# Right-to-left checkout: what Arabic shoppers notice

> On an Arabic checkout the page reads right to left, but numbers, prices and Latin words still run left to right inside it. Arabic shoppers notice when punctuation jumps, English labels are left behind, or Arabic shows in a different font. Test the whole checkout on a phone before you publish.

URL: https://khaleejicod.com/guides/rtl-checkout-arabic-shoppers/  
Updated: 2026-10-26  
Publisher: Trifid Media LLC

On an Arabic checkout the layout flips: text starts on the right, and fields and buttons line up
from the right. Numbers don't flip. Prices, phone numbers, order numbers and English words such
as brand names still read left to right inside the Arabic text. When punctuation lands on the
wrong side, an English label is left behind, or Arabic words appear in a different font from the
rest of the page, the checkout looks unfinished to an Arabic reader. Check all of this on a real
phone before you publish Arabic.

## What does Shopify say about right-to-left?

Shopify's help says the latest versions of its Horizon family of themes support right-to-left
languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu. If you use another theme, Shopify says to confirm that
it supports right-to-left languages so the layout is correct.

On October 2, 2026, Shopify announced improved support for Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew in the admin
and in storefronts, including checkout, customer accounts and the Horizon themes. The same post
says your own content, such as product pages, stays in the languages you have added, and that you
add the translations, for example with the Translate & Adapt app.

Shopify's help also lists 33 languages with ready-made checkout translations, and Arabic isn't on
that list (checked 26 October 2026). So read every label on your Arabic checkout yourself. For how to fill the gaps, see
[how to offer an Arabic checkout on Shopify](/guides/arabic-checkout-shopify/).

## Why do numbers and punctuation jump around?

A page that mixes right-to-left Arabic with left-to-right numbers or English is called
*bidirectional* (or "bidi") text. Browsers lay it out with the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm,
and the W3C explains the parts that matter on a checkout:

- **Numbers run left to right,** but they don't break up the Arabic around them. A currency
  symbol next to a number is treated as part of the number.
- **Punctuation has no direction of its own.** A comma, full stop, bracket or space between Arabic
  and English takes the direction of the surrounding paragraph. That is why a full stop after an
  English word at the end of an Arabic sentence can show up on an unexpected side, and why
  brackets around English text, as in «الدفع عند الاستلام (COD)», are worth checking.
- **Some phrases need help from the theme.** The W3C lists phone numbers, street and email
  addresses and brand names among the phrases that run in the opposite direction to the text
  around them. In theme code, a developer can mark them with the `dir` attribute or the `bdi`
  element so they display correctly.

In text you type into Shopify yourself, such as checkout labels, shipping rate names and payment
method names, you usually can't add that markup. Keep these lines simple:

- Avoid ending an Arabic sentence with an English word followed by punctuation.
- Leave out English abbreviations in brackets. «الدفع عند الاستلام» is clearer than
  «الدفع عند الاستلام (COD)». See
  [what to call Cash on Delivery in Arabic](/guides/cash-on-delivery-in-arabic/).
- If you add an example phone number to a field label, look at it on the Arabic checkout before
  you publish.

## Which digits will shoppers see and type?

Arabic text can use two families of digits: European digits (0123) and Arabic-Indic
digits (٠١٢٣). The W3C's Arabic layout requirements list Arabic-Indic digits for eastern
Arabic-speaking countries, naming Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iraq as examples. The same document
notes that signs such as plus and minus, or a currency symbol, are likely to be treated as part
of a number rather than as punctuation, and uses phone numbers as an example.

What this means for your checkout:

- Look at which digits your Arabic checkout shows for prices and totals, and use the same style in
  the text you write yourself, such as shipping rate names and your order confirmation message.
- A shopper typing on an Arabic phone keyboard may enter a phone number in Arabic-Indic digits.
  Try it at checkout, place the order, and see how the number appears on the order in your admin.
  Your courier needs a number it can dial.

## Do your fonts have Arabic letters?

A font that has no Arabic letters can't draw Arabic. The browser then uses a fallback font for
those words, so an Arabic label can look different from the English brand name next to it.

Start with your theme fonts. Shopify's developer documentation lists the character ranges
included in its font library files: Basic Latin, Latin-1 Supplement, Latin Extended-A and currency
symbols. Arabic isn't among them. For a broader range of characters, Shopify points to system
fonts, Typekit and other solutions. Open your Arabic pages with the font you chose and check that the
Arabic text looks the way you expect.

For the checkout, go to **Settings > Checkout**. In the **Configurations** section, click **Edit**
next to your checkout configuration, and use the **Headings** and **Body** drop-down menus in the
**Typography** section to pick fonts from the list. After any change, open the checkout in Arabic
again.

Also look at lines that mix both scripts, such as an Arabic label next to your brand name. The
W3C's Arabic layout requirements list the relative size of Arabic and Latin letters in mixed text
as one of the things to consider when choosing a font.

## Which labels are easy to leave in English?

When you check an Arabic checkout, these are easy to miss, because the text comes from your own
settings or an app, or only appears when something goes wrong:

- shipping rate names and delivery times;
- payment method names, including cash on delivery;
- error messages;
- text added by checkout apps;
- the order status page and the order confirmation email.

For the cash on delivery name, a single manual payment method has one name for every shopper.
Khaleeji COD can show «الدفع عند الاستلام» on the Arabic checkout and "Cash on Delivery" everywhere
else.

## How do you test an Arabic checkout?

1. Switch your store to Arabic (for example `yourstore.com/ar`) on a phone, add a product whose
   name includes English letters, and go to checkout. Repeat on a computer.
2. Check that the form, the order summary and the buttons line up from the right, and that arrows
   such as "back" point the right way.
3. Type an address that mixes Arabic and English, for example an English building name in an
   Arabic address. Type a phone number with the country code, once in European digits and once in
   Arabic-Indic digits.
4. Submit the form with a required field empty, and read the error messages.
5. At the payment step, read every payment method name and check the totals, including how the
   currency and digits appear.
6. Place a test order. Read the thank-you page and the Arabic order confirmation email, and look
   at how the address and phone number appear in your admin and on the shipping label.
7. Ask a native Arabic reader to go through the same steps.

To test payment options for a particular customer, use
[how to test checkout payment rules with draft orders](/guides/test-payment-rules-draft-orders/).

## Sources

- [Shopify Help Center: Requirements and considerations for selling in multiple languages](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/international/languages/requirements)
- [Shopify Changelog: Admin now supports 3 new languages (October 2, 2026)](https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/admin-now-available-in-3-new-languages)
- [Shopify Help Center: Customizing the style of your checkout](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/customize-checkout-configurations/checkout-style)
- [Shopify.dev: Font settings and the Shopify font library](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/architecture/settings/fonts)
- [W3C: Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm basics](https://www.w3.org/International/articles/inline-bidi-markup/uba-basics)
- [W3C: Inline markup and bidirectional text in HTML](https://www.w3.org/International/articles/inline-bidi-markup/)
- [W3C: Arabic & Persian Layout Requirements (Group Draft Note, October 2025)](https://www.w3.org/TR/alreq/)