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Thoughts &
Insights
Thoughts, tutorials, and insights on modern web development, Next.js, and software engineering.
Shopify or a Custom Online Shop in Lebanon?
Shopify works from Lebanon, but its own card payments do not. What that changes for card payments, cash on delivery and the monthly bill, and when Shopify is still the better choice.
How I Built My Next.js Developer Portfolio for SEO in Lebanon
A practical look at how I built bilalmalass.com as a Next.js developer portfolio with technical SEO, local search, performance, structured content, and long-term discoverability in mind.
6 min read
What a Website Actually Costs in Lebanon
Nobody publishes this, so quotes arrive with no way to judge them. What genuinely moves the price, what people overpay for, the running costs, and when you should not hire a developer at all.
13 min read
Building an Arabic Website That Doesn't Look Translated
Right-to-left is a structural property, not a text alignment. Mirroring, Latin words inside Arabic sentences, the fonts that break bold headings, and why half-translated is worse than English only.
5 min read
How a Lebanese Business Actually Shows Up on Google Maps
The map pack is a different product from your website, with its own rules. Claiming the profile, why your address has to match character for character, what to do when it is informal, and which parts of this your site has to support.
6 min read
What Actually Works When You Sell Online in Lebanon
Cash on delivery, WhatsApp as the real checkout, two currencies with a rate you control, and a catalogue that opens on a weak signal — what an online shop here actually needs, and what it does not.
4 min read
Migrating Off WordPress Without Losing Your Rankings
Rebuilds do not cost you traffic — missing redirects do. The URL map, the metadata that silently disappears, and an honest note on when a migration is not worth doing.
4 min read
A Deep Dive into Next.js Server Actions
Learn how Next.js Server Actions simplify data mutations by removing the need for API routes and managing client-server communication seamlessly.
3 min read
Why TypeScript is Essential for Large Codebases
Explore how static typing catches bugs early, improves developer experience, and acts as living documentation in scaling applications.
3 min read
Building a Custom CMS with Prisma and Next.js
A look into how combining Next.js App Router with Prisma ORM creates a rapid, type-safe development environment for custom content management systems.
3 min read