What's included in a multilingual website project
We scope languages and markets first, then design the site so every version is complete. Depending on the project, the scope includes:
- Language and market architecture: which languages, which countries and what changes between them
- A URL for every language version, usually in subdirectories such as /es/, with matching canonical tags
- Reciprocal hreflang annotations, plus an x-default for visitors who match neither language
- A language switcher that lands on the equivalent page, not the homepage
- Localized copy, titles, meta descriptions, structured data and image alt text
- Forms, confirmation messages, emails and error states in each language
- Search research per language and a review workflow with a named owner for every page
- Launch checks that compare language pairs, links and forms
Translation vs. localization: what changes between English and Spanish
Translation converts sentences; localization rewrites the page for the person reading it, with the terms they search, the proof they expect, the formats they use and a next step that makes sense to them. A US buyer types web design agency; a Colombian buyer is as likely to type diseño de páginas web, agencia or cuánto cuesta. Spanish also varies by country: celular or móvil, computador or ordenador, cotización or presupuesto.
For a US business adding Spanish, our bilingual English–Spanish website guide covers who it's for, the setup, ranking in Spanish and what it costs.
Layouts need room too. Spanish copy often runs longer than English, so navigation labels, buttons and headings are designed for both languages from the start. Dates, currencies, phone numbers and legal text are adapted per market, and a language version goes live only when its content is complete.
Multilingual SEO: URLs, hreflang and language switching
Google recommends a separate URL for each language version rather than swapping text by cookie or browser setting, and it reads a page's language from its visible content, so each page keeps content and navigation in one language. We connect every page to its counterpart with reciprocal hreflang tags and an x-default.
We don't redirect visitors by IP address or browser language; Google advises against it because people and crawlers can miss versions. The switcher stays visible and lands on the equivalent page. Script widgets that translate text in the browser don't create indexable pages, which is why we build real language versions. This website works the same way: every page has an English and a Spanish URL that reference each other with hreflang.
Which languages and markets should your site cover?
Add a language when you can serve customers in it. Someone has to answer a Spanish inquiry, support a Spanish-speaking client and keep those pages current; a polished Spanish site that leads to an English-only reply loses the trust it built. Start where demand and capacity overlap, and add country versions only when prices, legal terms, delivery or the offer genuinely differ. Pages that only swap a city or country name add little and compete with your stronger pages.
Spanish-language websites for businesses in Toronto and the US
Hispanic-owned businesses in Toronto and across the US often serve customers in Spanish while also needing English for suppliers, partners and the wider market. For them we reverse the usual order: Spanish is the primary language, with its own search research, and the English version is written for people searching in English in the same city, not translated line by line.
We work remotely, in Spanish or English, over video calls. Bogotá is on UTC−5 all year: the same time as Toronto and New York in winter, and one hour behind while they observe daylight saving time. Local rules that shape the site, such as privacy notices, consent for marketing email and accessibility requirements, are reviewed per market in the proposal.
Keeping every language up to date after launch
Multilingual sites tend to decay quietly: the English page gets a new price and the Spanish one doesn't. We set up the content model so each translation is its own entry with its own slug, publish state and link to its source, and the workflow records the reviewer, approved terminology and update owner for each page. Our own blog runs this way, with every Spanish article published as a separate entry linked to its English original. Listings work the same way: on a real estate site for foreign buyers, price, area and status live in one record that every language reads.
How much does a multilingual website cost?
A second language is not a toggle: it adds copy, review, metadata, testing and maintenance. Cost depends on the number of languages and pages, who writes or translates the copy, how much changes by market, the forms and emails involved and the publishing workflow. The inquiry form's budget bands run from under USD 5,000 to above 60,000, so you can signal the depth you have in mind.
Timelines depend mostly on content. Approved copy in every language usually sets the launch date more than the code does, so the proposal sets review and delivery dates for each language's content.
Why an English–Spanish studio in Bogotá?
Dardo is a three-person, founder-led studio in Bogotá, Colombia, working in English and Spanish every day. Bogotá is on UTC−5 all year, overlapping US Eastern and Central working hours, which suits US companies reaching Spanish-speaking customers and Latin American companies selling in English. Search strategy for the whole site, beyond the language layer, is covered by our SEO service.
Questions before you choose
How do I make my website bilingual in English and Spanish?
Give each language its own URL, write the Spanish pages for Spanish-speaking buyers rather than translating line by line, connect each pair with hreflang and add a visible switcher that lands on the equivalent page. Then localize everything around the content: titles, meta descriptions, forms, emails and error messages. Finally, decide who maintains each language, because a bilingual site is only as good as its least-updated version.
Is a translation plugin or Google Translate widget enough?
For search, usually not. Widgets that translate text in the visitor's browser don't create separate, indexable pages, so search engines never see your Spanish version. Plugins that generate real language URLs are better, but their machine output still needs human review for prices, legal terms and interface copy. A plugin can be part of a good setup; it can't replace localized content and a review workflow.
Should I use subdirectories, subdomains or separate domains for each language?
For most single-brand sites, subdirectories such as /es/ are the simplest to run: one domain, one codebase and one analytics setup. Subdomains suit separate infrastructure, and country-code domains suit businesses with a distinct legal entity, pricing or team in each country. Google supports all three as long as each language version has its own URL, so choose based on how you operate.
What is hreflang and do I need it?
Hreflang is an annotation that tells search engines which pages are language or regional versions of each other, so a Spanish-speaking searcher is shown the Spanish page. You need it whenever the same content exists in more than one language. It has to be reciprocal: each page lists itself and all its counterparts, or the annotation can be ignored. An x-default value covers visitors who match none of the listed languages.
Do I need different Spanish versions for Mexico, Colombia and Spain?
Usually not at first. One carefully written Spanish version serves most Latin American and Spanish buyers if it avoids strongly regional terms. Separate country versions become worthwhile when prices, currency, legal terms, delivery, contact details or the offer change by country. Each version then needs genuinely different content and its own hreflang code, such as es-MX or es-ES.
Can we use AI or machine translation for our website?
Yes, as a drafting step with human review before anything is published. Google's spam policies treat automated translation used to mass-produce pages as scaled content abuse, and unreviewed errors in prices, legal terms or interface text erode trust quickly. Any automated draft should be rewritten and checked by someone fluent in that language; we do this ourselves for English and Spanish.
Can Dardo build a site in languages other than English and Spanish?
Yes. The structure, hreflang, switcher and publishing workflow work for any number of languages. What changes is who writes and approves the content: we work natively in English and Spanish, so a third language needs a qualified translator or reviewer named in the proposal. Right-to-left scripts such as Arabic also need layout work, which is scoped explicitly.
From the blog
- Multilingual SEO: URL structure, hreflang without errors, and when a language isn't worth publishing
One URL per language, reciprocal hreflang with x-default, no redirects between versions, only languages you can review. Codes that fail, a checker, a checklist.
- Bilingual English–Spanish website: how to plan it, what it costs and how to rank in Spanish
When a Spanish version pays off for a US business, how to set up URLs and hreflang, what it costs in 2026 and how to rank in Spanish, with Census data.
- Spanish-language websites for Toronto businesses: what to plan
A Spanish and English site for a Toronto business: URLs per language, hreflang, Google Business Profile, and the Ontario and federal rules that apply.