What does a multilingual website need?
In short: A multilingual website gives every language its own pages: with their own address, their own copy and the words customers use when they search in that language. Google links the versions to each other, and the language switch leads to the same page in the other language. Languages written right to left get a layout made for them.
What does each language get?
A version of every page that can be found by itself. The versions know about each other, so visitors and Google can move between them:
- EN/en/
- DE/de/
- AR/ar/
- More languages
Its own address
Each version has an address of its own, so Google can find it and customers can share it.
Its own copy
The copy is written for the language, or carefully translated and checked against the original.
A language switch that keeps your place
The switch leads to the same page in the other language, not back to the home page.
Everything in every language
The menu, forms, automatic emails and legal pages exist in every language, and in a shop the order and payment too.
Is machine translation enough?
Often for reading, rarely for being found. In every language, customers search with words of their own, and a word-for-word translation seldom matches them:
Searched in English
Translated word for word into German
How people search in German
How people search in Arabic
With us, copy and translations are part of SEO: every version gets the words your customers search for, down to the titles and headings, and every translation is checked against the original.
What changes for languages written right to left?
Languages that run right to left turn the whole page around, not just the text. Done well, the page feels as if it had been made in that language:
Navigation
The logo, the menu and the buttons swap sides, so the eye starts where it starts in that language.
Left to right: Logo left, menu right
Right to left: Logo right, menu left
Text
Paragraphs start on the right, in a typeface made for the language, often with a little more space between the lines. A brand name in Latin letters still sits in the right place in the middle of a sentence.
Left to right: Aligned left
Right to left: Aligned right
Forms
Labels, input fields and error messages move to the other side. Email addresses and numbers still read the right way.
Left to right: Fields from the left
Right to left: Fields from the right
Direction
Arrows, progress bars and image galleries point in the reading direction. Logos, photos and numbers stay as they are.
Left to right: Onward to the right
Right to left: Onward to the left
The online bookshop of Arwad is one example: readers buy there in English, German or Arabic, each in their own language and reading direction.
How much does a multilingual website cost?
Every extra language brings its own pages, copy and search terms. What it costs depends above all on who translates, how many pages there are and whether the language runs right to left.
Some things are made once for all languages, such as the design and the technology. Others come with each language: the translation, the search terms and checking every version. Your quote shows separately what is paid once and what is paid per language. More on this in How much does a website cost?
How do you make an existing website multilingual?
An existing website can often be extended with more languages. If its system doesn’t handle that well, a redesign is the cleaner way.
Choose languages and pages
Which languages to add, and which pages come first: usually the ones that bring in enquiries today.
Copy for every language
Translated or newly written, with the search terms of that language and checked against the original.
Online and found
Each version goes online at its own address, the language switch connects them, and Google matches them to each other.
Whether a fresh start pays off is covered in When is a website redesign worth it?
Frequently asked questions
Which languages are possible?
In principle any, including languages written right to left. Each version gets its own pages, copy and search terms.
Who translates the copy?
We do, as part of our SEO, and every translation is checked against the original. For further languages we work with a translator.
How does Google find each language version?
Through each version’s own address, and through details in the page’s code that tie the versions together. Google then shows every searcher the version in their language.
How do visitors switch languages?
With the language switch, usually at the top of every page. It leads to the same page in the other language. A browser can translate a page, but that doesn’t replace a version written for your customers.
Does every language need every page?
No. You can start with the most important pages and add more later. What matters is that each version you have is complete, and that the language switch only leads to pages that exist.
Do I need a separate domain for each language?
Usually not. One domain with a section for each language, such as /de/ and /ar/, is enough, and every version benefits from the same standing with Google. Separate domains per country pay off mainly when you have a separate offer there.
Is there a plugin that makes WordPress multilingual?
Yes, WPML for example, which Arwad’s shop also runs on. The plugin manages the versions; the real work lies in the copy, the search terms and looking after each language.
Can my online shop sell in several languages too?
Yes. Products, checkout, emails and legal pages are then in every language, with several currencies if you like. More on this in How much does an online shop cost?