A site in several languages: what to plan up front
Language is a structure decision, not a plugin you switch on at the end. Plan the URLs, the menu and who writes the translation before the first concept.
Karol · piekarski.it
August 6, 2026 · 1 min read
Adding a language later is possible. Deciding it up front is cheaper, because the menu, the forms and the URLs are part of the first concept.
URLs and the default language
Pick which language has no prefix, and keep the others under their own path. The same page in another language is a translation, not a copy pasted into the footer.
Who writes the other language
I can structure the site for Polish, English and German. The wording in each language needs an owner. Machine translation is a draft, not the page you publish.
Got the answers? The brief is only 4 steps.
Leave blank any field you can’t fill in yet.