Looking for RTL WordPress themes for an Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Urdu site? The right theme mirrors your whole layout, not only the text.
In this roundup, we cover 12 themes for news sites, blogs and businesses. A quick disclosure first: every theme listed here is made by us at WPInterface.
Each one is listed as translation and RTL ready on its theme page. We also explain how to set up RTL in WordPress and fix the most common problems.
What makes a good RTL WordPress theme?
A good RTL WordPress theme does more than align text to the right. Here’s what to look for before you buy.
- Mirrored layout: The sidebar, logo, columns and post meta should all flip, so the page reads naturally from right to left.
- RTL stylesheet: The theme should include an rtl.css file or built-in RTL styles. WordPress loads these automatically for RTL languages.
- Menus and sliders that flip: Menus should start from the right, and dropdowns and sliders should move in the correct direction.
- Icons and arrows: Anything that implies direction, such as next and previous arrows, should point the right way.
- Font support: The theme should let you use a font that includes your script, such as Arabic or Hebrew.
- Translation-ready strings: Text such as “Read more” and “Search” should be translatable, so no English labels are left behind.
- Tested with the block editor: The block editor supports RTL, so your theme should work with it. You then write and edit in the same direction your visitors read.
Good WordPress RTL support starts in the theme. It’s much harder to add later with custom CSS.
Best RTL WordPress themes at a glance
Short on time? This table shows who each theme suits and what stands out.
| Theme | Best for | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|
| NewsMaster Pro | Content-rich news sites | Bold red header and large lead stories |
| NewsNation Pro | Editors and publishers | Multiple layouts and breaking news |
| NewsCastle Pro | All-round news websites | Covers news, magazines, blogs and editorials |
| NewsCurve Pro | News portals with many topics | Suits politics, live updates, tech and fashion |
| TruthNews Pro | Journalists and small newsrooms | Lightweight newspaper design |
| MagNine Pro | Mobile-first readers | Optimised for mobile, with a red header |
| NextZenMag Pro | Multi-topic magazines | Built for news, sports, travel and lifestyle |
| SpeedNews Pro | Tech, business and lifestyle publishers | Built for speed |
| BlogSky Pro | Writers | Typography focus, slider hero and accessibility toolbar |
| SpeedBlog Pro | Travel, tech and personal blogs | One-click demo import and accessibility toolbar |
| BlogNest Pro | Elegant personal blogs | Post slider, Featured Categories and spotlight blocks |
| Corporate Interface Pro | Companies, agencies and consultants | Modern corporate business design |
All 12 are block editor ready and translation ready. Each demo shows a Google PageSpeed Insights lab score of 95.
One note before the details. This list covers layout and RTL support, so you’ll still add your own content and choose a font for your script.
News and magazine RTL WordPress themes
News sites have busy homepages, so mirroring matters a lot. These eight themes suit newspapers, magazines and news portals.
1. NewsMaster Pro
NewsMaster Pro is a news and magazine theme for content-rich blogs. It has a bold red header and large lead stories, so your main headlines get the most room.
The theme page lists full RTL support, and the theme is translation ready and block editor ready. Its demo scores 95 in Google PageSpeed Insights lab tests.
Best for: Content-rich news sites and blogs that want large lead stories at the top of the page.
2. NewsNation Pro
NewsNation Pro is a multi-layout news theme for editors, publishers and magazines. It includes a breaking news feature, which suits sites that publish throughout the day.
RTL support is listed on the theme page, alongside translation ready and block editor ready. The demo has a PageSpeed Insights lab score of 95.
Best for: Newsrooms and magazines that want a choice of layouts and a place for breaking stories.
3. NewsCastle Pro
NewsCastle Pro is a complete news website theme. It’s built for news sites, magazines, blogs and editorials, so it works well if your site mixes several of these.
Like every theme here, it’s listed as translation and RTL ready, and it’s block editor ready. The demo scores 95 in PageSpeed Insights lab tests.
Best for: Publishers who want one theme for news, features and opinion pieces.
4. NewsCurve Pro
NewsCurve Pro is a news portal and magazine theme. It’s aimed at sites that cover politics, live updates, tech and fashion.
The theme page lists full RTL support, so the layout mirrors when you switch to a right-to-left language. It’s also translation ready and block editor ready, with a demo lab score of 95.
Best for: News portals that cover a wide mix of topics, from politics to fashion.
5. TruthNews Pro
TruthNews Pro is a lightweight newspaper theme for journalists and publishers. It’s a good fit if you want a newspaper look without a heavy theme.
RTL support, translation ready and block editor ready are all listed on the theme page. Its demo scores 95 in PageSpeed Insights lab tests.
Best for: Journalists and independent publishers who want a light newspaper theme.
6. MagNine Pro
MagNine Pro is a magazine and newspaper theme optimised for mobile. It has a red header that gives your site a clear identity on small screens.
That mobile focus matters for RTL sites, where you need to test the mirrored layout on phones too. The theme is listed as RTL ready, translation ready and block editor ready, and the demo scores 95.
Best for: Magazines and newspapers whose readers mostly visit on phones.
7. NextZenMag Pro
NextZenMag Pro is a newspaper and magazine theme for news, sports, travel and lifestyle. It suits sites that publish across several sections.
The theme page lists full RTL support. It’s translation ready and block editor ready, and the demo has a PageSpeed Insights lab score of 95.
Best for: General-interest magazines with sections such as sport, travel and lifestyle.
8. SpeedNews Pro
SpeedNews Pro is a fast news and magazine theme for tech, business and lifestyle publishers. Speed is its main focus.
It’s listed as translation and RTL ready, and it’s block editor ready. The demo scores 95 in PageSpeed Insights lab tests, though your own score will depend on your hosting and content.
Best for: Tech, business and lifestyle publishers who put page speed first.
Blog RTL WordPress themes
Blogs need less structure than news sites, but readable text is essential. These three themes keep the focus on your writing.
9. BlogSky Pro
BlogSky Pro is a clean, minimalist blog theme for writers. It focuses on typography and includes a slider hero and an accessibility toolbar.
RTL support is listed on the theme page, and the theme is translation ready and block editor ready. Its demo has a lab score of 95 in PageSpeed Insights.
Best for: Writers who want a minimalist blog where the text comes first.
10. SpeedBlog Pro
SpeedBlog Pro is a fast blog theme for travel, tech, personal and creative blogs. It has clean magazine-style layouts, one-click demo import and a built-in accessibility toolbar.
The theme page lists full RTL support, plus translation ready and block editor ready. The demo scores 95 in PageSpeed Insights lab tests.
Best for: Bloggers who want magazine-style layouts and a quick start with demo import.
11. BlogNest Pro
BlogNest Pro is a modern, elegant blog theme. It includes a post slider, Featured Categories, spotlight blocks and an accessibility toolbar.
It’s listed as translation and RTL ready, and it’s block editor ready. The demo has a PageSpeed Insights lab score of 95.
Best for: Bloggers who want to highlight categories and featured posts on the homepage.
Business RTL WordPress theme
Need a company site instead of a publication? This is our pick for an Arabic WordPress theme for business, and it works for other RTL languages too.
12. Corporate Interface Pro
Corporate Interface Pro is a modern corporate business theme. It’s made for companies, agencies and consultants.
The theme page lists full RTL support, so it suits a company site in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Urdu. It’s translation ready and block editor ready, and the demo scores 95 in PageSpeed Insights lab tests.
Best for: Companies, agencies and consultants who need a business site in a right-to-left language.
How to set up a right-to-left WordPress theme
WordPress handles most of the work for you. Follow these steps to set up a right-to-left WordPress theme on a new or existing site.
- Choose your site language. Go to Settings » General » Site Language and pick your language, such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian or Urdu. WordPress switches to RTL automatically and loads the theme’s RTL styles.
- Install and activate your theme. Upload the theme under Appearance » Themes, then activate it. Visit the front end to confirm the layout has mirrored.
- Check menus and widgets. Make sure menus start from the right and dropdowns open in the correct direction. Check that sidebar and footer widgets sit where you expect.
- Set your fonts. Choose a font that includes the script you need. A font without Arabic or Hebrew characters will fall back to a default system font.
- Translate theme strings. If any labels still show in English, you can translate a WordPress theme with Loco Translate. It’s a free plugin that works from your dashboard.
- Test on mobile. Open the site on a phone and check the menu, sliders and forms. Many readers will only ever see the mobile layout.
- Check mixed-direction text. Look at posts that mix RTL text with numbers, English brand names or code. Use the direction controls in the editor where a line needs to run left to right.
Planning to publish in more than one language? See our guide on how to build a multilingual news website with RTL support.
Common RTL problems and quick fixes
Even with a well-built theme, a few things can go wrong. Here are the issues we see most often.
- The layout hasn’t flipped: Check that your site language is set to an RTL language under Settings » General. Then clear any caching plugin and your browser cache.
- Arrows point the wrong way: Test sliders, pagination and “read more” links. If an arrow comes from a plugin, check that plugin’s settings or documentation for RTL options.
- Punctuation or numbers jump around: This happens in mixed-direction lines. Set the direction for that paragraph in the editor, or move the English term so it doesn’t start or end the line.
- Text shows in a plain fallback font: Your chosen font probably doesn’t include your script. Switch to one that does.
- Some labels are still in English: The theme or a plugin is missing a translation for your language. Add the missing strings with Loco Translate.
- Forms look misaligned: Check labels, fields and buttons in contact and search forms. If a form plugin doesn’t support RTL, try another free form plugin that does.
- Custom CSS breaks the mirrored layout: Rules that use fixed left or right values won’t flip on their own. Review any custom CSS you added and adjust it for RTL.
Need help?
If you’d rather not set things up yourself, we can do it for you. Our theme installation and setup service costs $99 one-time and takes 1 business day.
Stuck on a single issue? VIP Support costs $29 per ticket.
Frequently asked questions
Does WordPress support RTL languages?
Yes. WordPress supports RTL languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Urdu, and the block editor supports RTL as well. Your theme also needs RTL styles, which is why choosing an RTL-ready theme matters.
How do I make my WordPress site RTL?
Go to Settings » General » Site Language and choose an RTL language. WordPress switches direction automatically and loads your theme’s rtl.css file or RTL styles. You don’t need to edit any code.
Can I run an RTL and LTR language on one site?
Yes, with a multilingual plugin. Each language version then uses its own direction, so your Arabic pages run right to left and your English pages run left to right. Test both versions, because menus and widgets are often set per language.
Are these RTL themes free?
No. These are Pro themes, and licences start from $59 for one site. There are also 10-site and unlimited-site licences, plus an all-themes bundle for $299.
Final thoughts
The best RTL WordPress themes mirror the whole design, from menus to arrows, and leave no English labels behind. Every theme on this list is listed as translation and RTL ready.
For a busy newsroom, start with NewsMaster Pro or NewsNation Pro. For a personal blog, try BlogSky Pro, and for a company site, look at Corporate Interface Pro.
Whichever you choose, set your site language first, then test menus, fonts and mixed-direction text on mobile. If you get stuck, our team can help.
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