In an increasingly connected world, translating and localizing your website has become essential to reach international audiences. Webflow, a platform recognized for its flexibility and power in web design, recently introduced the “Webflow Localization” feature, which simplifies this process. In this article, the Gemeos Webflow agency shares with you the benefits of translation, what localization involves, and how to take full advantage of Webflow Localization.
La Localizing a website is adapting your site to be relevant to specific audiences, based on their language, culture, and local habits. This goes beyond simple translation, integrating visual, structural, and interactive adjustments to provide a consistent and engaging user experience in each region.
Take for example Airbnb, which locates its offers and content according to regions. The French Airbnb site offers offers specifically tailored to French travelers, using the local language, with ads relevant to popular destinations in France and a tone that resonates with local habits. This type of location not only makes it possible to better serve users, but also to strengthen conversion by facilitating access to information.
Whether you are a start-up or a more established business, localizing your site can allow you to capture new markets and improve your international natural referencing (SEO).
The configuration Webflow Localization is simple and intuitive. Here's how to do it:
You start by adding locals (language-region combinations, like”fr-FR“for French in France or”De-DE“for German (in Germany) for each version of your site.
In the tool Designer, switch between locals to customize content, collections, styles, and images in ways that are specific to each locale.
Each content and collection item can be located. For example, a blog post about a national event like the 14th of July holiday in France could be visible only on the French version of your site, but hidden for other locals.
Webflow allows you to customize SEO and Open Graph metadata for each location, which ensures better SEO performance in local search results.
A language or region selector can be integrated, allowing users to choose the local version that suits them
Attention, the customization of slugs and images according to the language is only available with the Advanced plan (at $29 per month).
Basic plans support up to 3 languages, while advanced plans support up to 10. Business plans allow for a personalized number.
Machine translations can be inaccurate and often require manual adjustments.
Localization is not available for e-commerce projects, although it should be possible in the coming months.
Each language added incurs a monthly fee, which can quickly raise the grade.
The “Essential” plan is quite frustrating because it does not allow you to do essential things for your international SEO such as:
Webflow offers several localization plans, each with features tailored to the needs of growing businesses. You can choose between three levels: Essential, Advanced, and Enterprise.
Localization plays a key role in improving the International SEO as well as user engagement. A site multilingual allows you to offer a personalized and relevant experience while improving rankings in local search results.
Slugs or URLs must be located for search engines to identify them correctly. For example, if you have an “About Us” page on your English version, its slug /about-us could be located in /who-are we on the French version.
Using hreflang tags allows you to tell Google and other search engines what version of your site should appear for a user based on their language and location. It also prevents duplicate content issues.
Webflow automatically adds the various hreflang tags
<!-- Page d'accueil en français (France) -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-FR" href="https://www.example.com/fr/" />
<!-- Même page de produit en anglais -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://www.example.com/en/" />
To optimize image indexing, each image and its alternative text (alt) must be translated. For example, a visual used on your German version should have an alt text in German to improve visual referencing in that language.
When we talk about website localization, it's useful to compare Webflow Localization with popular tools like Weglot. Weglot is a widely used machine translation solution that integrates with numerous platforms, including Webflow. However, each tool has its advantages and limitations.
Webflow Localization is an integrated solution for Webflow users who want to have total control over the design and SEO settings of each language version of their site. However, this requires more manual work. It is the ideal option for businesses that value personalization and are already familiar with the Webflow platform.
On the other side, Weglot offers an automated, fast and simple approach to localization, perfect for those looking to set up a multilingual site quickly. Weglot automatically manages translation and SEO, but offers less control over design customization. Weglot is recommended for users who want a quick and hassle-free solution to manage multiple languages with minimal effort.
If you want to master all aspects of Webflow Localization and other advanced features, Webflow University is a great resource. This free learning platform offers interactive courses to help you become a Webflow expert.
By taking the time to train yourself via Webflow University, you will have all the cards in hand to make the most of Webflow's functionalities, including localization and SEO optimization.
Modjo.ai had international challenges requiring a multilingual presence. To meet these needs, we added English in addition to French, localizing all assets, including URLs, to offer a version optimized for international SEO. This approach allows them to address a wider audience while strengthening their online visibility.
To discover the complete project, consult our Modjo.ai client case !
Localization is essential for businesses that want to expand internationally. Webflow offers you powerful and intuitive tools to localize your site, while maintaining a smooth user experience and strong SEO optimization. Whether you are starting to localize your site or want to make it evolve, the flexibility of Webflow allows you to adapt every aspect of your site to your global audience.
If you need help implementing a successful localization strategy, contact our team to take advantage of our expertise
