Making your website multilingual

A multilingual website gives each language its own addresses, such as /fr for French. It has a language switcher, translated page titles and descriptions, and tags that tell Google which pages are translations of each other. The translations can come from people, from AI, or both.

Each language gets its own addresses

The English page is at /about, the French one at /fr/about. Search engines index each language separately, so a search in French can find the French page. A switcher on every page moves between the two.

Tell Google which pages match

Each page tells Google which pages are its translations. Google then shows people the version in their language, and doesn’t treat the translations as copies of each other. The sitemap lists every language’s pages too.

Translate the menus and buttons too

The menus, buttons, form labels and messages are translated along with the pages. When a new label is added in English, it’s added in every language at the same time, so no page shows a mix of languages.

When a page isn’t translated yet

A page without a translation can show its English text with the menus in the reader’s language, instead of a missing page. Translations can then follow over time.

People, AI, or both

• People for the pages that sell or explain: the home page, services, key articles.
• AI for text that changes often and in volume: listings, product descriptions, updates. See translating your website automatically.

FAQ

Will Google treat translated pages as duplicates? Not when each page tells Google which pages are its translations.

Which languages should I add? The ones your customers speak.

Can I edit the translations myself? Yes, when the site has an editor. Each language’s text can sit in the same editor as the English.