How much does a multilingual website cost?

Why an extra language costs more than just translation

Translating a website sounds like converting text into another language. In practice there's more to it. The website has to know which language a visitor wants to see, Google has to understand which page belongs to which language, and everything sent automatically, like confirmation emails, has to be translated too.

On top of that, a translation has to really work for your audience. A German customer searches with different words than a Dutch one. A literal translation therefore often ranks poorly on Google.

One-off costs of a multilingual website

These items are added during the build:

• Technical setup. The CMS, the system you use to manage your site, must support multiple languages. Each page gets its own version and address per language.
• Language selection. A clear language switcher, so visitors can change language themselves.
• Hreflang. A bit of code that tells Google which page belongs to which language. That way an English-speaking visitor sees the English page. More in hreflang and multilingual SEO.
• Translation. All text, including menus, buttons, forms and error messages.
• Automated messages. Confirmation emails, quotes and notifications in every language.
• Legal text. Your privacy statement and cookie notice must be correct in every language too.
• Images with text. Images that contain text need to be made again.
• Right-to-left languages. Languages such as Arabic read from right to left. The layout then has to be mirrored as well, which takes extra design and testing work.

How much does it cost to translate a website?

Translation costs depend on the amount of text and the way you translate. There are three routes:

• Machine translation. Fast and cheap, but often stiff and sometimes wrong. Usually not good enough for customer-facing pages.
• Machine translation with review. A tool does the first pass, a native speaker checks and improves it. A good middle ground for many small businesses.
• Professional translator. The best quality, and a translator can also adapt the text to the culture and search terms of the country. The most expensive per word.

Translators often charge per word, sometimes per hour. The price varies by language: less common languages usually cost more. Always ask whether checking the translation on the website itself is included. A text that looks fine in a Word file can suddenly be too long for a button on the page. Also allow extra time if your text contains a lot of jargon. The translator then has to understand those terms properly first, and sometimes there's no common word for them in the other language.

Ongoing costs per language after launch

A multilingual website also costs more after it's built. Expect these recurring items:

• Translating new content. Every new page, blog post or price change has to go into every language.
• Checks. Do all languages still match? Outdated translations are common.
• SEO per language. Being found in another country needs its own keywords and sometimes its own links.
• Licences. Some translation plugins or tools charge per month or per year (a guide; check the current price).
• Customer contact. If you get enquiries in another language, someone has to be able to answer them.

How to keep a multilingual website affordable

• Start with one extra language. Choose the language where you expect the most customers.
• Don't translate everything. Start with the pages that sell: homepage, services, prices and contact.
• Choose a CMS up front that handles multiple languages well. Adding it later is often more expensive.
• Write short, clear Dutch text. The fewer words, the lower the translation costs.
• Use machine translation with review by a native speaker for less important pages.
• Agree who translates new content, so the languages stay in step.

How to budget for an extra language

Want a grip on the cost of a multilingual website up front? Make a simple budget yourself. It also helps you judge quotes better.

• Count the words on the pages you want to translate. Many CMSs and word processors show this.
• Ask for a translation price per word or per page, for each language separately.
• Ask the web developer what the one-off technical setup for multiple languages costs.
• Estimate how much new content you create per year, and include its translation.
• Add time for review by a native speaker.
• Think about who will answer enquiries in that language, and what that costs.

Weigh the outcome against what you expect: how many customers from that language area do you need to earn back the extra costs? If that number is realistic, the investment makes sense. If not, it's better to test one page in that language first, for example for an ad campaign.

Example: a website in three languages

For Rijschool Benz, a driving school in Den Helder, we built a website in Dutch, English and Arabic. Students book a trial lesson in 30 seconds, view lesson packages and compare prices with other driving schools in Den Helder. There's also a student portal. You can see the project in our work.

Having a multilingual website built by Violexa

At Violexa, a custom website starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT) per project. That includes design, build, a design that works on every screen, SEO basics and Google Analytics, a CMS connection and a walkthrough. We discuss extra languages up front. Larger projects get a fixed price in writing, so you know what each language costs.

Want to know what a multilingual website would cost for your business? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or on site, we discuss which languages make sense. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.

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