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Build on Drupal in Saudi Arabia

Drupal development company
in Saudi Arabia

Gspikes is a Drupal agency with a Riyadh presence and a US entity. We build, migrate and support Drupal sites for Saudi organisations in Arabic and English, with in-Kingdom hosting and PDPL requirements handled from day one.

US + KSA
registered in Delaware, present in Riyadh
+966
Riyadh number, same-day reply
AR + EN
bilingual delivery and support
7
case studies shipped in 2026

Talk to a strategist

We'll review your situation and reply within one business day.

We'll reply within one business day. Your details stay private — we never share contact info.

What's broken

Sound familiar?

Still on Drupal 7

Drupal 7 stopped receiving security updates on 5 January 2025. Sites still on it carry unpatched risk and struggle to pass security and compliance reviews.

Arabic added as an afterthought

An English-first build with Arabic layered on later produces broken RTL layouts, untranslated interface strings and a second-class experience for your main audience.

Hosting that breaks the rules

Government data must stay inside the Kingdom, and regulated sectors face similar expectations. A site on an overseas host can fail procurement before it starts.

Compliance left to the end

PDPL has been fully enforceable since September 2024 and government portals are measured against DGA standards. Retrofitting both costs more than building them in.

Our approach

Drupal developers who build for Saudi Arabia from day one

Gspikes is a US-registered Drupal development company with a presence in Riyadh and a team that works in Arabic and English, led by founder Shaker Abady. Vision 2030's digital transformation programmes have moved ministries, universities and large enterprises onto modern platforms, and Drupal is already in wide use across Saudi government and higher education. We build on Drupal 10 and 11, migrate Drupal 7 sites, and plan every project around Arabic-first content, in-Kingdom hosting and the PDPL and DGA expectations your reviewers will check. In 2026 that work included a full Drupal rebuild for Acuative, a managed-services company, alongside builds for Saudi Furnish, Labbaik Travel, Stocks365, Citenix, 3ndi and ExamRaid.

  • Drupal 10 and 11 builds, Drupal 7 migrations and headless Drupal with Next.js
  • Arabic-first, RTL-correct themes using Drupal's core language and translation modules
  • Hosting inside the Kingdom with a CST-registered provider when your sector requires it
  • PDPL-ready consent, privacy notices and data handling built into the content model
  • DGA design-system and accessibility alignment for government and semi-government portals
  • Riyadh-hours support in Arabic and English, with a US entity for contracting

How it works

Four steps. No mystery.

  1. 1

    Discovery and audit

    We review your current site, content, integrations and the rules that apply to you: PDPL, your sector's hosting requirements and, for government, DGA standards. You get a written scope and a fixed price.

  2. 2

    Architecture and content model

    Content types, Arabic and English fields, roles and editorial workflows are defined before any design starts. For Drupal 7 migrations we map every content type and field to its target.

  3. 3

    Design in Arabic and English

    Layouts are designed right-to-left and left-to-right together, not mirrored at the end. Government portals follow the DGA design system; everyone else gets a theme built on their own brand.

  4. 4

    Build, migrate and test

    Drupal 10 or 11 build, automated content migration, integrations, accessibility checks and security hardening, with staging access so your team reviews every page in both languages.

  5. 5

    Launch and support

    Go-live on your in-Kingdom or chosen host, redirects preserved so search rankings survive, training for editors, and a support agreement answered in Riyadh hours.

FAQ

Got questions?

Everything we get asked, in one place. Don't see yours? Reach out — a strategist will get back within one business day.

Ask us anything

Does Gspikes build to the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL)?

Yes. The PDPL has been fully enforceable by SDAIA since 14 September 2024, after a one-year grace period. We build consent capture, privacy notices, data-subject request handling and retention rules into the Drupal content model, keep forms and analytics to the data you actually need, and agree the hosting location up front so personal data stays where your obligations require. Your legal team owns the policy; we make the site match it.

Can you host our Drupal site inside Saudi Arabia?

Yes. Government data has to stay inside the Kingdom, and the financial sector needs Saudi Central Bank approval for anything hosted offshore, so most regulated organisations simply host in-country. We deploy to cloud providers registered with the Communications, Space and Technology Commission that offer Saudi regions, or to your own infrastructure, and we document the setup for your cybersecurity and procurement reviews.

Will the site be Arabic-first with a correct right-to-left layout?

Yes. Arabic is the default language unless you tell us otherwise, with English as a full translation rather than a stub. Drupal core ships the Language, Interface Translation, Content Translation and Configuration Translation modules, so both languages live in one site with one editorial workflow. We design RTL and LTR layouts together and test with real Arabic content from the first sprint, including numerals, dates and mixed-direction text.

Do you build to Digital Government Authority (DGA) standards?

For government and semi-government portals, yes. The DGA's regulatory framework sets principles such as digital by design and mobile first, and its unified design system defines how government interfaces should look and behave. We align Drupal themes and components with that system, build in the accessibility requirements, and document the mapping for your DGA review. If the project is tendered through Etimad, we can deliver as the technical partner of your registered Saudi supplier.

How long does a Drupal project take?

It depends on content volume, integrations and how many custom modules a Drupal 7 site carries, so we scope after a short audit rather than guessing. A content-led bilingual site is measured in weeks; a large migration with integrations is measured in months. You get a fixed timeline with named milestones, and working software on staging every sprint so nothing is a surprise at launch.

Do you quote in Saudi riyals or US dollars?

Either. The riyal has been pegged at SAR 3.75 to the US dollar since 1986, so the amount is the same whichever currency you choose. Saudi clients can contract in SAR; international clients contract in USD through our Delaware entity. Quotes are fixed-price per phase, with support billed monthly and no long lock-in.

We are still on Drupal 7. What are our options?

Drupal 7 reached end of life on 5 January 2025 and no longer receives security updates from the Drupal project. The realistic options are a migration to Drupal 11, or a paid extended-support contract as a short bridge while you plan one. Drupal 10 itself reaches end of life on 9 December 2026, so new builds go straight to 11. We audit the site, map every content type and field, migrate the content automatically, and keep URLs and redirects so your search rankings survive the move.

What are your support hours for clients in Riyadh?

Our Riyadh presence works Sunday to Thursday on Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3), and the US team overlaps in the Riyadh afternoon. You get a named contact, a Saudi number (+966 56 951 7024) and response times written into the support agreement, with security incidents escalated outside those hours by arrangement. Support is in Arabic or English, whichever your team prefers.

Let's talk

Ready to build on Drupal in Saudi Arabia?

Tell us where you are. A senior strategist will reply within one business day with an honest plan.

Or email us at [email protected]

We'll reply within one business day. Your details stay private — we never share contact info.

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