Can this Dubai startup improve Arabic content design?

Short stitch, a Dubai-based content and website design startup that launched earlier this year, hopes to save content creators hours of coding by integrating its service with their content management system and expanding their editing options.

“When authors post content, they can change the font (bold or italic) and insert an image or video,” says founder and CEO Sami AlSayyed. “But they can’t design the content or the web page. We have therefore improved the ‘editing tool’ to provide a different and simple experience. “

Sami Alsayyed demonstrates the concept of ShortPoint.

Shortpoint’s service is currently compatible with four systems. The company plans to expand its service to work with CMS like Oracle Web Center, WordPress, DNN software, Drupal, Joomla and other software used by bloggers and small businesses.

The company received an investment from DTEC VENTURES. The startup plans to invest this amount in a comprehensive marketing strategy, a must-have approach as it has relied on word of mouth and event exposure for publicity.

But despite the many challenges ahead, like finding the right talent, ShortPoint plans to continue providing solutions for Arabic content designers without neglecting English content.

Shortpoint allows users to customize editor tools.

Origins

Website design has been a long-standing passion for AlSayyed and his three co-founders (two Jordanians and one Ukrainian).

“I have had a passion for web design for eight years,” he said. “I built and designed [all] types of websites, from small links to large portals. “

The challenge for AlSayyed was not to create the ShortPoint website but to design its pages, a process which can be long and difficult.

“It’s a real headache for web developers and customers,” he told Wamda. Understanding the complexities of this task, AlSayyed quit his corporate job in the United States and decided to take the risk and launch what he describes as “a product that can be added to any website for the sake of simplicity. and facilitate the design of its content “.

Target the big players

ShortPoint’s primary target is “businesses that employ thousands of employees and have their own internal system,” according to AlSayyed. He explains that customers buy the software license for a one-time fee of $ 7,000. But since each license can only be used for one server, most customers end up buying two, one for each of their two servers. Annual support and maintenance is also offered at a reduced price for each offering.

These fees and payments are a good source of income for the startup, where, according to AlSayyed, a license purchase covers the team’s salary for three months. “Big companies are like investors who help us develop and update the product so that we can then expand to other customers and more mature markets,” he said.

So far, two UAE customers and five global customers have purchased ShortPoint. However, the co-founders are realizing that they need to lower their prices and add new features if they are to include SMEs, startups, news portals and bloggers in their client base.

ShortPoint aims to make things a little easier for creators of Arabic language content.