We build websites for companies that sell into several markets: each language gets its own URLs, metadata, forms and emails, and search engines know which version to show in which country. A business website starts at $2,400; multilingual support adds $700. Adding a language later is a content task, not a development project.
A second language is a second site for Google
A translated text behind a language switch is not enough. For search engines each language version is a separate page that needs its own address, its own title and description, and an hreflang link to its counterparts — otherwise the German page competes with the English one, or never shows up in Germany at all. For visitors, the language has to hold all the way through: the form, the error messages, the confirmation email, the price format.
Seven languages, one configurator
Designer Spanndecken, a German manufacturer of premium stretch ceilings, sells in seven languages. Its live calculator prices a ceiling from area, light points and add-ons and hands the configuration to a quote request with file upload — in each of the seven, so the sales team receives briefed leads whatever language the client writes in.
Designer SpanndeckenWebsite and lead engine for a German manufacturer of premium stretch ceilings.Read the case
What a multilingual build includes
- A URL structure per language (/de/, /fr/ …) with hreflang pairs and an x-default.
- Translated metadata: titles, descriptions and social previews for every language.
- Forms, validation messages and emails in the visitor's language.
- Prices, dates and units formatted for each market.
- A CMS where each language is edited side by side, so a new language means new texts, not new code.
What is not included: the translation
Multilingual support is the technical structure. The texts themselves are translated by your team or a translator you choose; we recommend a person rather than machine translation for pages you want to rank and convert.
Questions about multilingual sites
Subdirectories, subdomains or separate domains?
For most companies, subdirectories on one domain (example.com/de/) are the simplest to run and keep the site's authority in one place. Separate country domains make sense when each market is run as its own business.
Should the site detect the visitor's language and redirect?
We suggest it rather than force it: an automatic redirect can stop search engines and travellers from reaching the version they asked for. A visible language switch and correct hreflang do the job.
How long does it take?
A business website takes two to four weeks; the language structure is built in from the start, so it adds little time. The schedule then depends mostly on when the translations are ready.
