Today, web browsers have built-in translators that will automatically offer to convert a page to the language in the person's browser settings. Because of this, there's generally no need to manually recreate your site in additional languages. Exceptions may include outreach to specific member or community groups, or when you have a page that warrants a more nuanced translation. Here's how to manually set up a multi-language site.
Before you get started, some things to note
- You will be able to edit each page, and manually translate the content.
- Any updates to content (text, images, videos, files, etc) will need to be made individually on both versions of the page
Step 1: Create a new page template
- Go to Admin Menu > My Lists > Page Templates and and select Add New
- Give your new template a name and enter the language code in Body Class (this list of language abbreviations works for both HTML and CSS)
- Check off "This page template has its own Navigation menu"
Step 2: Create a new CMS page
Go to Admin Menu > CMS Pages and create a new page using your newly created page template
We recommend that you choose a specific naming format for these pages, to make them easier to find on the Admin side. In this example, page names begin with FR -.
Step 3: Create a navigation for your alternate language
Go to Admin Menu > Navigation. You will now see the addition of your alternate language to the navigation dropdown selections. Select it from the menu and set up your alternate language navigation just as you would in English.
Step 4: Add access to your main (English) navigation
Make switching between languages easy by adding one page from the second language. Return to the Navigation Setup and choose Main Navigation from the dropdown. Here is what you want to end up with:
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