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Web development

Two languages, not one copy translated on top

Plugins that translate a site automatically give you the feeling of having an Arabic version, while the search engine sees one page whose content keeps changing. The result is that neither language performs. A correct structure means a separate page with its own URL for each language.

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Structure

What makes a bilingual site correct

The details most implementations get wrong.

Technical and indexing

  • A separate URL per page in each language
  • Reciprocal hreflang links in both directions
  • An x-default pointing at the primary language
  • A sitemap covering every language version
  • No automatic redirect based on visitor location

Content and interface

  • Title and description written per language
  • Correct direction for text, icons and numerals
  • A typeface suited to each writing system
  • A switcher opening the same page, not the home page
  • Forms and error messages fully translated

An early decision

Do you genuinely need two identical versions?

Not every site needs full translation. Sometimes the English-speaking audience only cares about three pages, and translating the entire blog for them is spend with no return. During scoping we decide together which pages get translated and which stay in one language, and configure the language links accordingly.

Questions we settle early

Which language is primary and which secondary
Which pages get translated and which do not
Who writes and reviews the second version
Whether the blog is translated or only pages
The language of documents and invoices sent out
The admin panel language your team works in

Mistakes

Three mistakes that break a bilingual site

All common, all fixable.

Redirecting by visitor location

Forcing a language based on country blocks crawling and irritates anyone who wants the other one.

A switcher that returns home

Switching must open the same page in the other language, or the visitor loses their place and leaves.

Machine-translated metadata

The title and description are written per language, because they are the first thing a searcher reads.

Questions

About multiple languages

Should we use an off-the-shelf translation plugin?
We do not recommend one for full machine translation. They are fine for managing two human-written versions, but generating the text automatically produces weak content that harms your rankings more than it helps.
Which language should be the default?
It follows your primary market. For a Gulf audience we make Arabic the default at the root and English on a sub-path, and point x-default at the Arabic.
Can we add a third language later?
Yes, and the structure is designed for it from the start. Adding a language means adding its content and configuring its links, with no rebuild of the site.

Start here

Tell us about your project

Send us two lines about what you need on WhatsApp. We reply, book a short scoping call, then send a written plan with cost and timeline before you commit to anything.

Talk to us on WhatsApp hello@upgrad.agency