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Retainer

Something live that needs looking after

A monthly block of hours for improvements, fixes and the small requests that otherwise wait months. Unused hours carry for a quarter.

Agreed response times
Monitoring and dependency updates
A monthly report of what changed and why
Priority access to the same team that built it

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Technology

What we build this with.

Shopify for the store itself, with tracking set up so you can see which channels produce real orders from launch day.

01Commerce

Shopify Plus

02Tracking

GA4
Google Tag Manager
Meta Pixel
Search Console

Questions brands ask before opening a Shopify store in the UAE.

How long does it take to launch a Shopify store in the UAE?

Usually four to eight weeks.

The build itself is rarely the slow part. Payment approval, Arabic content and getting product data and photos ready take most of the time. If your catalogue and photos are ready and your licence is in order, a smaller store can be ready for a soft launch at the shorter end. Large catalogues or custom design work push it towards the longer end.

Do we need a trade licence before we open the store?

What will the payment provider ask us for?

Can we start in English and add Arabic later?

Who writes the Arabic product descriptions?

Should we offer free delivery across all seven emirates?

How do returns and refunds work on Shopify here?

Can a fulfilment warehouse ship our orders instead of us?

What will our team need to do after launch?

Services that usually go with this one.

Shopify developersCustom themes, apps and checkout extensions when the store needs more.Payment integrationCard, wallet and buy now pay later payments, failure paths included.eCommerce SEOCollections and product pages that rank in English and Arabic.

Tell us what the business needs. We will tell you what to build first.

Schedule a free consultation and get a written recommendation, with costs, before you commit to anything.

Get in touch

PROVEN RESULTS

4.7 / 5from 23 Google reviews

A UAE Shopify store taken from an empty admin to its first paid order.

Everything a UAE store needs before the first order arrives.

Account and store foundations

Payment provider applications

Couriers and cash on delivery rules

VAT inclusive pricing

Arabic storefront

Product data and import

Notifications and WhatsApp

Launch checklist and soft launch

Three ways brands arrive at a Shopify launch.

Orders arrive through Instagram messages and bank transfers

A shop in a Dubai mall that now wants to sell online

An overseas brand entering the UAE

Four stages from first decision to first order.

Three ways to launch on Shopify with us.

Fixed scope

Dedicated team

Retainer

What we build this with.

Questions brands ask before opening a Shopify store in the UAE.

Services that usually go with this one.

Tell us what the business needs. We will tell you what to build first.