A website in several languages: who it's for, and how to get it right
Tourists, overseas owners, learners: who a multilingual website really helps, and the simple rules that make one work.
On the French Riviera, some of your customers don’t speak French, or would rather read in their own language. A multilingual website isn’t a luxury for big companies: it’s often the simplest way not to lose those visitors on the first page.
Who it really helps
- Restaurants and shops in tourist areas. The Ristorante da Lola site is in Italian, English, French and German, so everyone reads the menu and opening hours in their own language.
- Trades serving an international clientele. Plan B Concept represents overseas owners through building projects, and its site speaks English and French.
- Associations, institutions and training organisations with varied audiences. Some of our learning platforms offer their interface in around ten languages.
If your customers already write to you in English, Italian or German, that’s a good sign a version in their language would help them.
The rules for getting it right
1. A real translation, checked. An unchecked machine translation shows immediately and costs trust. Tools help you go fast, but every version needs reading through.
2. One page per language, with its own address. Each version needs its own URL (for example /en/ for English). That’s what lets Google show the right version to the right visitor, using tags that link the pages together.
3. A visible language switch. The choice of language belongs at the top of the page, written in the target language (“Français”, “Italiano”), not hidden in a menu.
4. Don’t trap visitors. You can suggest the browser’s language automatically, but visitors must always be able to switch, and their choice should be remembered. That’s what this site does: an English-speaking visitor lands on the English version, but if they choose French, the site remembers.
5. The same information everywhere. Opening hours, prices and contact details must match in every language. A forgotten, out-of-date version does more harm than no version at all.
Where to start
You don’t have to translate everything at once. Start with the language your customers speak most after your main one, and with the pages that matter: the home page, the menu or services, opening hours and contact.
We build sites in whatever languages your visitors need. See our work, or tell us about your project.