Multilingual Website Design UK

Who needs a multilingual website

A multilingual website offers the same content in more than one language, each version properly linked so search engines and visitors find the right one. They make sense for exporters and B2B suppliers selling into Europe, online shops shipping abroad, tourism and hospitality businesses welcoming overseas visitors, organisations in Wales serving Welsh speakers, and services aimed at UK communities whose first language isn't English. If most of your customers search in English, a single-language site is usually the better investment. We'll tell you if that's the case. A cheaper middle step is a single page in each key language explaining what you do and how to order, which tests demand before you translate the whole site.

URL structure: subfolders, subdomains or separate domains

Search engines need a separate URL for each language version. There are three common ways to do it:

For most clients we recommend subfolders. We avoid parameters such as ?lang=fr and never show different languages at the same URL based on cookies, because search engines can only index one of them.

hreflang done properly

hreflang tells Google which version of a page to show to which audience. Each page lists every language version of itself, including itself, using an ISO 639-1 language code and optionally an ISO 3166-1 region code: en-GB for UK English, fr-FR for French in France, fr-BE for French in Belgium. An x-default value names the page to show anyone who doesn't match, often an English version or a language chooser.

The links must be reciprocal. If the French page points to the English page but the English page doesn't point back, the annotation is ignored. On larger sites we put hreflang in the XML sitemap instead of the page head to keep pages lean. Google works out a page's language from its visible content, so each page should be written fully in one language rather than mixing translated and untranslated blocks.

Design and build details

• Text length: translations are often longer than English, and German compound words can break narrow buttons and menus. We design flexible components and test with real translated text, not placeholder copy.
• Right-to-left scripts: Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew need dir='rtl' and mirrored layouts. We use CSS logical properties so one stylesheet handles both directions.
• Language attributes: every page sets lang, and quotes in another language get their own lang so screen readers pronounce them correctly. These meet WCAG 3.1.1 and 3.1.2, part of our accessible web design standard.
• Fonts: we check your web fonts include the characters you need, such as Welsh accents like ŵ and ŷ, Polish diacritics or Arabic script.
• Language switcher: labelled with each language's own name, like Cymraeg, Français or Deutsch, rather than flags, which represent countries rather than languages.
• No forced redirects: we may suggest a version, but visitors and search engine crawlers can always reach every language.

Platforms and translation

On WordPress we typically use an established multilingual plugin such as WPML or Polylang, which handle translated pages, slugs and hreflang. On Shopify, Markets handles languages, currencies and regional pricing alongside a translation app. We can work with your own translators, recommend a professional service, or use machine translation as a first draft that a fluent speaker then checks. We don't publish unchecked machine translation for customer-facing pages.

Price

Multilingual websites get a fixed quote because the cost depends on the number of languages, pages, platform and who provides the translations. Translation itself, premium plugins and extra domains are listed separately in the quote. As a starting point, single-language sites are from £250 + VAT, Business sites from £500 + VAT and ecommerce from £750 + VAT. Ask for a quote.

What you get

• URL structure plan for each language or market
• hreflang tags in the page head or XML sitemap
• Language switcher that keeps visitors on the equivalent page
• Layouts tested with real translated text, including RTL where needed
• Translated title tags, meta descriptions and URL slugs
• Multi-currency and local payment setup for shops where required
• Workflow for adding and updating translations

Prices and how it works

Websites from £250 + VAT, business websites from £500 + VAT and ecommerce from £750 + VAT. Small changes are £45 an hour + VAT. You get a fixed quote before we start.

1. Free chat

   Tell us about your business, who your customers are and what the website needs to do. No charge, no obligation.

2. Fixed quote

   You get a fixed price and a clear list of what is included, in writing, before anything starts.

3. Design

   We plan the pages and design the site around your customers, then share it for your comments.

4. Build and test

   We build it mobile-first, write or polish the copy, set up SEO foundations and test it on real phones.

5. Launch and hand over

   We launch, connect analytics and Search Console, and show you how to update it. You own it all.

Related