Right-to-left and non-Latin text

Right-to-left layout for Arabic and Hebrew storefronts, and what to watch with non-Latin scripts.

The widget supports right-to-left layout and non-Latin scripts. A few settings need attention that a Latin-script store does not have to consider.

Right-to-left layout

The widget's alignment setting includes a right-to-left option.

Settings > Settings > General > Widget Settings > Alignment > Right to left

This lays out the widget for right-to-left reading. Labels, fields, help text, and swatch rows all flow from right to left.

Alignment	Use for
Left	Left-to-right languages. The default
Center	A centered design, in either direction
Right	Right-aligned text without changing reading direction
Right to left	Arabic, Hebrew, and other right-to-left storefronts

Alignment is store-wide. If you sell in both a left-to-right and a right-to-left language, you cannot set alignment per language here. Use custom CSS based on your theme's own language markers instead.

See Widget behavior.

Fonts and scripts

The widget's typography is set store-wide in Settings > Design > Typography. Check that the font you select includes your script.

Check	Why
The chosen font includes your script	Many otherwise excellent fonts have no Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, or CJK glyphs. Missing glyphs fall back to a system font, which looks inconsistent
Font size suits the script	CJK and Arabic often need a slightly larger size than Latin at the same nominal value to be equally legible
Bold and italic exist	Many non-Latin fonts have no italic at all, and a faked slant looks wrong

See Borders and typography.

The Personalizer

The Personalizer needs the most attention, because the preview draws the text itself.

Setting	What to watch
Font family	The font must contain your script. Test with real customer names, not placeholder text
Curve	Connected scripts such as Arabic do not bend the way separated letterforms do. Check the result carefully before using curve with Arabic
Auto-fit max width	Worth turning on. Character widths vary far more across scripts than within Latin
Max character	A character limit means different physical widths in different scripts. Set it for the script your customers use, or use auto-fit as the real constraint
Font size	Check by eye per script rather than reusing a value that worked for Latin

If you offer personalization in several scripts, create a separate option set for each language group and target it with country rules, so each one has its own font and limits.

Input rules

Setting	Behavior with non-Latin text
Allowed value	Letters means letters, not Latin letters. It does not restrict a customer to the Latin alphabet
Text transform	Case has no meaning in scripts without upper and lower case, so these settings do nothing there
Character limits	Count characters, so one CJK character counts as one — even though it occupies more width than a Latin one

The date picker

The calendar has its own language setting, separate from everything else on this page. It supports more than fifty languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, and several CJK languages.

Other language and Localization on the option's Advanced tab. See Date and time picker.

A checklist for a right-to-left store

1

Set Alignment to Right to left

Settings > Settings > General.

2

Choose a font that includes your script

Settings > Design > Typography. If none of the built-in fonts covers your script, upload a custom font.

3

Translate the widget text

Settings > Translations. See Translate widget text.

4

Translate your option content

In the builder, per option set. See Translate option content.

5

Set the calendar language on any date option

Per option, on its Advanced tab.

6

Test a full product page on your storefront

Check a validation error, a swatch row, and any personalization preview.