Hebrew-first multilingual websites and apps — RTL done right
One site in Hebrew, English, Russian, French — up to six languages — where Hebrew reads right-to-left without glitches, every language has its own page on Google, and content updates don't leave half the translations behind.
- Built in Netanya, Israel
- Hebrew-first: right-to-left from the first sketch
- This site runs in Hebrew, English, Russian and French
What is a multilingual RTL website, and what do we build?
A multilingual RTL website is one site that works properly in several languages, including right-to-left Hebrew or Arabic, with each language on its own address so Google can show it to people searching in that language. DDreamLab, a software company in Netanya, builds such sites and web apps in up to six languages: Hebrew-first layouts, clean lines that mix Hebrew, numbers and English, hreflang and metadata per language, and a content structure that keeps translations in sync.
Sound familiar?
The Hebrew version looks like a flipped English template
Arrows point the wrong way, the full stop jumps to the start of the sentence, a phone number written with spaces shows up backwards, and the email field in the form suddenly aligns right. Visitors can't name the problem, but they feel the site wasn't made for them — and close the tab.
The Russian version is always one update behind
On Thursday you changed prices and opening hours in Hebrew. The Russian page still shows last season's prices, the English page has its submit button in Hebrew, and nobody remembers what else was missed. Customers who read the old text call to check — or go to a competitor who answers in their language.
Google only knows one of your languages
The language switch changes the text in the browser, but the address stays the same, so Google indexes the Hebrew and nothing else. Someone searching in Russian or French for exactly what you do finds a competitor. A plugin that machine-translates every page word for word doesn't fix this — it only adds weak duplicates.
Everything switches back to Hebrew right after “Send”
The page is in Russian or English, but the form errors, the confirmation email and the WhatsApp reminder arrive in Hebrew only. The customer who trusted you enough to leave their details gets lost at exactly the moment it matters most.
How we build it
Languages and audiences
We start from your customers, not from a row of flags: who they are, which language they read, and which pages each audience actually needs. Sometimes the Russian version needs every page; sometimes five pages are enough in French. You get a language map before any design work starts.
Addresses and a search plan
Each language gets its own URL (/he, /ru, /en…), and we research searches in each language separately — Russian speakers in Israel phrase their searches differently from Hebrew speakers. That research shapes the titles, the headings and the questions each page has to answer.
Right-to-left design first
We design the Hebrew layout first and derive the left-to-right versions from the same system, not the other way round: a mirrored layout, icons that should flip and icons that must not, fonts for Hebrew, Latin and Cyrillic, and rules for mixed lines with numbers and English names.
Build on a shared content structure
Every language stores the same set of fields. If one language is missing a text, a check flags it before publishing, so a half-translated page never goes live. Your team can update content without breaking the other languages.
Texts, forms and messages
Native speakers — from your team or translators you trust — write or review each language. We carry that language through the whole customer path: form errors, confirmation emails, WhatsApp templates and, where needed, invoices.
Launch and check in Search Console
We submit a sitemap with every language version, check in Google Search Console that each language is actually indexed, and set up analytics by language, so you can see where your Russian- or English-speaking visitors come from and where they drop off.
What you get
- A language map and URL structure: its own address for every language, and a switcher that opens the same page in the other language, not the home page
- An RTL/LTR design system: mirrored layout, correct icons, fonts matched per script, clean mixed Hebrew–English lines
- A content structure per language, with a pre-publish check for missing translations
- Localized SEO: titles, descriptions, hreflang, structured data and a sitemap covering every language
- The whole customer journey in the customer's language: forms, error messages, emails and WhatsApp templates
- Accessibility built with the Israeli standard IS 5568 in mind, in every language
- Google Search Console and analytics set up per language
Who it's for
A clinic with Hebrew-, Russian- and Arabic-speaking patients
The site explains services and opening hours in each patient's language and takes appointment requests; reminders go out in the language the patient chose. We keep it to booking and reminders — anything that touches medical data gets a legal check first.
A real-estate project in Netanya selling to French and English buyers
Project pages, floor plans and a contact form in Hebrew, French and English, each version findable on Google in its own language. Leads arrive tagged by language, so the salesperson who speaks it calls back.
An accounting or law office serving olim
Hebrew for the Israeli market, Russian and English for new immigrants who need the same explanations about taxes, documents and deadlines in a language they read without a dictionary. The team edits one structure, and no version falls behind.
A foreign company launching in Israel
You have an English site and need a Hebrew version that reads as if it was written here: right-to-left layout, Israeli phone and date formats, calendars that start on Sunday, and Hebrew search terms researched from scratch rather than translated.
What “RTL done right” means in practice
Right-to-left is not just text-align: right. These are the details we check on every Hebrew and Arabic screen before launch:
- Phone numbers and prices don't flip: a number written with spaces keeps its order, and the ₪ sign stays on the correct side
- The full stop stays at the end of the sentence, even when the sentence ends with an English word
- Arrows and progress bars mirror; logos, checkmarks and play buttons don't
- Email, phone and web-address fields stay left-to-right, even inside a Hebrew form
- Hebrew, Latin and Cyrillic fonts matched in size and weight, so a mixed line doesn't look like two different sites
- Calendars that start on Sunday and dates in day/month/year order
Multilingual SEO done right
Google ranks pages, not websites. If your Russian version has no address of its own, Google simply has nothing to show to people searching in Russian. This is what we set up so every language can be found:
- A separate URL for every language (/he/…, /ru/…, /en/…) — never a button that swaps text only in the browser
- hreflang links between all language versions, plus x-default
- Titles, descriptions, headings and image alt texts written for each language — not left in Hebrew on the Russian page
- Keyword research per language, not a translated keyword list: the words people type in Russian or English are rarely a translation of the Hebrew ones
- No machine-translated duplicates: a language goes live only after a native speaker has reviewed it, and an unfinished language stays out of the sitemap instead of falling back to Hebrew or English
- No forced redirects by IP or browser language — we suggest a language and let visitors and Google's crawler choose
- A sitemap listing every language version, and a Search Console check for each language after launch
Where we already do this
The site you're reading runs in Hebrew, English, Russian and French: every service page has its own address in each language, and our build stops if any language version is missing a section. MenuPlus, our QR menu for restaurants in Israel, lets guests order in their own language — six languages, Hebrew included. NetzFlights, our flight-deals site, was built in Hebrew and right-to-left from the start.
MenuPlus
QR menu · RestaurantsA QR menu for Israeli restaurants: guests order in their own language, straight to the kitchen. Kosher labels, allergens, six languages.
NetzFlights
Flight dealsFlight deals from Israel: two or three a day, each checked by hand. Only fares that genuinely beat the usual — with dates, airline and baggage.
Send us your current site and the languages your customers speak — on a short call we'll show you what breaks right-to-left and which language versions Google can't see.
Tools and channels we work with
- Next.js
- next-intl
- Firebase
- Google Cloud
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics 4
- WhatsApp Business API
If a system has an API, we can usually connect it. If it doesn't, we'll tell you upfront.
How a project with us runs
The same four steps, whether it's a bot, an integration or a whole system.
Short call
You tell us what's slowing you down and how you work today. We ask questions — and if a ready-made tool fits, we'll say so.
Your partDescribe the task in your own words
Written proposal
Scope, stages and a cost estimate in writing, including who owns the code, the accounts and the data.
Your partReview, ask questions, decide
Build in stages
You see working parts early and try them on real cases. Your feedback goes straight into the next stage.
Your partTest and give feedback
Launch and support
We launch, watch how it behaves in real use and stay on for fixes and improvements.
Your partUse it and tell us what to improve
What affects cost and timeline
- How many languages, and whether right-to-left languages (Hebrew, Arabic) sit next to left-to-right ones
- How many different page templates the site needs — not how many pages
- A new site, or fixing and extending an existing one
- Who writes and reviews the translations, and how ready the texts are — this usually sets the timeline
- Whether your team edits content itself and needs a translation workflow
- Messages beyond the site in each language: emails, WhatsApp templates, invoices
- Connections to booking, payments or a CRM
We don't publish prices, because two multilingual sites rarely have the same scope. Call or message us on WhatsApp at 050-854-2579 — after a short conversation you'll get a written estimate.
Ownership, privacy and accessibility
Your code and data
Ownership of the code and data is agreed in writing before we start: who owns the source code, the accounts and the information is in the agreement — not something you find out at the end.
Privacy by design
We build with Israel's Privacy Protection Law and Amendment 13 in mind: we collect only what's needed, keep secrets on the server and agree with you where the data is stored.
Accessibility built in
Interfaces built with IS 5568 and WCAG AA in mind: keyboard navigation, contrast, screen-reader labels and right-to-left layouts.
Questions we hear
How much does a multilingual website cost, and how long does it take?
It depends on the number of languages, the number of page templates, whether it's a new site or a fix — and above all on the texts: translations written and reviewed by native speakers take the longest. We don't publish prices. Call or WhatsApp us at 050-854-2579, tell us which languages and pages you need, and after a short call you'll get a written estimate with a timeline.
Do you translate the texts?
We build the structure and the process; the words in each language are written or checked by a native speaker — someone on your team or a translator you trust. We can prepare a machine draft to save time, but we don't publish it unreviewed: customers notice machine phrasing, and Google's spam policies treat automatic translation published without human review as low-value content.
Can you fix RTL and the other languages on our existing site?
Often, yes. We start with a short audit: right-to-left bugs, an address per language, hreflang, and what Google has actually indexed. Sometimes targeted fixes are enough. Sometimes the template fights right-to-left at every step, and a rebuild is cheaper in the long run. And if your current site builder already handles your languages well, we'll tell you so.
One domain with language folders, or a separate domain per language?
For most Israeli businesses, one domain with a folder per language (/he, /ru, /en) is the simplest to run, and every language builds up the same domain in Google instead of splitting the effort. Separate domains make sense when markets, brands or legal entities differ. We look at your markets and decide together; either way, every version gets hreflang.
Will the site meet Israeli accessibility requirements?
We build with the Israeli standard IS 5568 (based on WCAG level AA) in mind, in every language: contrast, keyboard navigation, correct language and direction attributes so screen readers switch voice, and labelled form fields. For a formal accessibility audit and the accessibility statement, bring in an accessibility consultant — and we can fix whatever the audit finds.
Can we add another language later?
Yes, if the structure was built for it — and we build it that way from day one. Adding a language then means texts, a native speaker's review, metadata and a Search Console check, not a rebuild. After launch we can keep supporting the site: new pages in every language, content updates and an eye on what Google indexes.
Tell us which languages your customers speak
Send us your current site, or just a list of the languages and pages you need. We'll come back with what to fix first, what to build, and what the cost depends on.
Send us your current site and the languages your customers speak — on a short call we'll show you what breaks right-to-left and which language versions Google can't see.
Prefer to talk? Call050-854-2579