Website localisation: your website and online shop translated for the target market
- ISO 17100 and ISO 9001, audited by DEKRA
- WordPress, TYPO3, Shopware, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce
- Search terms are researched in the target language, not translated
- The target market’s language requirements are named
Manufacturer websites and online shops for export markets
Frequent clients are manufacturers opening their corporate site and product catalogue to export markets. They are joined by retailers taking their online shop into a neighbouring market. User interfaces and apps belong to software localisation.
Translation happens in the CMS or shop system export
- Inventory and quote
Establish the volume per location: pages, products, attributes, metadata, strings, emails, legal texts, media; name the target market’s language requirements. Then a quote per language and location, with a delivery date, based on the export.
What you supplyAccess to the site, the CMS and shop system in use, target markets; export from the system
- Search terms and terminology
Keyword list per target language, agreed with your SEO consultant; product terms, brand names and attribute values defined
What you supplyExisting keyword lists, glossary, attribute values
- Translation in the export
Directly in XLIFF, CSV or JSON; keys, placeholders and HTML markup are preserved
What you supplyNothing
- Revision and sign-off
Mandatory revision to ISO 17100 by a second specialist, text against text. The visual check on your staging site (line breaks, buttons, forms, hreflang pairing, test order) lies with your team.
What you supplyFeedback from your visual check, for example where a text has to be shortened
For ongoing updates you supply new and changed content as a delta export at the agreed interval; terminology and translation memory grow with it.
Translated in the export, revised text against text
Translation happens directly in the export from your CMS or shop system, so keys, placeholders and HTML markup are preserved. A second specialist then revises text against text, as ISO 17100 requires. The visual check on your staging site lies with your team. The process is certified to ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 and audited by DEKRA.
Send the file or a sample with the target language and purpose, and you will usually have a quote on the same working day.
The volume in the export counts, not the page count
The price depends on the volume per location, the language combination, the number of languages, the keyword research and the share of recurring content, which is high in product catalogues.
- Billing is per standard line (Normzeile) of 50 to 55 characters including spaces
- Urgent deadlines: agreed with the quote; same-day delivery is possible only in exceptional cases, because the mandatory revision to ISO 17100 by a second specialist takes time.
The general basis of billing is explained under specialised translations.
Localisation reaches beyond the visible text
Website localisation is the adaptation of a website or online shop to the language, law and search behaviour of a target market. It differs from translating the visible text at four points you can check: legal texts, which have to be valid in the target country; search terms, which are researched in the target market rather than translated; everything that does not appear visibly on the page, from meta descriptions and alt texts to transactional emails; and the checkout, with its currency, tax and shipping. Eurolingua handles websites to ISO 17100 with mandatory revision by a second specialist, directly in the export of the CMS or shop system.
Table: content, systems, scope and quote (nine rows)Hide table
| Criterion | Details |
|---|---|
| What is localised | Page content, category and product copy, product attributes, meta titles and descriptions, alt texts, navigation and button labels, forms and error messages, transactional emails (order confirmation, shipping, password), cookie notices, 404 pages, legal texts |
| Systems and formats | WordPress with WPML or Polylang, TYPO3, Shopware, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce; handover as XLIFF, CSV, JSON or through the system’s export function |
| Search terms | Researched in the target language, not translated; agreed with your SEO consultant |
| Legal texts | The target market’s language requirements are named; the legal translation itself runs under legal translation; official EU templates are adopted rather than translated |
| Certification | ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 (DEKRA, valid until 2 January 2028 and 7 March 2027 respectively) |
| Reuse | A translation memory per website; new products and changed pages are handled as a delta |
| Scope | User interfaces and apps: software localisation. Campaigns and slogans: marketing translation (page in German). Data sheets and manuals as downloads: technical translation |
| Location | Hohe Straße 45, 44139 Dortmund, Germany; personal consultation Mon–Thu 8:30–15:30, Fri 8:30–14:30 |
| Quote | Without obligation, once we have seen the export |
Why machine translation is not enough for your own website: Google’s rule since March 2024
For reading a site in another language, the browser’s translation function is the right tool. For your own website in a new market, machine translation has been a risk since the spam update of March 2024: Google’s spam policy names automated translation among the transformations that count as scaled content abuse when the resulting pages add little value for users. A machine-generated language version can therefore not only rank poorly but also weigh on the assessment of the whole domain.
What this does not mean: machine translation as a starting point, with full specialist review and revision, is permitted and common for large product catalogues. What matters is human review of every published page, not the tool. We offer post-editing based on ISO 18587 as part of proofreading and editing; we hold no certificate to that standard.
| Point | What machine translation delivers | What the target market needs |
|---|---|---|
| Legal texts | A linguistically understandable version of the German terms and conditions and withdrawal notice | Texts that are valid in the target country: sometimes other time limits, other mandatory information, and in France French is compulsory |
| Search terms | The literal equivalent of the German keyword | The term the target market actually types in, often a different one |
| Invisible content | Nothing. Metadata, alt texts, form errors and transactional emails sit outside the page | A complete language version, including the strings in the shop system |
| Checkout | Translated labels with German currency, tax and decimal notation | Configuration for the target market and a check of the labels against that configuration |
What gets translated on a website and where it sits
The most frequent error in website projects is an incomplete inventory. What appears as a page in the CMS gets translated. What sits in the shop system, the theme, a plugin or the mail system does not. The result is a French site that sends a German order confirmation. Before every quote, we establish the scope with a checklist of where each kind of content sits.
| Content | Where it sits | Often forgotten? |
|---|---|---|
| Pages, blog posts, category texts | CMS, page export | No |
| Product titles, descriptions, attributes, variants | Shop system, product export or feed | Attributes and variants: yes |
| Meta titles, meta descriptions, URL slugs | SEO plugin or page fields | Yes |
| Alt texts, image captions, ARIA labels | Media library, theme | Yes, and mandatory accessibility content since the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) |
| Navigation, buttons, form fields, error messages | Theme and plugin strings (.po, JSON) | Yes |
| Transactional emails: order, shipping, account, password | Mail templates of the shop system | Almost always |
| Cookie notice, newsletter sign-up, 404 page | Plugins | Yes |
| Images with embedded text, infographics | Media library | Yes; typeset again or take the text out of the image |
| PDF downloads: data sheets, manuals, catalogues | Media library | Yes; a separate job, see technical translation |
| Terms and conditions, withdrawal, privacy, legal notice, shipping terms | Legal pages | No, but handled wrongly: translated instead of adapted |
| Structured data (Schema.org), Open Graph texts | SEO plugin, theme | Yes |
Send the export, not the pages. An XLIFF or CSV export from WPML, Shopware or Shopify contains the strings with their keys, so the translation flows back without manual work and nothing that is invisible in the front end gets forgotten. Mail templates and theme strings usually have to be exported separately; we tell you which exports we need for your system.
Search terms are researched, not translated
An SEO translation carries over not the keyword but the intent behind it, and uses the term the target market actually searches for. The literal translation of a German search term is rarely that term: it is grammatically correct and has no search volume. That is why keyword research in the target language, agreed with your SEO consultant, comes before the translation, and the translation follows that list.
Table: six SEO elements with approach and reasonHide table
| Element | Approach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Main keyword per page | Researched in the target language; variants by market (British and American English, Spain and Latin America) checked separately | The same thing has a different name in each market, and the market does not search for the translation |
| Meta title | Rewritten within the length limit, keyword first | Translated titles get longer and are cut off |
| URL slugs | In the target language, without umlauts or special characters, set once and not changed again | Readability in the target market; a later change creates redirects |
| Headings | The structure stays, the wording follows the keyword list | The hierarchy is a ranking signal, and so is the wording |
| Internal links and anchor texts | Point to the language version of the target page, anchor text in the target language | A French text that links to the German category loses the visitor |
| Structured data | Translated as well, including FAQ schema and product schema | Read for the rich results of each language version |
An example: a German manufacturer sells “Arbeitsschutzschuhe” (literally occupational safety shoes). The literal English equivalent is correct, but the British market tends to search for “safety boots”, the American market for “work boots” or “steel toe boots”. Which variant the category carries is decided by the research, not by the dictionary.
hreflang, URL structure and language selector: what Google expects from multilingual websites
A translated page that Google does not recognise as a language version competes with the original instead of complementing it. Three technical decisions settle this, and they belong before the translation: the URL structure per language, the hreflang markup that links each language version to all the others, and the language selector that lets visitors choose instead of redirecting them by IP address.
| Structure | Example | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Subdirectory | eurolingua.de/en/ | Easiest to maintain, domain authority is shared; the standard for most medium-sized companies. Eurolingua uses this model itself |
| Subdomain | en.example.de | Technically separate, sometimes treated like a site of its own; useful with separate systems |
| Country domain | example.fr | Strongest country signal, highest effort; each domain builds authority on its own |
| URL parameter | example.de/?lang=fr | Not recommended; Google explicitly advises against it |
The three rules most often broken in practice:
- hreflang has to be reciprocal. If the German page points to the French one, the French page has to point back to the German one, otherwise the markup is ignored. When one page is split into two, the pairing breaks and has to be set again for both new pages.
- x-default for the language choice. If there is a page that offers visitors the choice of language, it is marked as x-default.
- No forced redirect by IP. A visitor from France who opens the German page may get a notice, but no redirect; Google’s crawler mostly comes from the USA and would otherwise never see the other versions.
These decisions are made by your web development team.
Legal texts in the target market: Loi Toubon, official EU templates and what is not translated
A website’s legal texts are not translated but drawn up or adapted for the target market, and for some there are official language versions that are adopted rather than translated. Two rules surprise German shop operators most often: in France, mandatory consumer information has to be given in French (Loi Toubon of 4 August 1994); information only in a foreign language is a punishable offence, and the French text may not be less legible than the foreign one. And the model withdrawal notice with the model withdrawal form is officially available in all official languages as an annex to the EU Consumer Rights Directive.
Table: six legal texts and the note on accessibilityHide table
| Text | Approach | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal notice and withdrawal form | Adopt the official language version of the EU template; only the inserted details (company, address, time limits) are adapted | We supply the official version with the details inserted; checked by your legal adviser |
| Terms and conditions | Legal translation with adaptation to the consumer law of the target market; translated German terms and conditions are not automatically valid in the target country | Legal translation plus legal advice in the target country |
| Privacy policy | Translation into the users’ language; the GDPR requires information in clear and plain language, which a privacy policy in a foreign language does not provide for the target market | Legal translation |
| Legal notice (Impressum) | The designations are translated, the legal form stays (a GmbH does not become a Ltd.), register details stay | Website localisation (Eurolingua) |
| Shipping, payment and delivery terms | Translation after you have adapted the content (countries, costs, time limits) | Website localisation (Eurolingua), after your approval of the content |
| Price information | No translation but configuration: gross prices with the target country’s tax, currency, decimal separator | Shop operator; we check the labels |
Accessibility applies to the localised version as well. Since 28 June 2025, the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG) has required online shops and other e-commerce services for consumers, including online booking and ticketing, to be accessible; microenterprises that only provide services are exempt. Alt texts, form labels and error messages are mandatory content for this and at the same time the strings most often missing from a localisation, because they are not visible anywhere.
Three website errors that are not translation errors
Three classes of error are typical in website and shop projects. None of them is a translation error; all three arise from treating a website as a collection of pages rather than as a system.
Error class 1: the site is French, the order confirmation German
All pages are translated and the shop is live. The first French customer places an order and receives a German order confirmation, a German shipping notice and, when returning goods, a German form. The mail templates sit in the shop system, not in the CMS, and were in no export. Remedy: list every place where content sits before the quote, request mail templates and theme strings as separate exports, and place a test order in every language before go-live.
Error class 2: the translated page competes with the original
The Dutch version is online, but without hreflang pairing. Google keeps showing Dutch users the German page because it is the stronger one, and treats the Dutch page as a duplicate with different wording. The translation was correct and had no effect. Remedy: set hreflang before go-live and check it in Search Console after go-live; translation and markup are one project, not two.
Error class 3: product attributes are translated as text instead of mapped as values
Colour, size, material and unit are attribute values in the shop, and filters and variants run on them. If they are translated in the running-text export, the text says “rouge” but the filter only knows “Rot”, and the variant cannot be selected. Sizes add to this: a German 42 is not a British 42. Remedy: translate attribute values once as value lists and map them in the system, set up size tables per market, and translate the product description separately.
Process and ongoing updates: new products and changed pages as a delta
A website is never finished. After the first complete run, new products, changed pages and new blog posts are handled as a delta; everything unchanged comes from the translation memory. This requires an export from which the delta can be determined. WPML, Shopware and Shopify provide this out of the box; for other systems we determine the delta from the full export.
Website and online shop localisation in Dortmund and the Ruhr region
From Dortmund and the eastern Ruhr, website projects mostly come to us from two sides: from machinery and plant manufacturers opening their corporate site and product catalogues to export markets, and from retailers taking their online shop into a neighbouring market. Depending on the sales region, language versions go to the Netherlands, France, Poland or the United Kingdom; for manufacturers, Chinese and Russian are added, where script, formats and the target market’s search engines set rules other than the translation alone.
Typical jobs from the region:
- Corporate websites of manufacturers with product catalogue, data sheet downloads and contact forms, often together with the technical documentation in one terminology base
- Online shops of retailers and manufacturers for neighbouring markets, with transactional emails, legal texts and shipping terms per country
- Websites for eastern markets in Chinese and Russian: see languages we translate
- Relaunch projects with agencies, where the language versions are set up in the new system from the start
Personal consultation: Hohe Straße 45, 44139 Dortmund (Kreuzviertel district), Mon–Thu 8:30–15:30, Fri 8:30–14:30. Underground station Saarlandstraße (U46). In website projects, the inventory meeting at the start is the step that avoids rework.
Running a different system? The export can be clarified for other content management systems too. Describe your project
Common questions on website and shop translation
What is the difference between translating and localising a website?
Translating carries over the visible text. Localising makes the website work in the target market: legal texts that are valid there, search terms that are searched for there, invisible content from metadata to transactional emails, and a checkout with the target country’s currency, tax and shipping. Translation is one part of localisation, usually the largest, but not the one where projects fail.
Is Google Translate or DeepL enough for my website?
For reading other sites, yes. For your own website, no, for two reasons: since March 2024 Google’s scaled content abuse policy has named automated translation among the transformations that count as spam when the pages add little value for users, and legal texts, search terms and shop strings can only be made right by adaptation, not by translation. Machine translation as a starting point with full specialist revision, on the other hand, is permitted and common for large catalogues.
What does it cost to have a website translated?
Billing is per word or standard line (Normzeile) of the export, not per page, because a page can have anywhere between 50 and 5,000 words. The price depends on the volume per location, the language combination, the number of languages, the keyword research and the share of recurring content, which is high in product catalogues. You receive a quote per job, without obligation. The general basis of billing is explained under specialised translations.
How do we hand over content from WordPress, TYPO3, Shopware or Shopify?
Through the system’s export: WPML and Polylang export XLIFF, TYPO3 XLIFF or CSV, Shopware and Shopify CSV or JSON, Magento CSV. We work on the export in its format, so keys, HTML markup and placeholders are preserved and the import runs without manual work. Mail templates and theme strings usually need a separate export; we tell you which one for your system.
Do terms and conditions, withdrawal notice and privacy policy have to be translated?
Yes, but not all in the same way. The withdrawal notice and withdrawal form exist as official EU templates in all official languages and are adopted in the official version; only the inserted details are adapted. Terms and conditions have to be adapted to the consumer law of the target market and then given a legal translation. The privacy policy has to be available in the users’ language. In France, mandatory consumer information has to be given in French; a version only in another language is a punishable breach of the Loi Toubon. We handle these texts as a legal translation.
What is an SEO translation?
A translation that uses the target market’s search terms instead of the literal equivalent of the German keywords. Keyword research in the target language, agreed with your SEO consultant, comes before the translation; meta titles, headings, URL slugs, anchor texts and structured data follow that list. Without this step, the translated page is linguistically correct and invisible in the target market.
Which languages are requested most often for websites?
English covers the entry point; neighbouring markets such as the Netherlands, France and Poland follow depending on the sales region. For manufacturers, Chinese and Russian come up more often than average, because script, number and date formats and the target market’s search engines (Baidu, Yandex) mean that a plain translation is not enough there. For Arabic and Hebrew, the theme has to support right-to-left display. Details on each language: languages we translate.
Send the file or a sample with the target language and purpose, and you will usually have a quote on the same working day.