Arabic email signatures done right: RTL layout, numbers and fonts

Most signature tools treat Arabic as English typed backwards: they align the text to the right and stop there. The result looks wrong to Arabic readers. A properly built Arabic signature changes four things.

1. Mirror the whole layout

In a right-to-left signature, the reading order runs from the right. The photo or logo belongs on the right, the details to its left, and social icons start from the right edge. Set dir="rtl" on the outer table so email clients lay out the columns in that order, not only the text inside them.

2. Keep numbers and addresses in order

Phone numbers, email addresses and website links are left-to-right text inside a right-to-left line. Without care, the Unicode bidirectional algorithm can move the plus sign of +971 50 555 0142 to the wrong end, or swap the order of a label and its number.

The reliable fix is to wrap every number, email address and URL in its own element marked dir="ltr". The Arabic label stays on the right; the number reads correctly beside it.

3. Choose fonts that exist on the reader’s device

Web fonts are not loaded by most email clients, so the font you choose must already be installed. For Arabic, Tahoma and Arial render consistently across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, and classic Outlook handles them well. Decorative Arabic fonts will fall back to something else for most readers.

Keep Arabic text a little larger than you would Latin text, around 14px, because Arabic letterforms are more detailed at small sizes.

4. Write the content in Arabic, not translated English

Job titles and company descriptions read better when written natively. “مديرة تطوير الأعمال” is natural; a word-by-word translation of an English title often is not. Use the official Arabic name of your company if it has one.

Bilingual teams

Many Gulf companies need both languages. Two clean signatures, one Arabic and one English, usually work better than a single signature with both languages side by side, which tends to be long and hard to scan. People can choose the one that matches the language of the email.

How Sendoff handles it

Every Sendoff template is drawn for both directions. Switch a signature to right-to-left and the columns, dividers and icons mirror; numbers are isolated automatically; and Arabic-safe font stacks are applied. The editor and the team portal are available in Arabic too.