Why government websites need a shared design system
Every developer working on Israeli government websites was solving the same problems independently. Building the same buttons, the same form fields, the same navigation patterns — each time from scratch, each time slightly different. The result: inconsistent citizen experiences, duplicated effort, and accessibility gaps between government sites.
Israel's National Digital Unit commissioned Globalbit to build a unified design system that every government agency could use. The goal: any developer building a government website picks pre-built, tested, accessible components instead of reinventing them.
What the design system includes
The platform provides a searchable component library where developers find what they need and get production-ready code.
UI components. Buttons, form fields, search bars, navigation menus, data tables, alerts, cards — all styled to meet government design standards. Every component ships with full source code that developers copy directly into their projects.
Accessibility built in. All components meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards by default. Screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, proper ARIA attributes, and sufficient color contrast are baked into every component. Developers don't need to think about accessibility separately — it's part of the component.
Security compliance. Components follow government cybersecurity standards. No external dependencies that could introduce supply chain vulnerabilities. All code is audited and maintained centrally.
RTL support. Every component works in both right-to-left (Hebrew) and left-to-right layouts. Government sites serving international residents or displaying English content seamlessly switch direction.
The impact on government development
Development speed. A government agency building a new public-facing service used to spend 6-8 weeks on front-end development alone. With the design system, that drops to 2-3 weeks. The components are ready — developers wire them up to their backend.
Consistency across agencies. Citizens interacting with the tax authority website, the health ministry portal, and the transport department now encounter familiar patterns. Same button styles, same form behaviors, same navigation structure. This reduces confusion and improves completion rates for government services.
Reduced maintenance. When accessibility standards update or security patches are needed, the design system team pushes updates centrally. Every agency using the components benefits automatically.
Technical implementation
The system runs on a cloud-based platform accessible from authorized government workstations. Components are framework-agnostic — they work with React, Angular, Vue, or plain HTML. Each component includes:
- Rendered preview showing how it looks and behaves
- Copy-paste source code
- Usage guidelines and documentation
- Accessibility verification notes
What's next
The design system is expected to become mandatory for all new government digital projects in 2025. Every new website or citizen-facing application will build on this shared foundation.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from Material Design or other open-source design systems? It's built specifically for Israeli government requirements: Hebrew RTL support, government accessibility standards (which exceed WCAG AA in some areas), government cybersecurity compliance, and visual identity guidelines for public sector services.
Can non-government organizations use it? Currently, access is restricted to authorized government agencies. However, the architectural patterns and accessibility approaches are applicable to any organization building accessible, multi-language web applications.
Who maintains the design system? Globalbit built the initial system in collaboration with the National Digital Unit. Ongoing maintenance and component additions are managed through a dedicated team that reviews contribution requests from across government agencies.
If your organization needs a design system for large-scale, multi-team development — government or enterprise — we've done it at national scale.