If your customers speak different languages, your website should too. A resort welcoming Korean and Japanese guests, an exporter selling to buyers abroad, a clinic serving both English and Filipino speakers, a company with offices in several countries. Showing people your website in their own language makes them more comfortable, more confident and more likely to contact you.
But multi-language websites are easy to get wrong. Automatic translation widgets that search engines can't see, mixed-language pages, URLs that confuse Google and editors who can't keep translations in sync.
I'm Aldrian, an independent developer. I build multi-language websites that work properly for visitors and search engines.
Doing it right
A separate URL for each language
Each language version lives at its own address, like /en/, /ko/ and /ja/, or on separate subdomains or country domains. That way search engines can find, index and show the right version to the right people. Automatic translation that changes the page without changing the URL usually isn't indexed as a separate language.
Hreflang tags
Hreflang tells search engines which pages are translations of each other and which language and region each one targets. Set up correctly, it helps Google show your Korean page to Korean searchers and your English page to English searchers.
Translated metadata
Page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, structured data and social sharing tags translated too, not just the visible text.
A clear language switcher
Easy to find, labeled with language names in their own language, and switching to the matching page in the other language, not back to the home page.
No forced redirects
Suggesting a language based on the browser's settings is fine. Forcing people into a language they didn't choose, with no way back, is frustrating and can confuse search engines.
Localized details
Dates, currencies, units, phone formats and addresses shown the way each audience expects.
Translation: people, machines or both?
Professional translation
Best for important pages, legal text and anything where tone matters.
Machine translation with human review
Modern machine translation is a useful starting point, especially for large sites. A native speaker reviewing the result catches errors and awkward phrasing.
Pure machine translation
Fast and cheap, but risky for customer-facing content. Mistranslations damage trust.
I'll help you decide what fits each part of your site. I can set up the system and work with your translators, but I'm not a translator myself for languages I don't speak.
Platforms
WordPress
Established multilingual plugins handle translated content, language URLs and hreflang. I set them up carefully, keep the plugin stack lean and make sure translated pages are fast.
Static and custom sites
Language versions built into the site structure, with content stored per language and hreflang generated automatically. Very fast and very clean. See hand-coded websites.
Headless CMS
Many headless CMSs support localized content natively, which is great for larger sites with editors in several countries. See headless CMS.
E-commerce
Translated product pages, checkout and emails, with currencies and shipping that match each market.
Who this helps
- Resorts, hotels and tour operators welcoming international guests. See hotel websites.
- Exporters and B2B suppliers selling abroad. See B2B websites.
- Clinics and services serving English and Filipino speakers
- Schools and universities attracting foreign students
- Companies with offices in several countries
English and Filipino websites
For businesses in the Philippines, a bilingual English and Filipino site, or adding Cebuano or other local languages, can make information more accessible to local customers. The same rules apply: separate URLs, hreflang and a clear switcher.
Adding languages to an existing site
If your site is already live in one language, adding more needs care so you don't disrupt existing rankings. The current URLs usually stay as they are, new language versions are added alongside, and hreflang ties them together. More on migrations without losing SEO.
Common multi-language mistakes
Translation widgets only. Visitors see translated text, but search engines may not index those versions.
Missing or wrong hreflang. Search engines show the wrong language to searchers.
Untranslated metadata. Titles in one language, content in another.
Mixed-language pages. Half-translated pages look unprofessional.
Switcher goes to the home page. Visitors lose their place.
No plan for updates. New content added in one language and never translated.
Keeping languages in sync
The hardest part of a multilingual site isn't launch day. It's months later, when someone updates a price in English and forgets the other languages. I set up workflows that help: clear indicators of which translations are out of date, editor permissions per language and simple checklists for publishing. Some content, like prices and contact details, can be shared across languages so it only needs updating once.
What it usually costs
It depends on the number of languages, pages and the platform. Translation costs are separate, whether professional or reviewed machine translation. You'll get a fixed quote for the technical work after we talk.
How we'd work
- We talk about your audiences, languages and content.
- I recommend the URL structure and platform setup.
- You get a quote with timeline and fixed price.
- I build the multilingual structure and switcher.
- We add translations and check every language version.
- We launch, then check indexing in Search Console.
Let's speak your customers' language
Tell me which languages you need and who you want to reach. I'll reply with a plan and a fixed quote.
