Choosing the optimal solution for localization on a client project

Design help Localization
1

Hi there!

Im making a redesign for a client of mine. The design in figma is almost ready, and now its also time for me to choose an option for localization. And im not sure which option to go for - webflow’s native localization, weglot or some other third party.

From what i understand - webflow’s freshly rolled out native localization would probably be the best (for seo and in general for how quick the whole process would be). but it seems a bit pricey for my client.

Here is the functionality i need for this site:

  • automatic translations for the cms items: since we are gonna be posting new blog posts on a weekly basis (probably just once a week)
  • localized seo
  • machine powered translations for the static pages (but also will need to make adjustments manually to that just to ensure the translations are solid)
  • localized urls
  • Automatic visitor routing

As mentioned, webflow’s option seems a bit expensive. from what i see if english is my primary language, and i add 3 languages (they will need swedish, norweigan and danish for start, with plans to maybe expand to 2 or 3 more) using webflow’s native solution - thats gonna cost me 3*29$ a month…? (add to that the price of the cms plan and we are at around 150$ a month… a hundred of which would be going just for localization…

Webflow’s 9$ localization plan seems alright but it doesnt support all the previously listed features i need.

also, from what i saw - i could take care of the Automatic visitor routing with custom code. but the localized urls… idk any cheaper alternative?

Help would be greatly appreciated!

2

Unfortunately Webflow doesn’t have “automatic” translation yet. It has machine translation, but the translation process can only be performed from within the designer.

So you client’s workflow would have to be something like;

  • Write the article
  • Upload and style the article through the Editor
  • Enter the designer, go into the CMS, and perform the translations for each locale
  • Publish

Effectively this means they’ll need their own workspace, with the project in it, and you having guest access to the workspace.

Auto-routing is more complex than you think, especially with localized URLs. I’m building a solution now because Webflow’s current solution does not factor in geographic location, and fails at routing for e.g. en-US v. en-GB. It requires some infrastructure to make it comprehensive.

Localized URLs as well, you could create a solution using a reverse proxy, but it would be a significant amount of work to build.