Build an Arabic WordPress website: set the site language, choose an RTL-ready theme and Arabic fonts, decide between Arabic only and bilingual, set URLs and hreflang, and test on a phone.
To build an Arabic WordPress website, install WordPress, set Settings > General > Site Language to Arabic, choose a theme that supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts, pick an Arabic font, and decide whether the site will be Arabic only or Arabic and English. WordPress downloads the Arabic language pack for you. The rest of this guide covers the choices that need thought: translation plugins, URLs and hreflang, content, WooCommerce and testing on a phone.
In short
Decide this before anything else, because it changes your URLs, your plugins and your workload. An Arabic-only site is the simplest: one language, one set of content, one direction. A bilingual site needs a way to link each Arabic page to its English equivalent, a language switcher and a plan for keeping both versions up to date.
| Approach | How it works | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic only | Set the site language to Arabic and write everything in Arabic | The simplest option; you can add a second language later |
| Polylang | Each translation is its own post or page, linked to the original; the language comes from a code in the URL, or from a subdomain or domain per language | RTL scripts are supported; a free version exists; WooCommerce needs the separate premium Polylang for WooCommerce add-on |
| WPML | A paid plugin that creates a separate post for each language, with manual and automatic translation | URLs can use directories, a domain per language or a parameter; WooCommerce support is in the Multilingual CMS and Agency plans, as of 2026 |
| TranslatePress | You translate on the live page in a visual editor, with optional machine translation, and translations are stored in your database | Works with WooCommerce out of the box; translating titles, descriptions and slugs needs the premium SEO Pack |
| Multisite | A network of separate WordPress sites in one installation, one per language | Each site has its own content, so there is more to maintain |
No option is best for everyone. Choose by how you like to work (a post at a time, or on the page itself), by budget and by your WooCommerce needs, and try your choice on a staging site with a few products.
A theme has to ship right-to-left styles, or Arabic text will sit in a left-to-right layout. The wordpress.org theme directory has an RTL language support tag. For premium and marketplace themes, look for an RTL stylesheet in the listing. For example, the FreshBasket grocery theme lists a full RTL stylesheet for Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu that loads automatically for RTL languages.
Whatever you choose, switch a staging copy to Arabic and test it. Our RTL checklist covers mirrored layouts, forms and documents, and the guide to testing a WooCommerce theme covers speed, checkout and compatibility. You can also browse WooCommerce themes.
Google Fonts lists many families with Arabic script, among them Cairo, Tajawal, Noto Sans Arabic, IBM Plex Sans Arabic and Almarai (sans-serif), and Noto Naskh Arabic and Amiri (serif). Fonts add weight to every page, so follow web.dev's font best practices: use WOFF2, subset the font, load only the weights you use and preload the most important file. If you self-host, check that the font's licence allows subsetting.
If you run two languages, give each its own URL. Google's guidance on multi-regional sites prefers separate URLs over cookies or browser settings, and advises against automatically redirecting visitors by language. Subdirectories such as example.com/ar/ are low maintenance. Subdomains and country domains also work, and URL parameters are not recommended.
Google's localised versions guide says each version must list itself and all the others, that the links must be reciprocal or they are ignored, and that x-default is the fallback:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ar" href="https://example.com/ar/shop/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/shop/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/shop/" />Translation plugins can usually output these tags. Check by viewing the page source and searching for hreflang. Google's URL structure guidance recommends readable words in your audience's language, with non-ASCII characters percent-encoded, so Arabic slugs are acceptable. They can look long when copied into some apps, so pick one rule for slugs and keep it.
Write for Arabic readers rather than translating line by line, and have a native reader check every page. Google's multi-regional guidance says to keep a single language for content and navigation on each page, and that translating only the boilerplate gives a poor experience. Its spam policies warn against mass-producing pages of little value, and list automated translation of scraped content among the examples. Use machine translation as a first draft at most, and have a person review each page.
Translate the page title, meta description, headings, image descriptions and product attributes too. Once the site has traffic, use Search Console to see which Arabic queries bring visitors, instead of assuming they match the English ones.
This is where to set things; the RTL checklist covers how they look.
dir="auto" for fields that receive free text in either direction.WooCommerce is translation-ready. Changing the site language installs its translation files, and Arabic is a locale in WooCommerce's translation project on translate.wordpress.org. WordPress downloads a stable translation automatically once it is 90 per cent complete, according to WooCommerce's localisation guide. If a string is missing or you want your own wording, Loco Translate can store your changes in its Custom folder so updates do not overwrite them.
For a store in two languages, product names, categories, attributes and checkout texts all need translating, which is the job of the WooCommerce support in your multilingual plugin. For the business side, see how to start an online store in Saudi Arabia and the guide to VAT and invoices.
hreflang tags.You need a theme with right-to-left support. A theme without it will show Arabic text in a left-to-right layout. Check the listing, then test on staging.
Yes. Set Site Language to Arabic, and each user can choose their own admin language under Users > Profile without changing what visitors see.
It depends on your budget, how you like to translate and your WooCommerce needs. Compare Polylang (free version available), TranslatePress (free version with premium add-ons) and WPML (paid) on a staging site.
As a draft, yes, but have a person review every page. Google's spam policies warn against producing many pages of little value, however they are generated.
Start with the language setting and a staging site, then choose your theme and plugin. For the rest of the store, see how to choose the best WooCommerce plugins.
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