A second language should serve a specific visitor. Before translating the entire website, describe who will read it, what information they need, and how they will contact you. This lets you start with the pages they genuinely need.
Design a complete journey
Consider a hypothetical example: an English-speaking visitor wants to understand a service and send a question. They need a clear description, a relevant project example, and a way to make contact in the same language. If the description is in English but the form and confirmation message remain only in Greek, the journey is incomplete.
First, list these pages and the short copy that connects them: menus, buttons, field instructions, and error messages. Do not promise support in a language unless you can genuinely respond in it.
A shareable URL for every language
Visitors must be able to copy the link to the language version they are reading. Google recommends separate URLs for language versions and links that let users choose a language. It discourages automatic redirects based on the language a website assumes a visitor prefers. Guidance for multilingual websites.
Switching languages is most useful when it leads to the corresponding page. If an article has not been translated, it is better to explain that clearly than to send the visitor unexpectedly to the homepage.
Check the links between versions
The annotations hreflang tell search engines which URLs are alternative language or regional versions. Google describes reciprocal references between corresponding pages and each page referring to itself. These annotations help search engines understand the versions; they do not guarantee rankings. Language-version documentation.
When reviewing content, include the page title, description, buttons, and image descriptions where needed. A container that fits a short Greek phrase may need more room in another language. Test the actual pages on mobile, including language switching within them.
An example you can explore
In our own Mythic Mode Journal, we published a guide to ancient Greek clothing in 20 languages. Testing covered all 20 desktop versions and five languages on a real Android phone. On the project page we describe what was done and link to the published article.
This is an owned project. It demonstrates the publishing and verification process without attributing any unmeasured increase in visits or sales to it.
Prepare a short request
For an initial discussion, all you need is:
- The public URL of your existing website and the languages you need.
- Two or three pages you would like to start with.
- The audience each language serves and the action you want them to complete.
- Who will review the translations, and who will update them when the source copy changes.
You can describe your project for an initial, no-obligation discussion. Do not send passwords, payment details, or customers’ personal data. The initial request is not an order or acceptance of an offer.
Copy written with AI assistance, with references to technical documentation and the published owned project.