How to make your Squarespace site multilingual?
There are several ways to make your Squarespace website multilingual. In this blog post, I’ll compare four options and help you choose the one that best suits your situation.
1. Weglot
Ease of Use:
Simple. Squarespace has a built-in Weglot, making it easy to connect the two tools. You select the languages, and Weglot automatically Weglot all content. You can also edit the translations manually.
Price:
Paid, starting at 15 euros per month. There is a free version, but it is limited (1 additional language with a maximum of 2,000 words). You'll need the Core Plan (formerly the Business Plan) for this.
SEO:
Good. Weglot separate URLs for each language and uses hreflang tags, which benefits SEO.
Time commitment:
Very little. Once your Weglot is set up, you only need to make changes in one language. Weglot the rest.
Support:
Good. Weglot support, and Squarespace has articles in its online help center.
How it works:
Go to Settings ( gear icon) > Site languages to connect Weglot your site. Then, continue setting up your account in the Weglot.
After Weglot up Weglot , enable the language switcher in the header in Squarespace: Edit Site Header > Add Elements > Language Switch
You won't see these additional translated pages in your Squarespace account. When you create new pages, they are automatically Weglot and translated in Weglot as well.
The integration with Weglot only available in Squarespace 7.1. If you still have a Squarespace 7.0 website, you can still Weglot . In that case, you’ll need to create an account directly on the Weglot . You’ll then add a piece of code to your website to set up the connection.
Want to get started with Weglot?
With Square It Up the first 3 months free and a 15% lifetime discount.
Want to learn more? Contact us.
2. The “Brad Good” Method
bradgood.net/articles/multi-language-content-on-any-squarespace-template
Ease of use:
Challenging. You manually create separate pages for each language on your Squarespace website and add code to switch between languages. This requires careful work. Additionally, Squarespace may change its source code, which could cause the Brad Good code to suddenly stop working, resulting in all pages in all languages becoming visible in the menu.
Price:
It's free, but you'll need the Squarespace Core Plan (formerly the Business Plan) to add the code.
SEO:
Fair. All language pages are indexable, but you run the risk of duplicate content, which isn't good for SEO. To prevent this, you can add hreflang tags yourself.
Time commitment:
High. All content must be copied and edited manually. You also have to make changes in all languages whenever updates are made.
Support:
No official support from Squarespace. If you encounter any issues, you'll need to rely on a web designer or the support available through the Brad Good website.
How it works
You’ll need to create all the pages in every language yourself on your Squarespace website. For example, if you want to offer content in Dutch, English, and German, you’ll need 3 homepages, 3 contact pages, 3 “About Me” pages, and so on. And, of course, you’ll have to translate all the text yourself.
The downside of this method is that it doesn't include code for creating multiple footers. So if you have a bilingual website, the footer will be the same for both languages. If you don't want that, hire a web developer to help you write code to create footers for each language.
This method works for both Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1.
3. Brochure with a drop-down menu
Ease of use:
Simple. You create a folder for each language in the navigation and place the translated pages there. Visitors switch languages using a dropdown menu.
It’s not the most common way to make a website multilingual, so it might be confusing for your website visitors.
Price:
Free. This option is available even if you're on the Personal Plan.
SEO:
Fair. Google indexes all language pages, but you run the risk of duplicate content. To prevent this, you can add hreflang tags yourself.
Time commitment:
High. Just like with the Brad Good method, you have to manually duplicate and edit all pages.
Support:
No official support. Since this method is fairly simple and uses a standard Squarespace feature (dropdown menu), you should encounter few, if any, problems.
How it works
This sample website uses a dropdown menu to offer two languages.
This option is available in both Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1.
4. Google Translate's multilingual translator
Ease of use:
It's simple. You embed Google Translate code on your website, and visitors can choose their own language.
Price:
Free, but you need a Squarespace Core Plan (formerly Business Plan) to add the code.
SEO:
Poor. The translations are only visible in the browser and are not indexed by Google.
Time commitment:
Low. You don't have to translate anything manually, and no maintenance is required.
Support:
Depends on Google. The widget will work as long as Google offers this feature.
How it works
This blog post includes an English video walkthrough on how to implement this on your website: squarestylist.com/blog/multilanguage-squarespace
This works for both Squarespace 7.0 and 7.1, and you'll need the Core Plan (formerly the Business Plan) to do this.
5. All Options Compared
(Scroll to the right if not all of the text is visible.)
6. Conclusion & Recommendation
The best option depends on your needs and budget:
Want the most professional solution without the hassle?
Choose Weglot. It costs money, but it saves a lot of time and offers the best SEO benefits.Are you looking for a free option and don't mind managing everything manually?
Choose the Brad Good method or the dropdown menu.Want to quickly set up a multilingual site at no cost?
Choose Google Translate, but be aware that the translations are mediocre. This is also the least favorable option from an SEO perspective.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, but Squarespace doesn't offer this feature itself. You'll need to use one of the options listed above.
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Weglot the best solution if ease of use, SEO, and professionalism are important to you.
For a free alternative, you can manually duplicate pages, but that takes more time.Would you like to try Weglot for free for Weglot months and get a 15% lifetime discount? If so, please contact us.
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There is a free version, but it's limited to 1 additional language and 2,000 words. So you'll likely need to switch to a paid version (starting at 15 euros per month) fairly quickly.
Would you like to try Weglot for free for Weglot months and get a 15% lifetime discount? If so, please contact us.
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Weglot Arabic and automatically adjusts the text direction (right-to-left). Please note, however, that if your text is left-aligned in the original language, it will remain so in the Arabic version.
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Yes, you could check out Linguise, Multilingualizer, or Elfsight. However, Squarespace Weglot .
Want to get started with Weglot?
With Square It Up , you Square It Up the first 3 months free and a 15% lifetime discount. Want to learn more? Contact us.
