Multilingual website development needs an agreed process for translating, reviewing and publishing content. Assign responsibility for each change and record the matching language versions, then check the update in every language you publish. Include headings, forms, downloadable documents and submission messages in the review.
A different price or condition in another language can confuse a customer who is trying to check your offer. During website development, agree how each translation will be created and updated. You can also apply this process to an existing site, including one whose translations come from an external supplier.
Do you need more languages or a different offer for each market?
Start by naming the audience for each version. An English translation may present the same service to readers abroad. A version for a particular market may have a different offer, currency, delivery area or contact. In that case, someone also needs to approve those business differences.
Google distinguishes multilingual and regional websites. It recommends separate URLs for different languages and letting visitors choose a language. Automatically redirecting people to an assumed language can make other versions harder to reach.
Your first planning list can contain the language, audience, available offer and person who approves it. Mark any service that is unavailable to particular markets. A translator should not have to decide whether to retain a price or deadline that does not apply to their readers.
What needs translating on a page?
List content by the places where it appears. The main copy and heading are a starting point. Review the menu, breadcrumbs, buttons, image descriptions, downloads and form messages too. The title and description intended for search results should describe the content of the relevant language version.
Pay attention to content used in several places. Changed opening hours may affect the contact page, footer and an answer to a common question. If editors enter the same information in separate fields, record each location. For a custom content management system, you can agree a shared field for information that editors manage together.
Translating a heading inside an image requires editing the image or displaying the text another way. Its alt description should match the image and its purpose. If an infographic includes important conditions, check that someone reading another language can understand those conditions.
How can you track content that still needs translation?
Leave a short record for each content change. Enter the source URL, a description of the change and the matching address in the other language. Useful statuses include “awaiting translation”, “awaiting review” and “published and checked”. Choose names that suit your work; the next step and its owner need to be clear.
This is a suggested template for your team. You can keep it in a shared spreadsheet or adapt your administration system to record the same information.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Item | What to record | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Content | The source address and its matching language version. | Both addresses cover the same topic. |
| Change | The exact passage, fact or functional message. | The editor can tell what changed and what stayed the same. |
| Business conditions | Any affected price, scope, availability or deadline. | The responsible person confirms it applies to this audience. |
| Responsibility | Who translates, approves and publishes. | Every task has an assigned owner. |
| Status | The current step and agreed date. | No version is marked complete before review. |
| Public check | The date, reviewed URLs and corrections needed. | The change appears on the public page. |
For important conditions, agree a coordinated release or temporarily remove incorrect information. A small addition to an article may have separate publication dates. Base that decision on the consequence of leaving an outdated version available to a reader.
What does this look like on our Serbian and English website?
On 1 November 2026, we added a proposal-comparison template to our mobile app cost guide. The Serbian version of the guide contains the same addition. Both cover the first release, unverified dependencies, external services and support after publication.
The sentences fit their respective languages while answering the same questions. Both versions explain that an empty entry in a proposal does not mean the work is included. We can therefore review a specific meaning that the reader needs to understand, rather than require matching word counts.
The original publication date was retained, and the addition received its actual modification date. The release record identifies the sections we checked. A modification date alone does not establish that every paragraph was reviewed again.
How should matching language versions be connected?
A language switch should take the reader to the corresponding content. Sending someone from a detailed service page to a homepage interrupts that task. During review, open several page types, including a blog article and the contact page.
Google's guidance on localised versions explains hreflang, which associates language variants. The versions you connect should reference each other and themselves using full URLs. This technical annotation does not replace translated, reviewed content.
The person maintaining the site should check these connections when a new version becomes available. If an existing public address changes, include a redirect plan. Our SEO checklist for a website redesign covers the wider checks around changing addresses.
What if a translation is not ready yet?
Keep the translation as a draft until the responsible person confirms it is ready for publication. Serbian copy underneath an English menu can make a version look finished even though its readers cannot use the expected content. Google determines a page's language from visible text, as explained in its multilingual site guidance.
If you introduce languages in phases, agree what visitors will see when a translation is unavailable. You can clearly state that a particular article currently exists in one language only. Do not label a language link as a translation of the same page if it leads to a different topic.
Check the difference between saving and publishing in the administration system. An agency handles the final step on some projects; on others, an authorised editor publishes directly. Our guide to editing through a CMS describes the specific Cargo Shark blog workflow, where saved content awaits agency publication.
What should you check before release and prepare for an estimate?
Open the public page in both languages on a computer and a phone. Read the changed passage, follow the language switch and check that buttons lead to the expected addresses. Review messages shown when a required form field is missing. Actually submitting an enquiry or placing an order needs a separate, agreed test.
Record what you reviewed and what remains unresolved. At the next publication, the team needs to know which version still requires work. Include responsibility for these updates in your website maintenance agreement.
For a multilingual website estimate, send the languages, a page list and an example of content you change regularly. Tell us who prepares translations and whether the offer differs by market. We can use that information to define the necessary fields and review process before publication.