Why, and how to create a multilingual website

Why, and how to create a multilingual website

Nowadays, when launching your own business, with the web that almost dictates our decisions, it’s important to make wise choices that risk determining the success of your business.

For example, choosing Webself for your website is a pretty easy decision (we do have to brag a little), but determining your target audience and the price of your products, for example, can be a little more difficult. In addition, when our target market is determined and your website created, you must ask yourself: should my website be translated into multiple languages?

Today, we talk about multilingual websites, if you should have one and if so, how to add the feature to your WebSelf website! Ready to get started?

Why?

  1. Open doors to new markets
  2. Expand your online visibility
  3. Increase your income

If you’re dealing with an international market, or if your target audience is wide in terms of its geographical location, it would be a shame to limit yourself to the local clientele! A website translated into several languages will open the door to new markets, since its content can be read by more people. If you have a multilingual online store, you also improve your chances of increasing your income.

With Webself, you have the opportunity to sell your products in several languages, but also in several currencies, which will encourage more people to shop. People tend to have a greater sense of confidence when buying a product/service in their currency.

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Who is it for?

It’s not always relevant to have a website translated into several languages. In fact, it is rather useless in certain sectors of activity whereas, in others, it is fundamental. Here are two examples of companies where it might be interesting to have a site translated into several languages:

  • Online Store

If you have an online store, and you want to sell products internationally, it can be interesting to have your site in multiple languages, at least in Spanish and English, depending on the spoken language of your target market (and the market you want to have)!

  • Hotel rentals, condos, guest houses, etc.

There is a good chance that the people staying in your home/ condo/ guesthouse aren’t all locals so it may be appropriate to translate your site into several languages (at least those spoken in the areas around you) to gain visibility.

How?

If you have a pro or business plan, you can easily add the multilingual feature from your dashboard. This short tutorial will explain how.

To add a new language, access the Settings on the top of the menu bar and click on "Language" and then on '' Add a language ''.

Here are your options:

  • Select the new language;
  • Select the country associated with the new language (only if you want to display a flag in addition to the language);
  • Select whether to make it visible or not online;
  • Select whether this language becomes the main language of your website.

Once you’ve added the language (or languages), you can rearrange the display order and edit them to change the country, the flags as well as the primary language of your website.

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You can view the available languages in your site or in the Header or in the Footer:

  1. Click on the Edit icon to Edit the header or footer;
  2. Click Add Content
  3. Choose the Multilingual feature
  4. Then choose
    1. The display of your languages
    2. The alignment of your languages
  5. Click Save and then Close

Creating a multilingual site requires translating your content into different languages. The original language serves as a template for your new language, once you add a new language, the layout of your site remains intact; you simply need to translate the content.

In conclusion, a multilingual site, if appropriate for your activity sector, can only bring benefits for your business: increasing your visibility, income and reaching a larger population, among others. If your target market is international, then your website should too! Take your business to another level and enjoy all the benefits you can get from a WebSelf premium plan, today!


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