One site, several languages,
done so search engines understand it
Most multilingual sites fail quietly: hreflang tags are missing or wrong, a translation plugin swaps words without adapting the SEO, and search engines end up confused about which page serves which country. We have shipped a five-language site correctly and build every multilingual project the same way.
What it is and who needs it
A multilingual website serves the same content in several languages with each version correctly signaled to search engines through hreflang tags, so a visitor in Germany sees the German page in search results and a visitor in Thailand sees the Thai one, rather than search engines guessing or defaulting to one version for everyone. Done right, each language version is also its own real SEO target with locally researched keywords, not a direct translation of the English ones.
It is essential for any business serving more than one language market seriously: a real estate developer selling to international buyers, a clinic network in a multilingual country, an e-commerce brand expanding regions. It is the wrong investment for a single-market business adding a second language mostly for appearance; that effort is better spent elsewhere if the actual audience is monolingual.
What is inside
Every page gets a dedicated URL per language with hreflang tags pointing correctly to every sibling version, including a fallback for languages not yet covered, which is the detail most plugin-based solutions get wrong and that quietly hurts search visibility in every language at once. Translations start from a machine draft for speed but go through a human review pass for tone and the specific details a machine gets wrong: correct quote marks per language convention, local date and currency formats, and idiom that does not read like a translation.
Each language version also gets its own keyword research rather than a literal translation of the English target terms, since the phrase someone actually searches in Spanish or Thai is rarely a direct translation of the English phrase. The content structure is built so adding a new language later is a translation job, not a development project, which matters once a business decides to expand into a fourth or fifth market.
How we build it
We start by mapping which languages are needed and what differs beyond text: currency, legal disclaimers, local contact details, sometimes entire sections that only apply to one market. The content structure and URL scheme get designed around that before any translation work starts, since retrofitting hreflang onto a site built single-language first is far more expensive than building it in from day one.
Translation and development happen in parallel: English or the source language gets built and approved first, then each additional language is translated, reviewed by a native speaker where possible, and checked against the live layout since text length varies significantly between languages and can break a design that was only tested in one. Before launch we verify hreflang in Google Search Console and check that every language version is crawlable and distinct, not blocked or duplicated by mistake.
Timeline and price
| Tier | Price | What it covers | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | from $3,200 | 2 to 3 languages, hreflang, human-reviewed translation | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Production | from $6,500 | 4 to 5 languages, per-language SEO, larger content model | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Full control, handover-ready | from $11,050 | Everything above, plus documentation so new languages can be added by your own translators without a developer | 6 to 9 weeks |
Running cost after launch is mainly future translation work, since the technical structure does not need ongoing attention once hreflang is verified correct.
What you own at the end
The repository, every language’s content, and the hreflang configuration are yours from day one. We document the URL and translation structure clearly enough that a translator with no development background can safely add a new language later.
Related
This pairs with corporate website development as the base the languages sit on, and with real estate developer website for the industry where multilingual builds are most common for us. For the technical layer, see multilingual site with hreflang and static site generator and programmatic SEO. For a real example, see the five-language Montenegro real estate site and the medical centres marketing rebuild.
Selling or serving more than one language market and not sure your current site is set up correctly for it? Get in touch and we will check your hreflang for free on the first call.
FAQ
How much does a multilingual website cost?
From $3,200 for a site in two to three languages with correct hreflang and human-reviewed translations, live in 4 to 8 weeks. Five or more languages, or a larger content model, usually runs $6,000 to $10,000.
What is hreflang and why does it matter?
Hreflang is the tag that tells search engines which language and country each page version serves, so a French visitor gets shown the French page in search results rather than the English one. Done wrong, which is common, it causes search engines to show the wrong language or treat versions as duplicate content and rank worse.
Do you use machine translation?
We use it as a first draft for speed, then every page gets a human review pass for tone, idiom and the small details, correct quote marks, date formats, currency, that a raw machine translation gets wrong. Brand names and set phrases are never auto-translated.
Who owns the translated content?
You do, in every language, from the first commit. The structure is also built so a new language can be added later by any translator without needing a developer to rebuild the routing.
What happens after launch?
30 days of fixes across every language are included, plus we check Search Console a few weeks in to confirm each language version is being indexed and shown correctly, not just that the pages exist.