Translating or localising your website: what does your market need?

You want to enter the German market, or you are getting more and more customers from Belgium, France or the United States. The first thought is often: translate the website. But translating a website is not the same as localising it, and that difference determines how seriously you are taken in a new market. In this article we explain when translating is enough, when you are better off localising and how to set up a multilingual website properly, both technically and for SEO.

What is the difference between translating and localising a website?

Translating a website means converting the text into another language, while localising adapts the whole experience to a market. When you translate, the structure, examples and images stay the same. Only the language changes.

When you localise, you look further. Humour or directness that works in the Netherlands can come across as rude elsewhere. A reference to a Dutch retail chain means nothing to a French visitor. Images of typically Dutch streets feel odd on a site for Japanese visitors. And practical matters differ: payment methods, address and date formats, phone numbers and the way people prefer to get in touch.

Visitors notice the difference. A site that is only translated is technically correct, but does not quite feel like their own. A localised site shows that you understand the market.

When is translating a website enough?

Translating a website is enough when the content is factual or when your audience works internationally. Technical documentation, specifications and manuals are the same facts in every culture. In B2B sectors where English is the working language, customers expect less local adaptation.

Translating is also a good first step if you are exploring a market. You test whether there is demand and only invest in localisation once it takes off. A good translation is then better than a half-finished localisation.

When should you localise?

Localising is necessary when trust, emotion or competition make the difference. Consumers expect an experience that feels as if it was made for them. In a market where competitors are localised, standing out with only a translation is not a good thing. And if you really want to grow in a country, localisation is part of the investment.

What do you adapt when you localise?

When you localise, you mainly adapt the parts with the most impact. You do not have to change everything.

Homepage and core pages. This is where the first impression is made. These pages need to feel local.

Sales pages. Benefits, examples and proof. Customers want to see situations they recognise.

Tone of voice. Formal or informal, direct or careful. This differs greatly per country.

Images. Not everything has to change, but check that it suits the market.

Practical matters. Payment options, delivery, opening hours and contact options.

Less critical are legal texts, archive material and highly technical content. You can often translate those without further adaptation.

What does localising look like for the German market?

For the German market, localising mainly means more formality, more substantiation and different trust signals. German business visitors appreciate the formal form of address in first contact, extensive information and specifications, certifications and correct company details. Paying by invoice is common. A Dutch site translated literally quickly comes across as too informal and too brief. You do not need to build a different site, but adapting tone, level of detail and proof makes a big difference.

Which URL structure do you choose for a multilingual website?

For most multilingual websites a structure with subfolders is the best choice, such as yoursite.com/de/ and yoursite.com/fr/. Everything stays under one domain, so every language version benefits from the authority the domain builds up. Subdomains, such as de.yoursite.com, feel more like separate sites to search engines. Separate country domains only make sense if you have a separate organisation per country, because they require more management and each builds its own authority.

How do you handle multilingual SEO?

You handle multilingual SEO with three things: hreflang, keyword research per language and translated metadata. Hreflang tags tell search engines which page belongs to which language and region, so a German visitor sees the German version. You do keyword research per market, because people do not search for the literal translation of your search term. And you translate slugs, page titles and descriptions too, otherwise the page ranks poorly in the new language.

Many multilingual sites translate the content and forget this part. The result is a site that exists in several languages but is found nowhere. With SEO we take this into account from the start. For AI visibility it also matters that a page exists in the language the question is asked in.

How do you let visitors switch languages?

Let visitors switch languages with a language selector that names each language in that language itself, so Deutsch and Français instead of flags. Flags stand for countries, not languages. A British flag for English does not suit American visitors. Send someone who switches language to the same page in the other language, not back to the homepage.

Do you choose machine translation or a translator?

Machine translation is a good starting point, provided a native speaker reviews the most important pages. Translation tools have improved a lot in recent years and save a lot of time with large amounts of content. For your homepage, sales pages and campaigns you want someone who knows the language and the market. They spot not only mistakes, but also sentences that are correct yet sound odd.

How do you keep a multilingual website up to date?

You keep a multilingual website up to date with a fixed process, because every change has to be made in every language. Agree who translates, who checks and when. Collect changes and process them in fixed rounds. Review each language version periodically for untranslated parts. And start with one extra language. Learn from that process before adding the next.

If you build in Webflow, read how Webflow Localization supports this. On our page about a multilingual website you can read how we approach it. We work for clients in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and France, among others, so we know the differences from practice. Get in touch if you want to talk about your international site.