Add another language to your site

A second language gives visitors a translated copy of your site, with a language switch in the header. Your editor can translate the text automatically. Those translations can be wrong, so every page needs to be read before it goes live.

More languages are an add-on. If your site doesn't have them yet, ask us about adding them. We quote it in writing first.

Before you start

• Finish your site first. Each language is its own copy. After translating, a change you make in one language does not appear in the others.
• Save a backup. See Save a backup before a big change.
• Line up someone who reads and writes the language fluently. Don't publish automatic translations unread.

Steps

1. Log in to your site editor.
2. In the side panel, click More, then Settings, then Site Languages. If you already have other languages, click the flag icon in the top bar, then Manage Languages.
3. Click + Add language and choose one or more languages. Some languages come with more than one country flag, so choose the one that suits your customers.
4. Click Done.
5. The Use automatic translation switch is on by default. To write every page by hand instead, switch it off now, because you can't undo the automatic translation after the language is added.
6. Click Save. A language switch is added to your header. Check it on a phone.
7. To edit a language, click the flag in the top bar and choose it. Read every page and correct what's wrong.
8. Publish. If you don't see a Publish button, tell us and we'll publish it for you.

What doesn't translate by itself

• Blog posts.
• Search titles and descriptions for your pages. Write these by hand for each language.
• Descriptions of your photos (alt text).
• Text connected to your business details.
• Months and days in a Google Calendar.
• Links inside translated text. The words are translated but the link is lost.
• Rich text styling inside tabs and open-and-close lists.

You also can't add links to other sites in your menu once a language is added.

Keeping languages in step

• When your hours or prices change, change them in every language.
• On a page's settings (the gear icon in Pages), Redo Translations replaces a translated page with a fresh copy of the main page. Anything you corrected there is lost. In another language the button reads Update this Translation.
• A language's flag is fixed once it's added. For a different flag, delete the language and add it back with the one you want.
• A site can hold about 200 pages across all its languages. More languages can also slow your site, so add only the ones you need.

Need a hand?

If your site doesn't have this yet, ask us about adding it. We quote it in writing first, and nothing is billed unless you approve. Email hello@zossoz.com.