To sell online in Iraq and Lebanon, and to buyers abroad, offer the ways people actually pay: cash on delivery where cards are uncommon, card and wallet payments for those who have them. Run the store properly in both Arabic and English, show the full price including delivery, and build the order process around confirmation, delivery and collection, not just the checkout button.
This guide covers each of these, with examples from stores we have built.
Payments: match how your customers pay
Cash on delivery (COD). In much of the region it is still the most trusted way to buy online, and for some stores the main one. COD works well when the store is built for it:
- Confirm before you ship. An automatic message, or a quick call, to confirm the order cuts deliveries to people who never meant to buy.
- Reserve stock at order time, so you never sell what you do not have.
- Track collection, so you know which deliveries have been paid and which cash is still with the courier.
Orlisse, a kitchen and dining boutique in Beirut on our portfolio, is built around exactly this: online gateways were unreliable for their customers, so the store has a COD checkout tied to real-time inventory, order confirmations and delivery tracking. The case study reports about 70% less manual work.
Cards and wallets. International buyers, and many customers at home, expect to pay by card or a wallet such as Google Pay. Which payment processors you can use depends on where your business is registered and where your customers are, so check that before you design the checkout. Whichever you use, let the processor handle the card details so they never pass through your site. If you have a site already, our Payment Gateway add-on ($93, one-time) implements a payment gateway, and API Integration ($98) connects other providers.
Offer both if your customers are mixed. A clear choice at checkout (pay now by card, or pay cash on delivery) serves both groups.
Arabic and English, done properly
A bilingual store is more than a translated menu.
- Right-to-left layout: the whole interface mirrors for Arabic: navigation, icons with direction, carousels, form alignment.
- Fonts designed for Arabic that stay readable at small sizes on phones.
- Translated product data: names, descriptions, sizes and care instructions, not only the buttons.
- Separate addresses for each language, linked to each other so search engines show the right version to each searcher.
- Numbers and dates in the format your customers expect.
Show the real price
Unexpected costs at the last step are one of the main reasons people abandon checkouts. Show the delivery fee, any cash-on-delivery charge and the currency before the customer commits. For buyers abroad, say clearly which countries you deliver to and how long it takes.
The work after the checkout
Most of the effort in running a store happens after the order is placed. Build for it:
- Order statuses your team and your customer can both see: received, confirmed, shipped, delivered, paid.
- Notifications at each step, by email or message, so customers do not have to ask.
- Inventory that updates itself and warns you when stock runs low.
- An admin area that people without technical knowledge can use.
- A clear returns process, written down and easy to find.
Trust for buyers who do not know you
People buying from a store in another country want reassurance: a real company name and address, clear policies for delivery and returns, a contact who answers, and a secure checkout. Put them where buyers look, in the footer and at checkout.
DALA3, a fashion store we built, combines advanced filtering, a membership programme and privacy-focused design; its case study reports 98% customer satisfaction and 40% repeat purchases.
What it costs at AtrbCode
- E-commerce Website, $350: a full online store with product pages, cart and secure checkout.
- Payment Gateway, $93 and API Integration, $98: for connecting payment and delivery providers.
- Success Hunters, from $650: for stores with custom workflows, scoped with you directly.
- Growth Engine, $160 a month: continuous improvements after launch.
The code 40 takes 40% off eligible plans. We work in full Arabic and English, with clients in Iraq, Lebanon and other countries, and we are a registered UK company, so you get contracts and invoices.
FAQ
Is cash on delivery a good idea for a new store?
In markets where it is the norm, offering it usually brings more orders. Protect yourself with order confirmation before shipping and clear tracking of collected cash.
Can one store take both card payments and cash on delivery?
Yes. The checkout offers both, and the order process handles each one correctly.
Do I need separate Arabic and English websites?
No. One store can serve both languages, as long as each language has its own pages and the Arabic version is built right-to-left from the start.
Can you add a payment method to a store someone else built?
Usually, yes. Our Payment Gateway and API Integration add-ons are designed for that.
See all our fixed-price plans on the web services page.