Design for more than one direction
Arabic is read right to left, while English and most Indian languages read left to right. A multilingual website needs more than translated text — it needs direction-aware navigation, mirrored alignment, mixed-direction numbers and script-aware typography.
Planning content before translation
Indian scripts such as Devanagari, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Gurmukhi and Arabic script can need different line heights and spacing. Allocating space early prevents cramped buttons, broken layouts and last-minute redesigns.
- Use logical CSS properties instead of hard-coded left/right values
- Load fonts that support each target script
- Test on mobile screens where space is tightest
- Agree terminology with a reviewer before publishing
Search visibility across languages
Separate, crawlable URLs for each language version help search engines show the right page to the right audience. Hreflang annotations connect equivalent Arabic, English and Indian-language pages so visitors are not sent to the wrong version.
A language switcher should be a word, not only a flag. Visitors in Dubai may prefer English, Arabic or an Indian language for different tasks on the same day. Let them choose, and keep phone numbers and prices readable in both directions.
What to decide before design starts
List the pages, the languages and who approves each language. Translation, Arabic layout and English copy are related, but they are not the same line item. A four-page company site and a WooCommerce catalogue need different space for headings, filters and buttons.
Also decide what stays in English: brand names, software labels and some technical terms. Forcing every word into another script can make a page harder to use, not easier.