hebrew-rtl-best-practices

Hebrew RTL Best Practices

Instructions

Step 1: Set Up Document Direction

Always start with the HTML attribute (not just CSS):

<html lang="he" dir="rtl">

This tells browsers, screen readers, and CSS to use RTL as the base direction.

Step 2: Use CSS Logical Properties

NEVER use physical directional properties for layout:

This ensures the layout automatically mirrors in RTL mode.

When you genuinely need a direction-specific rule that logical properties cannot express, prefer the :dir() pseudo-class over [dir="rtl"] attribute selectors:

/* Modern: matches the resolved direction, including dir="auto" and inheritance */
.chevron:dir(rtl) { transform: scaleX(-1); }

/* Older approach: only matches an explicit dir attribute on/above the element */
[dir="rtl"] .chevron { transform: scaleX(-1); }

:dir() is part of Selectors Level 4 and resolves the computed direction, so it also works for elements whose direction comes from dir="auto" or from an ancestor, where an attribute selector would miss them. Browser support: Chrome and Edge shipped it in version 120 (late 2023), Firefox has supported it for years, and Safari added it in 16.4, so it is now Baseline (widely available). For older-browser support, keep an [dir="rtl"] fallback rule or use a logical property instead. Check current support at https://caniuse.com/css-dir-pseudo.

Step 3: Handle Bidirectional Text

When mixing Hebrew and English/numbers:

/* Isolate embedded LTR content */
.ltr-content {
  unicode-bidi: isolate;
  direction: ltr;
}

/* Mixed or unknown-direction content: each paragraph picks its own base direction */
.user-content {
  unicode-bidi: plaintext;
}