Language Strategy

Language Strategy

Last Updated: 2026-03-08

Decision

Keep English at root /, Arabic at /ar/. Do not restructure URLs.

Auto-redirect Saudi/GCC visitors to /ar/ using a Cloudflare redirect rule, with a cookie-based preference so users who manually switch languages stay on their chosen language.

How It Works

1. First visit from GCC country (no cookie) — Cloudflare 302 redirects to /ar/
2. User clicks language switcher — lang cookie is set (en or ar), 30-day expiry
3. Return visit with cookie — Cloudflare skips geo-redirect (cookie exists), user stays on preferred language
4. Visit from non-GCC country — no redirect, sees English
5. Cookie expires after 30 days — GCC visitors get redirected again

URL Conventions

Language	Root	Subpages	Example
English	/	/{page}	/services, /prices
Arabic	/ar	/ar/{page}	/ar/services, /ar/prices

English is always the x-default hreflang. No URL restructuring is needed.

Code Implementation

Language Preference Cookie

File: src/components/Navigation.astro

Both language switcher links (desktop and mobile drawer) have data-lang-switch="en|ar". A <script> at the bottom sets a cookie on click:

document.cookie = `lang=${lang}; path=/; max-age=2592000; SameSite=Lax`;

• Cookie name: lang
• Values: en or ar
• Expiry: 30 days (2592000 seconds)
• SameSite=Lax for standard browser compatibility

Cloudflare Setup (Manual)

Redirect Rule

1. Log in to dash.cloudflare.com
2. Select urwhats.com domain
3. Go to Rules > Redirect Rules
4. Click Create rule
5. Rule name: GCC Arabic Redirect
6. Select Custom filter expression, click Edit expression, paste:

   (ip.geoip.country in {"SA" "AE" "KW" "BH" "QA" "OM" "EG" "JO"} and http.request.uri.path eq "/" and not http.cookie contains "lang=")

7. Then… settings:
   • Type: Dynamic
   • Expression: concat("https://urwhats.com/ar/")
   • Status code: 302
8. Click Deploy

Countries Included

Code	Country
SA	Saudi Arabia
AE	United Arab Emirates
KW	Kuwait
BH	Bahrain
QA	Qatar
OM	Oman
EG	Egypt
JO	Jordan

Why 302 (not 301)

302 is temporary — it tells search engines the root / is still the canonical English page. A 301 would signal a permanent move, which could confuse Google into thinking / should always be Arabic.

SEO Impact

• Zero risk. Hreflang tags already tell Google about both versions.
• Industry standard. Unifonic, SleekFlow, and other competitors use the same pattern (EN at root, localized at prefix).
• Google handles it. Google serves the correct language version in search results based on hreflang, regardless of server-side redirects.

Testing

1. npm run build — 0 errors
2. Open DevTools > Application > Cookies — verify lang cookie is set when clicking language switcher
3. Deploy Cloudflare rule, test with VPN from Saudi IP:
   • No cookie: homepage redirects to /ar/
   • With lang=en cookie: stays on /
   • With lang=ar cookie: no redirect (cookie exists, Cloudflare skips rule)
4. Test from non-GCC IP: no redirect regardless of cookie state