Multilingual website development
author: Monika Torokne Nagy
The consequence of globalisation is that people now have access to any product, even if it is created on the other side of the world. Of course, this is only true if the company is involved in the international economy, if it is open to customers abroad, speaking foreign-languages. The first step in this is to create a multilingual website!
What is a multilingual website?
The explanation of a multilingual website may seem obvious, but to ensure accuracy and dispel misconceptions, it is worth clarifying. A multilingual website is a mirror image of the original language, just in a different language.This means that all its elements will appear in the foreign language version, including the content, articles, menu items, sub-links, buttons and even captions for images. In short, everything! So when the visitor clicks on the appropriate language-switching button, the foreign language version of the site appears.
What to pay attention to when creating the page?
Before developing such sites, it is worth considering whether you have the necessary development and translation capacity. This is a big job and requires close cooperation between the two disciplines. Moreover, once the website is up and running, the work does not stop. As time goes by, updates, new articles and content will also need to be translated into the foreign language(s) concerned.
From an SEO marketing point of view, this is crucial. If a website is created in several languages, then SEO must be done in several languages. And if the competition for a particular term is fierce, longer texts may have to be written. It is important to note that visitors in different languages may be addressed with different messages.
These all imply that creating a multilingual website will require more time and money. If you don't want to do this, but don't want to leave foreign visitors on their own, it is better to let the multilingual website go and create an easily accessible foreign language summary of the website.
For those who still insist to a multilingual site, the first step is to install the multilingualisation module, then translate the text, then translate the buttons and subtitles into the other language. Care must be taken to adapt the design, as the length of the foreign language text will change, the language transcoding process in the source code must be carried out, and finally the feedback messages and emails must be modified.
Creating a multilingual website: a range of benefits
A multilingual website is a big investment of time and energy, but in some cases it is well worth the effort. With its help you can:
- reach a wider customer base: the more languages you have, the more customers you can attract. This is a basic requirement if your company is international, but it can also be an advantage if you operate in Hungary, as you can reach the growing number of foreigners who are here.
- generate sympathy: a multilingual website is a way of showing consideration to foreign-language visitors. The fact that they can browse your site in their mother tongue or in a universal language such as English, creates a good impression, which will hopefully be followed by purchases and contacts.
- get in front of competitors: it's worth investigating your competitors. If they have a multilingual site, you should not miss it, if they don't, you can gain a competitive advantage.
- improve user experience: the aim of website development is to ensure that visitors enjoy their time on the site, and this is enhanced if they can read content in several languages.
- increase conversion: a visitor in a foreign language will buy and engage if he understands the texts. So, if you want them to spend money on your site, there's nothing else to do but translate!
Mistakes to avoid when creating a multilingual website
Multilingual websites are popular with businesses, many of whom rely on foreign-language visitors and want to serve them well. The problem starts with the fact that multilingual website design is often misunderstood. Rather than approaching the task as if each language version is in fact a separate website, they try to get around the job by coming up with more and more "creative" solutions. Let's take a look at the mistakes that should not be made!
The language button takes you to the main page
A common and very annoying method is the "fake language selection button". The unsuspecting visitor clicks on the button, hoping to see content in a familiar language, but instead all that happens is that the click takes them back to the home page. They need to find the subpage they were on.
The compressed version
Another way to save extra work and translation costs is to display a compressed version of the original website on the foreign language site. This is the better of the bad solutions, but it is by no means the one to follow. A well-designed UI/UX website, created by copywriters and optimised for SEO can be wiped out in one fell swoop, as none of this is displayed on the foreign version.
The unfinished version
out otherwise. The sign "Under construction" unmistakably tells the visitor that something is not finished here, that the page is incomplete. This is indicated by the /hu snippet in the URL of the website, or by the # link under the toggle button. These are mistakes that professional companies do not make. If something is not ready, it is better to hide it, make it invisible, and only show it when it is in its full glory.
Why work with Meraki?
Our company offers a wide range of website development services, from web shops to landing pages. With our professional advice and experience, we can create a website that meets all your needs, or redesign an existing one, while keeping your requirements and ideas in mind.
Website development is a team effort, so our colleagues with expertise in each area (UX/UI design, development, SEO, project management, graphics, copywriting) work together with the client.
We like challenges, unique solutions and extra requests, but we also put the best of our knowledge into the development of a simple landing page. We know that a website is one of the bastions of modern marketing, so we take great care in building and beautifying it.
We have a lot of experience with companies expanding into foreign markets, so we have been asked to create their sites in several languages. Take a look at the multilingual sites we have created: