Navigation changes, the form does not
The customer is pushed back into the source language.
Multilingual website setup
Do not bolt on a language. Open a second clear route.
Give another customer group a complete journey they can trust. A focused second-language layer starts provisionally at £300 - £600.
Per additional language for a focused small site. Translation authorship and large content sets are scoped separately.
Paired service pagesynthetic example
ENXX
English route/services/website-care/✓ complete
Second-language route/xx/services/website-care/✓ paired and approved
Choice stays visible. Each address can be opened and shared directly.
Separateaddress for each language
Completeforms, emails and actions
Approvedcustomer-facing wording
Ownedrepeatable update route
Interactive language scope
Translate the journey, including what hides underneath.
Choose the closest website type to reveal the visible content, easily missed strings and technical work behind a dependable second language.
Scope preview
01
Customer routeWhat must still work
Complete outcome
A visitor finds the right service, understands the offer and reaches the correct contact route.
- Visible content
- Home, service pages, about, contact, navigation and essential calls to action.
- Often missed
- Page titles, descriptions, image text, cookie choices, footer, menus and error messages.
02
Build routeWhat keeps it dependable
pairedLikely scope
Often fits the focused range when the site is small and approved copy is ready.
Paired language URLs, page links, language declaration, reciprocal hreflang and sitemap checks.
Important boundaryA second-language homepage alone does not make the customer journey multilingual.
Where rushed translations fail
The new language appears. Then disappears mid-task.
A language switcher can look finished while menus, forms, emails, checkout, metadata and important pages remain in the source language. Customers lose confidence and search engines receive incomplete or contradictory page pairs.
Page pairs contradict each other
Missing or wrong signals make the language relationship unclear.
Emails and documents are forgotten
The website promises one language and the business replies in another.
Machine copy becomes final copy
Fluent-looking text can still change meaning, tone or risk.
The content inventory
A page count is only the beginning.
Before pricing, the site is mapped by content type and customer action so small strings do not become large launch problems.
Pages and navigation
Headings, body copy, menus, footers, calls to action and media text.
Forms and messages
Labels, validation, consent, confirmations, notifications and autoresponders.
Products and transactions
Catalogue data, variants, cart, checkout, account, invoices and policies.
Search presentation
URLs, titles, descriptions, structured data, page pairs and sitemaps.
Local conventions
Dates, time, currency, address, telephone, units and market-specific details.
Interface and access
Language declarations, fonts, text expansion, keyboard route and reading direction.
Language and search architecture
One language per address. One honest relationship between them.
Google recommends distinct language URLs, crawlable links between versions and hreflang for equivalent pages. The visible page language still needs to be obvious and complete.
✓ Both versions remain directly reachable. No guessed-language trap.
From source copy to maintained page
Approve in context. Keep an update owner.
The site is inventoried by customer journey, approved copy is mapped to distinct language URLs, interface and hidden strings are completed, page pairs and search signals are connected, then forms, messages and mobile layouts are tested in context. An update owner and translation status keep the second tree maintainable.
- 01InventoryPages, strings, journeys and market differences.
- 02SourceOne approved version and a terminology list.
- 03TranslateHuman-approved copy with clear authorship.
- 04BuildURLs, templates, menus, forms and messages.
- 05VerifyMeaning, layout, links, search signals and mobile tasks.
- 06MaintainStatus and owner for every future change.
AI can assist, not approve
Speed up the draft. Do not outsource meaning.
AI can help organise terms, prepare low-risk drafts and find missing content. A suitable person still approves wording, context and claims before customers see them.
Drafting, terminology consistency, missing-string reports and comparison.
Tone, cultural fit, ambiguity, promises, prices and calls to action.
Policies, medical, financial, legal, employment and safety information need appropriate review.
Important machine-translated changes stay reviewable before release.
A live structure Ernest uses
Two markets. A focused second route.
This website currently has a separate Lithuanian landing page and language choice. The wider Lithuanian content library is being expanded, so this is not presented as a complete translation of every English page.
The same-domain route keeps each market directly reachable while the Lithuanian project library grows.
Provisional second-language price
A focused layer for a small site, priced after the inventory.
Useful when a real customer group prefers another language and the business can approve accurate copy. A focused small brochure or enquiry site can fit the provisional range; shops, bookings, large archives, several markets and application interfaces need a content and systems audit first.
See all website and system prices →Focused one-off setup per language£300 - £600translation or reviewer cost separated when required
- Small-site content and journey inventory
- Language route, switcher and paired core pages
- Interface strings, metadata and basic search signals
- Responsive checks, launch and editing handover
Price rises with page and word volume, shops, bookings, applications, several forms, dynamic data, integrations, specialist review, right-to-left layout, custom fonts or repair of an inconsistent existing setup.
No fixed standalone monthly figure is claimed. Ongoing content synchronisation can be quoted separately.
Before adding another language
Multilingual website questions.
Is the £300 to £600 price for translating an entire website?
It is a provisional focused range for adding one language to a small website when the page count, customer journey and approved copy are ready. A large catalogue, booking system, application, right-to-left layout or substantial copy preparation needs a wider quote after the content inventory.
Do you provide the translated copy?
The technical build, content structure and placement can be included. Translation authorship depends on the language and subject. You can provide approved copy, or suitable translation and review can be scoped separately. Important claims, prices, policies and customer messages are not silently machine-published.
Can AI translate the website more cheaply?
AI can prepare a draft, create a terminology list or identify missing strings, but it can also flatten tone and mistranslate context. A person who understands the target language and subject should approve customer-facing copy before publication, especially legal, medical, financial or safety information.
Will each language have its own web addresses?
Usually, yes. Separate, crawlable URLs make each language version shareable, testable and understandable to search engines. Equivalent pages are paired with reciprocal hreflang signals, while each page keeps its own appropriate canonical URL.
Should visitors be redirected automatically by country or browser language?
Usually not as the only route. A visible language choice lets the person decide and avoids trapping travellers, multilingual households and search crawlers in the wrong version. A suggestion can be considered, but both language trees should remain directly reachable.
How are future content updates kept in step?
The build identifies a source language, an owner, a translation status and what may remain unpublished until approved. New pages and changed prices, forms, policies or emails need a repeatable update route so the second language does not become a stale copy of the launch site.
Bring the website and target language
Count the complete route. Then price the words.
Show Ernest which customers need another language, who approves the copy and what they must complete on the website. You will get a clear content and technical boundary first.
Discuss a second languageExplore every system and add-on →Email or telephone only. No obligation and no automatic translation promise.