Multilingual website design

Who this is for

Organisations in Switzerland starting a new website, or replacing an old one, that need it to serve readers in more than one language from launch day. That includes companies selling across language regions, practices and studios with clients in two languages, associations with members across the country, and organisations whose staff or partners work in English.

If you already have a site and want to add a language to it, the language structure review is the better first step, because it shows what the existing site can carry before anyone redesigns it.

What makes multilingual design different

A design for one language can be adapted later, but the adaptation can be expensive. Navigation that fitted English breaks in German; buttons sized around short labels overflow; images carry words that cannot be translated; the switcher ends up squeezed into whatever space was left. Designing for several languages from the start avoids that rework.

Concretely, our design work differs from single-language design in four ways:

1. The language map comes first. Before any visual design, we agree which pages exist in which language, what the addresses look like and where the switcher sits.
2. Templates are tested with long text. Every template is reviewed with the longest likely version of its text, not with the English draft. W3C guidance notes that the shortest English strings expand the most when translated ¹, so buttons and navigation get particular attention.
3. Words stay out of images. Where an image needs text, we plan a file per language or overlay real text that translators can change.
4. Direction is considered. If a right-to-left language is on the horizon, the stylesheets use logical properties from day one.

What the service includes

• A language map: languages, scope per language, address structure and page list per version.
• Visual design of the key templates, reviewed in at least two languages.
• A build on the platform agreed in the quote, with each page linked to its translations.
• A language switcher in the header, named in each language, keeping readers on the equivalent page.
• Language tags on every page and on passages in other languages.
• Hreflang annotations and XML sitemaps covering every version.
• Locale-aware formatting for dates, numbers and CHF prices.
• A translation handover pack: export files, glossary template and screenshots for context.
• Placement of the translations you supply, and a review of each language in the layout.
• Launch checks in every language, using the same list as our locale QA checklist.

What it does not include

We do not translate. Translations come from translators you appoint, from an agency, or from your bilingual staff, and they are priced by them. We prepare the files, answer layout questions, place the text and check it in the pages.

We also do not write marketing copy in the source language unless that is agreed separately in the quote, and we do not give legal advice on what your site must publish in each language.

How a project runs

The stages are described in detail on the process page. In short: map the languages, design the templates, build in the source language, hand over to translators, place and check their work, then run launch checks across every version. The written quote lists the deliverables of each stage before any deposit is paid.

Choosing the address structure

Part of the language map is deciding between language folders, subdomains and separate domains. For a Swiss organisation serving one country in several languages, we suggest folders on your .ch domain unless there is a reason to separate. Google's guidance lists the trade-offs of each option ², and our guide to URL structure explains them in plain terms.

Platforms

We build on WordPress with a multilingual plugin, on other content systems that handle translations, or as a static site where content changes rarely. The platform decision depends on who edits the site, how often, and in how many languages. If WordPress is the likely choice, see multilingual WordPress for how we approach plugin selection.

What to prepare before contacting us

• The languages you need at launch, and any you may add later.
• A rough page count for the first language.
• Who will write or translate each language.
• Any platform already in use or required by your organisation.
• Dates that matter, such as a launch tied to an event.

None of this needs to be final. A rough version is enough for a first reply, and the project planner can help you write it down.

Price

Starting from CHF 14,500 for a site of up to fifteen pages per language in two or three languages, plus VAT where applicable. Larger sites, shops and right-to-left versions are quoted individually. The pricing page lists the other starting points.