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How to build a Hebrew website for your small business

- 8 min read - by , Founder

Bakery owner checking her website on a phone behind the counter

A Hebrew business website needs three things that an English site does not: a layout that runs right to left from the code up, copy written for Hebrew readers rather than translated into Hebrew, and, for most businesses in Israel, an accessible site with an accessibility statement. Get those right and the rest of the work is the same as for any small business site.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice.

What does "right to left" actually change on a website?

Right to left changes the whole layout, not just the text. The menu, the logo, columns, arrows, carousels and form labels all mirror, so the page reads naturally from the right edge.

The W3C, which publishes the web standards, gives clear rules for this:

  • The page declares its direction once, on the `html` element, with `dir="rtl"`. The W3C says to add it "any time the overall document direction is right-to-left" and not to set the base direction with CSS.
  • The page also declares its language with `lang="he"`, so browsers, screen readers and translation tools treat it as Hebrew.
  • Numbers, phone numbers, prices and English words inside a Hebrew sentence run left to right. When such a phrase sits next to punctuation, it can jump to the wrong side of the line. The W3C recommends wrapping it in its own markup (for example `bdi`) so it keeps its place.

What this means for a builder or a template: if the layout was designed for English and then flipped, something will stay on the wrong side. Arrows point backwards, a carousel slides the wrong way, a margin sits on the outer edge instead of the inner one. Layouts written with direction-aware CSS (the W3C's logical properties, such as `margin-inline-start` instead of `margin-left`) mirror on their own.

We hit this ourselves. Every section in SiteCreatorEngine is written with logical properties, and a check in our build fails if anyone writes a physical left or right value, or a horizontal transform that would not mirror, without a stated reason. That rule exists because several sections looked fine in English and broke in Hebrew.

Should the texts be translated from English or written in Hebrew?

Write in Hebrew. A translated page usually reads like one: English politeness that Hebrew readers skip, long sentences built in English order, and every reader addressed as a man.

The rules we follow when writing Hebrew copy for business sites:

  • Address readers without assuming gender. Use impersonal forms (`יש ללחוץ`, "click here") or plural imperatives. The old default of masculine singular now reads as dated. Slash forms (`לקוחות/ות`) belong in marketing only, not in every sentence.
  • Be direct. Hebrew business writing is plain and to the point. Lead with the offer, the price or the hours; cut the warm-up.
  • Use full spelling without vowel marks (ktiv male), and keep it consistent.
  • Write dates as DD/MM/YYYY, times in 24 hours and prices in ₪. A booking page that says "3/4" means 3 April to an Israeli reader.
  • Use the forms people search. Hebrew changes words a lot: a plumber's site should use `אינסטלטור`, `אינסטלציה` and the verbs customers type, not one fixed keyword.

When Hebrew is the main language of a site in SiteCreatorEngine, the builder writes the texts in Hebrew from the start, from your description, rather than translating an English draft.

Does a small business website in Israel have to be accessible?

Most do. Israel's Accessibility Regulations for Service (2013) require websites that give service to the public to follow the Israeli Standard IS 5568 at level AA. The standard follows the international WCAG guidelines: the cover page of its 2021 edition describes it as identical to WCAG 2.0, and the current Part 1 is dated September 2023.

Key points from the regulation text:

| Rule | What it says | | --- | --- | | Level | IS 5568 at level AA (regulation 35A) | | Exemption | VAT-exempt dealers (עוסק פטור) and businesses with average annual turnover up to 100,000 NIS are exempt (35F) | | Time to fix | A gap is not a breach if it is fixed within 60 days of a notice about it (35A) | | Statement | An accessibility statement in a prominent place on the site (35E) | | Coordinator | Businesses with 25 or more employees must appoint an accessibility coordinator (law section 19מב, regulation 91) |

"Average turnover" means the average of the last three tax years with any turnover. An older exemption for turnover up to 300,000 NIS ended on 26 October 2020, so advice that still quotes it is out of date.

The cost of ignoring the rules is real. The Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law lets a court award up to 50,000 NIS without proof of damage, and that applies to breaches of the regulations too.

A site built to WCAG 2.2 AA covers WCAG 2.0 AA as well, because each newer version includes the older criteria. For a wider look at what the level means in practice, see our guide to accessibility for small business websites.

What goes into an accessibility statement?

The regulation lists the contents. An accessibility statement (הצהרת נגישות) must say:

  1. Which accessibility adjustments the site has.
  2. The accessibility coordinator's name and contact details, if the business must appoint one.
  3. How to report a missing adjustment or ask for one.

If any part of the site uses an exemption, the statement has to say so and describe the alternative. Write the statement in Hebrew first; add English if you serve tourists or partners.

Every site built with SiteCreatorEngine gets its own accessibility statement page in Hebrew, English or Russian that names IS 5568. Fill in the coordinator's name, phone and email yourself: the regulation ties those details to a real person at your business, and no tool can supply them.

Do you need a second language, and how should Google see it?

Add a second language when real customers need it: English for tourists, Russian or Arabic for local communities. A language nobody reads is a page to maintain for nothing.

Google's guidance on multilingual sites is short:

  • Give each language its own address, such as `/en/menu/`. Google "recommends using different URLs for each language version of a page rather than using cookies or browser settings."
  • Do not redirect visitors to a language automatically.
  • Link the language versions with `hreflang`. Each version must list itself and all the others; if two pages do not point to each other, Google ignores the tags.

Search in Israel is almost entirely Google: StatCounter puts its share at 98.38% in September 2026, with Bing at 1.13%. A Hebrew site that Google reads well is most of the search work.

In SiteCreatorEngine, an extra language gets its own address, `hreflang` links and a switch in the header, and the translation is checked a second time before it goes live. Read more about multilingual websites.

A checklist before you publish

  1. The page declares `dir="rtl"` and `lang="he"`.
  2. Menus, arrows and carousels mirror correctly on a phone.
  3. Phone numbers, prices and English names sit on the right side of punctuation.
  4. Copy is written in Hebrew, addresses readers without assuming gender, and uses ₪, 24-hour time and DD/MM/YYYY.
  5. The site meets IS 5568 at level AA, unless you are clearly exempt.
  6. The accessibility statement is linked from every page and names a real contact.
  7. Any second language has its own addresses and `hreflang` links.

If you are starting from scratch, SiteCreatorEngine builds Hebrew websites right to left from the first build, with booking, forms and dates in Hebrew.

Frequently asked questions

Is my small business exempt from the Israeli accessibility rules?

Possibly. The regulations exempt VAT-exempt dealers (עוסק פטור) and businesses whose average annual turnover over the last three tax years with turnover is up to 100,000 NIS. Above that threshold, a website that gives service to the public must follow IS 5568 at level AA. Check your own case with an accessibility consultant or a lawyer.

Is IS 5568 the same as WCAG?

Close to it. The 2021 edition of IS 5568 Part 1 states that it is identical to WCAG 2.0, with national changes to the video criteria. The current edition is dated September 2023. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA covers the WCAG 2.0 AA criteria too, because newer versions keep the older ones.

Do I need a separate English site for tourists?

No. Add English as a second language of the same site, with its own addresses such as `/en/`. Google recommends separate URLs per language and `hreflang` links between them, and visitors switch language in the header. A separate site doubles the work without helping search.

Can an accessibility widget make my site compliant?

No. A widget changes how a page looks for one visitor; it does not fix missing labels, wrong headings or a broken keyboard path. The regulation requires the site itself to meet IS 5568 at level AA, and the statement has to describe the adjustments actually made.

Sources

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