How to work with multi-regional and multilingual sites
Thanks to the global nature of the internet (it’s called the World Wide Web for a reason, you know), there are many websites that, due to their diverse audience or locale, require the use of multiple languages in their text. A side effect of this is that there are potential SEO issues that come with replicating content across multiple pages, so web developers need to plan ahead accordingly.
There are no hard and fast rules about how such sites have to be built, but over time some useful rules of thumb have been developed. Here are some of the best ones:
1. Speaking the right language
First of all, it’s important to make it easy for users to find the language they want. You can do this in the website design stage simply by making a prominent link at the top of the screen that directs users to a particular page (for example, an Irish Gaelic version of that page’s content) or by implementing a redirect.
2. Website redirection for multi-lingual sites
This more technically demanding solution automatically changes the page the user is looking at based on their default language or even their location. It’s always a good idea to allow users to find a way back to the original page, however.
3. Multi region domains
Additionally, it’s worth taking the time to carefully name the domains and directories the content is on. For example, consider placing German content pages in a /de/ subdirectory, or setting up language-specific domain names such as domainname.se or francais.domainname.com
At iFactory, maintaining websites and keeping their content fresh and interesting for audiences around the globe is part of our everyday life. Contact us today to see how we can help you keep your website’s je ne sais quoi.
