Building a Webflow Multi Language Website Made Easy

Building a web presence that resonates with a global audience is a must for businesses and organizations.

With Webflow, you can create a multi-language website that caters to diverse audiences.

To get started, you'll need to set up a new site in Webflow. This involves creating a new project and choosing a template that suits your needs.

Having a multilingual website is a game-changer for businesses looking to expand their reach and improve user experience. More than 60% of internet users worldwide speak a language other than English, making it a massive untapped market.

Creating a multilingual website allows you to reach a broader audience that doesn't speak English, opening up opportunities to enter different markets and countries with your existing content in their language. This can lead to increased sales and revenue.

By providing more language options on your website, you can improve conversion rates, with 76% of online customers preferring to buy from websites that provide content in their native language. This can make a huge difference in your business's bottom line.

A multilingual website can also provide unrivaled global accessibility, allowing you to present content in multiple languages and dismantle linguistic barriers. This can help you reach a more extensive and diverse audience.

With the right tools, such as Polyflow, you can seamlessly integrate multiple languages into your website, streamlining the translation process and eliminating the need for repetitive manual tasks. This can save you time and effort, and help you keep your content up-to-date and accurate.

Webflow's native Localization feature, launched in November 2023, allows users to manage and create a multilingual website directly within the Webflow Designer.

This feature comes alongside a strategic shift towards emphasizing Localization over just offering multiple languages, catering to the needs of a global audience in a personalized manner. Webflow's Localization feature doesn't support eCommerce sites, which means you need workarounds to create a fully functioning multilingual website.

Webflow Multi Language simplifies the content translation process, allowing creators to seamlessly translate and manage content directly within the Webflow editor, eliminating the need for external translation tools or plugins.

With Webflow's Multi Language feature, creators can easily manage and publish content across multiple languages, opening up new possibilities for reaching diverse audiences worldwide. This feature streamlines content creation, ensuring consistent messaging across all language versions.

Webflow's support for multi-language e-commerce enables businesses to broaden their reach and cater to a global customer base, presenting invaluable opportunities for international market penetration and increased sales.

Ranks well on Google in English, but that's not the same in other languages. By making a multilingual website, you can significantly boost your international SEO and rank on Google even when someone does a Google search in their native language.

If your website ranks well on Google in English, that's great, but it might not hold the same position in other languages. Duplicate or similar content across different language versions can harm your website's SEO performance, so providing original content for each language is crucial.

Machine translation tools like Google Translate or DeepL can help you translate your content into different languages. However, it is always best to write unique content tailored to each target audience.

You can target a broader range of keywords with translated content on your Webflow website, as well as translated meta titles and meta descriptions. Weglot also detects and translates content that is not visible on your site, such as metadata, increasing your chances of ranking in Google SERPs in your new markets.

Search engines accord priority to multilingual websites, resulting in heightened visibility across global search results.

Translation is a crucial aspect of creating a multilingual website. With the Weglot integration, you can automatically scan and replace content with translations, simplifying the process of building a multilingual Webflow site.

Weglot's automatic translation layer allows for easy editing and management within the Weglot dashboard. This feature is particularly useful for those seeking professional translation services, as it empowers users to focus on crafting compelling content while leaving the technical complexities in capable hands.

Translating page options is essential for boosting visibility on search engines. To locate the parameters of your pages, access them by clicking on the cogwheel icon of the page you wish to locate in the list of pages. Translate the page slug (URL) and, optionally, the page name.

To translate the global version of a component, and not create an instance, select the relevant component, right-click on the blue label that appears in the Designer, and click on Translate.

Editing and managing translations can be a source of frustration, especially when minor changes must be made manually on each page. This is why choosing a solution that simplifies translation editing and management is critical.

Here are some key facts to keep in mind when editing and translating your Webflow multi-language site:

Webflow's multi-language feature allows you to manage content across multiple languages with finesse, streamlining the process and saving time.

You can customize localized items by creating a new item in your main language, modifying the fields, and saving changes. This will apply the changes to all languages by default.

Customizing collection template pages is also possible, allowing you to localize static content, adapt design, and even localize SEO data according to language.

To create a seamless user experience, you can combine elements like translation of textual content, visual adjustments, and SEO information optimized for each language.

Webflow's Localization feature brings a new level of customization and personalization to the platform, allowing users to adapt their websites for global audiences in a more immersive and engaging manner.

You can manage publishing statuses for Collection items by locale and even stage blog posts for publishing in one locale while saving them as drafts in others.

The Locales List element introduced by Webflow is a new nugget for multilingual site designers, simplifying the creation of a dynamic, customizable language selector.

This element can be integrated directly into the Designer, offering visitors an intuitive way to switch from one language to another, enhancing their experience on your site.

You can customize the appearance of the Locales List to fit in perfectly with your overall design, making it an excellent tool for making your Webflow site truly multilingual.

Here are some key features of the Locales List element:

Creating a multilingual website with Webflow can be a complex process, but with the right tools, it becomes a breeze. Weglot is a no-code translation tool that automatically scans and replaces the content of your original page with translations, making it easy to focus on content without worrying about duplicate pages or websites.

You can also use Linguana, a native solution built for Webflow sites, to translate and manage Webflow content in multiple languages. This platform helps Webflow creators empower their makers to build multilingual sites.

To translate page content, you can select the Body element, but keep in mind that components will only be translated if you have created properties for them. For example, if you have a text property for a small call-to-action component, it will be translated as an instance specific to that page.

Here are the steps to translate a component globally:

Translating SEO options is also crucial for a well-referenced multilingual site. You'll need to adapt the design of your pages to each language, which we'll cover in the next section.

Customizing translation in Webflow is a breeze, especially with the right tools and techniques. You can seamlessly integrate language switchers into your website design, preserving a cohesive visual identity.

To customize a specific item for a given language, follow these steps: start by creating a new item in your main language, then switch to the desired language and modify the fields according to the specific needs of that language.

You can also customize localized items by creating a new item in your main language and then modifying the fields in the desired language.

To translate the global version of a component, select the component, right-click on the blue label, and click on Translate. This will ensure that the same component present on other pages is translated.

Here are the steps to translate a component:

The next step is to adapt the design of your pages to each language. You can do this by customizing localized items, as mentioned earlier.

Custom code can also be used to create a more efficient language switcher. This involves creating a dictionary object in JavaScript that contains all the translations for each language, and then writing a function that updates the text on your site whenever the language is switched.

Here's a simplified example of how to use custom code for language switching:

var translations = {

'english': {

'hello': 'Hello'

},

'spanish': {

'hello': 'Hola'

}

};

function switchLanguage(language) {

var elements = document.querySelectorAll('[data-translate]');

elements.forEach(function(element) {

var key = element.getAttribute('data-translate');

element.textContent = translations[language][key];

});

}

Managing localized content is a breeze with Webflow's multi-language feature. You can create a new locale and have all CMS items from the primary locale copied over, allowing you to override specific fields without affecting the primary locale.

You can manage publishing statuses for Collection items by locale and even stage blog posts for publishing in one locale while saving them as drafts in others. This ensures consistency in messaging across diverse language iterations.

To make changes specific to a language, simply switch to that language's mode in the Local view, which lets you preview your site in real time in the selected language. This makes it easier to adjust design and content to meet the expectations of your international visitors.

Here are the key steps to follow:

By following these simple steps, you can create a seamless and immersive experience for your global audience.

The Local View is a powerful tool in Webflow that lets you see your site through the eyes of your international visitors. It's like having a magic mirror that shows you exactly what they'll see.

You can select a language and instantly enter that language's mode, where all elements of your site are displayed in that language. This includes text, images, buttons, and more.

The Local View also lets you make changes specific to that language without affecting other versions. This is super helpful for customizing your site for different languages and cultures.

Here are some key features of the Local View:

By using the Local View, you can ensure that your site is tailored to the needs of your international visitors and provides a seamless experience for them.

Resetting localized items in Webflow can be a lifesaver when you need to go back to the basics. You can reset an item to its basic version by selecting it, right-clicking, and choosing "Reset all localized settings." This will only affect the item in the current language, leaving other languages unaffected.

This process is especially useful when you want to start fresh with a new item or when you've made changes to an item and want to revert back to the original version. The "Reset all localized settings" option is a quick and easy way to do just that.

You can also use the "Reset all localized settings" option to reset an item that's been customized for a specific language, bringing it back in line with the base language. This is a great way to maintain consistency across languages and ensure that your content is accurate and up-to-date.

Here's a quick rundown of the steps to reset localized items:

By following these simple steps, you can easily reset localized items and maintain a consistent and accurate content strategy.