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My product title has 500 g written in Arabic-Indic digits; should the number stay like that in the URL or become Western digits?

In the slug generator's Arabic mode, digits stay exactly as you typed them, so ٥٠٠ stays ٥٠٠ in the slug and is encoded like any Arabic letter. Only Latin mode converts them to 500. If you want an Arabic slug with Western digits, convert the title's digits first with the digit converter, and pick one style for all your URLs.

Published · 3 min read

One example, three ways

A product title with Arabic-Indic digits, in Arabic mode:

عسل-سدر-٥٠٠-غرام

It is 16 characters, and 81 in encoded form, because each digit of ٥٠٠ is encoded as six characters like any Arabic letter. The same title with Western digits:

عسل-سدر-500-غرام

Same length, 16, but the encoded form drops to 66 because Western digits are not encoded. In Latin mode, Arabic-Indic and Persian digits are converted to Western automatically: Sidr Honey ٥٠٠ g becomes sidr-honey-500-g.

Why the style matters

  • The slugs عسل-سدر-٥٠٠-غرام and عسل-سدر-500-غرام are entirely different to a server. Publish one and someone typing the other by hand will not reach the page.
  • Persian digits ۵۰۰ look like Arabic-Indic, yet they give a third, different slug: عسل-سدر-۵۰۰-غرام. A staff member on a Persian keyboard can create a URL that is not the one you had in mind.
  • Western digits are shorter in encoded form and can be typed on any keyboard without switching language.

Which to choose

There is no single right answer. An Arabic slug with Arabic-Indic digits matches the title perfectly; an Arabic slug with Western digits is easier to type and share. What to avoid is mixing: half your products with Arabic-Indic digits and half with Western, which makes your URLs unpredictable, to you first of all. Choose one style and write it into your store notes.

The steps if you choose Western digits

  1. Open the Arabic/Persian/Western digit converter, paste the title or list of titles, choose Western as the target, and keep Arabic-Indic and Persian ticked.
  2. Copy the result, so عسل سدر ٥٠٠ غرام becomes عسل سدر 500 غرام.
  3. Open the URL slug generator in Arabic mode and paste the converted title.
  4. Check that the number in the slug is now 500, then copy it.

Why does Arabic mode not convert the digits itself? Because it is built to keep the letters and digits of any script exactly as written, without altering what you typed. Converting is a decision for you to make, which is why it is a separate step.

If your URLs are already published

Do not change them just for consistency. Apply your chosen style to new products, and if a published URL really must change, give it a permanent 301 redirect from the old address to the new one.

Common questions

Is a slug containing ٥٠٠ valid?

Yes. Arabic-Indic digits are valid Unicode characters in a URL, and the browser encodes them automatically, just like Arabic letters.

Does Latin mode delete Arabic-Indic digits?

No, it converts them to 0 to 9. It removes Arabic letters only, unless you turn on the rough transliteration.

Are Persian digits converted in Latin mode too?

Yes. Both Arabic-Indic and Persian digits become Western digits.