The paper describes the main challenges faced, and the solutions adopted in the frame of the project DASI - Digital Archive for the study of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions. In particular, the methodological and technological issues emerged in the conversion from a domain-specific text-based project of digital edition of an epigraphic corpus, to an objective-driven archive for the study and dissemination of inscriptions in different languages and scripts are discussed. With a view to keeping pace with, and possibly fostering reasoning on best practices in the community of digital epigraphers beyond each specific cultural/linguistic domain, special attention is devoted to: the modelling of data and encoding (XML annotation vs database approach; the conceptual model for the valorization of the material aspect of the epigraph; the textual encoding for critical editions); interoperability (pros and cons of compliance to standards; harmonization of metadata; openness; semantic interoperability); lexicography (tools for under-resourced languages; translations).