Start with an approved product table, not a page count. Each item needs a reliable identifier, a clear name, the correct image, documented specifications, a sales unit and an approval status. Then decide who writes and reviews the Arabic, and whether the output is a sharing PDF, a printed catalogue or updatable web pages. These decisions define the work more clearly than “a professional catalogue.”
If an English catalogue already exists, Arabic adaptation involves more than replacing text. Check which products you actually sell, your rights to use the content and images, and the relationship between models and specifications. Then adapt the layout for Arabic text and tables.
Organise the catalogue around the purchase decision
Ask how the buyer identifies the correct product: capacity, dimensions, use case or compatibility. Make those attributes easy to find rather than filling the opening pages with company background and squeezing the products into the remaining space.
If the main need is to explain the organisation, its capabilities and previous work, a company profile may be the better starting point. Product catalogue design and Arabic adaptation centres on the items a reader must distinguish, compare and request. A short company introduction can support that job without displacing product information.
What information should you supply?
Use one product table shared by the product owner, writer and designer. Images can live in a separate folder, but each image must map to a particular item rather than an ambiguous filename such as “new final photo.”
| Field | Practical requirement | Error it helps prevent |
|---|---|---|
| Item code or SKU | Your approved identifier for each orderable item or variant | Confusing similar sizes or versions |
| Name | Source name, approved Arabic name and unchanged model identifier | Multiple names for the same item |
| Category | A buying-oriented category, use case or grouping | A warehouse structure customers cannot navigate |
| Specifications | A value, unit and source for each important attribute | Unsupported numbers or invented specifications |
| Sales unit | Piece, set or pack, including approved contents | Confusing a unit price with a pack price |
| Images | Item-linked filenames and usage permissions | Showing the wrong colour or version |
| Price, if published | Currency, unit, approval date and approved terms | An outdated or ambiguous price |
| Ordering route | Product link or an enquiry route carrying the item code | Requests the sales team cannot identify |
| Review record | Approver, date and publication status | Publishing an unreviewed record |
Do not replace missing values with zero; readers may interpret zero as real data. Distinguish “not applicable,” “not received” and “awaiting approval” in the working file. Resolve publication status before export rather than leaving internal review labels in the customer-facing document.
Assign translation and factual approval separately
There are three responsibilities: writing understandable Arabic, verifying technical facts, and approving the material for publication. Different people may own them. A writer can improve the description but should not decide the material, compatibility or warranty period without an approved source.
Create a short terminology list before translating the whole document: categories, units, model names, recurring attributes and terms that must remain in the original language. Do not change a unit or numerical value for readability without a documented conversion and technical approval. Preserve restrictions that affect product selection; shortening a sentence is not a reason to remove a meaningful condition.
Where product facts are ready but the prose is not, define an appropriate content writing and Arabic adaptation scope. This does not imply certified translation or official attestation. If a recipient requires a document with particular translation credentials, establish those requirements and the responsible provider separately.
Review Arabic in the actual layout
Test a short product card, a long description and a dense specification table before rolling out the template. Check column order, decimal separators, units, brackets and mixed-direction identifiers such as AB-120/2. Also test searching for and copying an identifier from the exported PDF.
Adobe documents World-Ready composers for complex-script and bidirectional text in InDesign. Suitable language settings support correct composition; they do not verify terminology or product facts. Source: Arabic and Hebrew setup in InDesign.
Separate Arabic and English editions are useful when combined text overcrowds tables. A bilingual edition may work better when users need to compare terms side by side. Either way, both languages should represent the same products and approved facts.
Choose PDF, print or web deliberately
| Situation | Likely fit | What to agree |
|---|---|---|
| A stable selection sent to a specific buyer | Digital PDF | Practical file size, navigation, links and searchable text where needed |
| Copies distributed at an exhibition or meeting | Separate print file | Format, binding, printer specifications and proof approval |
| Many products or frequently changing information | Web pages | Search, categories, update ownership and the data source |
| Orders requiring review and individual pricing | Web or PDF with a quotation route | Passing the item code and quantity to the right team |
Putting a PDF in a page-turning viewer does not create a synchronised product database. For web delivery, define the catalogue page design and the content management requirements: who adds products, who approves translations, and whether updates are manual or integrated with another source. A dashboard does not automatically include synchronisation.
For Arabic HTML pages, W3C guidance distinguishes language declarations from text direction: declaring the language does not set direction automatically. Make direction handling part of acceptance testing for product pages, tables and forms. Source: W3C HTML direction guidance.
Worked example: adapting a supplier catalogue for Saudi buyers
Assume a hospitality-supplies distributor plans to publish 36 products from an existing English catalogue. This is a hypothetical example, not a LAB engagement. Before layout, the team finds three different issues:
| Hypothetical item | Issue | Release decision |
|---|---|---|
CUP-350 |
The photograph shows no lid, but an old description says a lid is included | Hold the card until the product owner confirms pack contents |
TRAY-02 |
A dimension reads “30” without a unit | Request the source; do not guess centimetres |
JUG-1L |
Facts are complete, but two files use different Arabic names | Approve one term and record it in the glossary |
The designer prepares representative pages covering a simple card and a crowded table. After template approval, ready products enter layout while unresolved items remain outside the publication version. If a partial launch is commercially acceptable, the distributor records the exclusions instead of describing the release as a complete catalogue.
When a capacity changes later, update the source record first, then check both language editions and their links. This avoids maintaining correct Arabic information beside an outdated English version.
Define the quotation and acceptance criteria
Specify products, variants, languages, special layouts, data-cleanup work, translation ownership, editable files and the process for adding a future product. Page count alone does not describe the work.
Before approval:
- Reconcile every identifier with its name, image and specifications in the approved source.
- Review the exported pages, especially tables and section endings.
- Test the contents list, links and enquiries carrying the correct product identifier.
- Compare product coverage across languages and record deliberate exclusions.
- Keep a version number, date and single location for the current sharing copy.
- Test updating one product and exporting it again without breaking the layout.
Common mistakes include inferring specifications from photographs, accepting machine translation without review, replacing a supplier’s branding without checking rights, treating a compressed screen PDF as a print file, and changing prices in the design without updating the data table.
Frequently asked questions
Are product photographs enough to get started?
They are enough for an asset inventory, not for approving a catalogue. You also need identifiers, names, documented information, an ordering route and someone authorised to decide what can be published.
Can we translate an English supplier catalogue and add our branding?
Potentially, after checking the source, usage rights and the products you actually offer. Possessing a PDF does not establish permission to republish every image or remove another party’s marks.
Should the catalogue include prices?
Include prices when they are approved, useful and maintainable. Where pricing depends on quantities or specifications, a clear quotation process can be more useful than an incomplete number.
Do editable files guarantee easy updates?
No. Ease of updating depends on the application, templates, data structure, fonts and the editor’s experience. Include a short update test in the handover.
What should we send LAB first?
Send representative products, the existing catalogue if available, required languages and the intended use and update process. That makes it possible to identify data gaps, define Arabic review ownership and scope the design before quoting the full document.