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Web Design
Arabic typography on the web: rules many ignore
Why do some Arabic sites feel tiring to read? The answer is usually in type and spacing, not the design itself.
Arabic text has different visual characteristics from Latin: connected letters, varied heights and higher visual density. Applying Latin typographic rules literally produces tiring text even when the design looks elegant.
Font size
A comfortable size for Arabic is usually larger than its Latin equivalent. What works at 16px in English often needs 17 or 18px in Arabic for the same legibility.
Line height
Arabic letters extend further above and below the baseline, so tight line height makes lines visually collide. Start from 1.8 for long-form text.
Line length
Very long lines make the eye lose its place when moving to the next one. Keep measure to roughly 60–75 characters.
Weight and contrast
Very light Arabic weights lose definition on screens, especially on dark backgrounds. Use at least a medium weight for body text.
Direction and numbers
RTL does not mean reversing everything. Numbers, technical symbols and URLs keep their natural order, and careless mixing produces confusing text.
A simple test
Read a full paragraph from your site on your phone in low light. If you feel strain after three lines, the problem is typography, not content.
design
typography
arabic
