An Arabic email can look right in your email platform's preview and still break in the inbox. Text aligns to the wrong side, prices and order numbers appear in the wrong order, and buttons sit where an English reader expects them. This guide explains how to build Arabic email templates for MENA campaigns: right-to-left (RTL) code, mirrored layouts, fonts, testing and the deliverability rules that decide whether your email reaches the inbox. For strategy, segmentation and send times, see our Arabic email marketing guide.
Set the Text Direction in the Code
Add the language and direction to the html tag. Then repeat the direction on the main tables and text cells, since some email clients remove attributes from the html and body tags:
<html lang="ar" dir="rtl">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" dir="rtl">
<tr>
<td dir="rtl" align="right" style="text-align:right;">
...
</td>
</tr>
</table>Write the alignment as an inline style on each text cell as well. Many email clients ignore or remove styles in the head of an email, while inline styles work in more of them.
Mirror the Layout
| Element | English template | Arabic template |
|---|---|---|
| Logo | Usually top left | Top right |
| Text | Aligned left | Aligned right |
| Two-column blocks | First column on the left | First column on the right |
| Arrows and "next" icons | Point right | Point left |
| Bullets and numbered steps | Run left to right | Run right to left |
Mirror only the elements that show direction. Logos, product photos and brand images stay as they are.
Arabic Fonts in Email
Many email clients, including Gmail, do not load custom web fonts, so your brand's Arabic font may not appear. Set a font stack that ends with system fonts that include Arabic letters, such as Tahoma, Arial or Segoe UI. Arabic letters are also harder to read at small sizes, so use a slightly larger font size and line height than in your English templates.
Mixed Arabic and English Text
Arabic emails often contain English brand names, prices, order numbers, phone numbers and links. Inside an Arabic sentence, these can appear in the wrong order, or with punctuation on the wrong side. Wrap each left-to-right item in a span with its own direction:
رقم طلبك <span dir="ltr">#10482</span>Check order numbers, phone numbers, prices and dates in every test, because they often break.
Images, Buttons and Alt Text
- Keep important text out of images, so it still shows when images are blocked and your team can edit it in Arabic.
- Write alt text in Arabic.
- Make buttons large enough to tap on a phone, with short Arabic button text such as تسوّق الآن ("Shop now").
- Design banners for Arabic from the start, with space for right-to-left headlines.
Write the copy in your Arabic brand voice as well. Our guide to Arabic brand tone of voice explains how to keep emails consistent with the rest of your Arabic marketing.
Arabic and English in One Email Program
Many brands in the region run bilingual email programs. The simplest setup is to store each subscriber's language preference and send separate Arabic and English emails. If you send one email with both languages, put the subscriber's main language first, and keep each language in its own block with its own direction.
Deliverability Rules for Arabic Campaigns
Design does not help if the email lands in spam. Google's email sender guidelines set these requirements for sending to Gmail addresses:
| Requirement | What Google asks |
|---|---|
| Authentication | All senders need SPF or DKIM. Senders of 5,000 or more emails a day need SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and a DMARC policy of "none" is accepted. |
| Alignment | For bulk senders, the domain in the From address must match the SPF or DKIM domain. |
| Unsubscribe | Bulk senders' marketing emails must support one-click unsubscribe. |
| Spam rate | Keep the spam rate in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Google recommends staying below 0.1%. |
| Connection | Send email over a TLS connection. |
Data protection laws such as Saudi Arabia's PDPL set rules on consent, so collect clear opt-in consent, keep records of it and put an Arabic unsubscribe link in every footer. Our guide to PDPL compliance for marketers explains the basics.
Test in Real Email Clients
- Gmail on Android, on iPhone and on the web.
- Apple Mail on iPhone.
- Classic Outlook for Windows, which uses Microsoft Word to display emails and supports less CSS than other email clients.
- Dark mode on each of these, because colours and logos can change.
Testing tools such as Litmus and Email on Acid show previews in many email clients at once. Send real test emails as well, and ask a native Arabic speaker to read every version before it goes out.
Arabic Email Template Checklist
lang="ar"anddir="rtl"on the html tag, the main tables and the text cells.- Text aligned right with inline styles.
- Layout, arrows and lists mirrored, with logos and photos unchanged.
- A font stack that ends with Arabic system fonts.
- English names, prices and numbers wrapped in
dir="ltr"spans. - Arabic alt text and button text.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up, with one-click unsubscribe.
- Tested in Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook and dark mode.
Conclusion
Arabic email templates need right-to-left code, a mirrored layout, Arabic fonts and careful handling of mixed text, plus the authentication that keeps them out of spam. GOTOMENA designs, tests and sends Arabic emails for global brands through our Arabic email marketing services. To build your templates, contact our team.