Website translation services help businesses reach global audiences while boosting visibility, trust, and results. This guide and how to breaks down common questions and starting spots as well as options to find the right solution for your needs.
A Guide to Website Translation
As the digital landscape expands, the importance of making your website accessible to international audiences has never been more critical. Translation isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a strategic necessity. Over 75% of users prefer interacting with websites in their native language, and more than half say language matters more than price when making a purchase. This means that translating your website is not just about reaching more people — it’s about converting those people into loyal customers.
However, the path to website translation isn’t always straightforward. It involves understanding your audience, choosing the right translation method, and overcoming a variety of technical challenges. Here’s a closer look at what you need to consider before getting started.
Understand Your Audience and Markets
Before translating, take the time to truly understand who your audience is and where they are. Consider the languages, cultural differences, and preferences of your target markets. Website translation and localization is about more than just language; it’s about creating content that aligns with local expectations.
Clarify Your Business Objectives
Your translation strategy should support your business goals. Whether you want to increase conversions, raise brand awareness, or expand into new markets, your objectives will shape how you approach website translation.
Choose the Right Translation Approach
There are several options to choose from:
- Human translation is ideal for accuracy and cultural relevance, especially for high-traffic pages.
- Machine translation (with post-editing) is cost-effective for less-critical content.
- Adaptive translation combines the best of both, offering efficiency and quality through tools like Memory Optimizer and Brand Voice AI.
Consider Website Localization Beyond Translation
Website localization is more than just translating words; it’s about adapting content to ensure it resonates with each market. Using translations word for word can cause misunderstandings or users to be offended. This includes adjusting images, currencies, and user experiences for local preferences.
Set Up a Scalable Solution for Ongoing Updates
Understanding how often your website is being updated is an important factor. Choose a website translation service that stays up to date with changes, ensuring that updates to your website are automatically translated.
Factor in SEO and Search Visibility
A multilingual website doesn’t just need translation — it needs to be optimized multilingual SEO too. A user won’t be able to find your English content when searching for it in a different language. Translating meta tags, adapting keywords for local trends, and implementing hreflang tags are all key steps in ensuring your content ranks well globally.
Analyze the Technical Feasibility
The process of translating your website will include needing technology to integrate those translations. A website translation service must integrate smoothly with your website’s current structure. Whether your site is CMS-based or uses headless technology, make sure your website translation solution fits within your existing workflows.
Consider Where You Are on the Translation Maturity Curve
From early experimentation to international mastery, understanding your position on the translation maturity curve helps guide your strategy. The journey moves through stages, from basic manual translation to expert-level, centralized translation. Knowing where you stand allows you to allocate resources efficiently and scale up your efforts.
Strategic Benefits of Website Translation
The benefits of translating your website go far beyond language:
- Global Reach: Tap into new markets and connect with international customers.
- Cultural Trust: Build stronger connections by adapting to local preferences.
- SEO Power: Boost your visibility in regional search results.
- Competitive Advantage: Multilingual sites outperform monolingual ones in conversion rates.
- Global Brand Image: Show your commitment to inclusivity and professionalism.
When done right, website translation is a powerful growth engine — not just a checkbox on your to-do list.
Common Website Translation Questions You Might Face
So, you’re ready to take your website global—but you have questions. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Here are the most common things people ask when they’re just getting started with website translation—plus honest, jargon-free answers to set you up for success.
1. How do start translating my website?
This one tops the list. The short answer: you have options. You can DIY with in-house translators, plug in basic machine translation, or partner with a full-service website translation solution that handles everything—content detection, translation, updates, and quality control. The best path depends on your goals, team bandwidth, and how much you’re willing to manage manually.
Pro tip: Most companies go with a managed website translation service once they realize how much work it is to do it well on their own.
2. Do I need to build a separate website for every language?
Nope—thankfully. You don’t need to spin up new sites or separate domains. With the right setup, you can serve different languages under the same domain (like yoursite.com/fr or yoursite.com/es), keeping everything connected, streamlined, and SEO-friendly.
3. Will I need to re-code or redesign my translated website?
This is a common fear—especially if you’re in the middle of a website redesign or using a custom CMS. But no, you don’t need to rebuild from scratch. Modern website translation solutions integrate seamlessly with your tech stack, whether through a proxy, API, or connector. That means zero code changes and no disruption to your design or dev roadmap.
4. How do I keep translations updated when my site changes?
Great question—and one that separates basic translation from smart translation. The right website translation service will offer a feature that automatically detects new or updated content on your source site and trigger translations accordingly. No spreadsheets, no missed updates, no manual chasing.
5. How much does website translation cost?
Costs vary depending on how much content you’re translating, how many languages you need, and the level of translation quality. Look for website translation services that use translation memory (so you never pay to translate the same thing twice), offer usage-based pricing, and provide clear cost predictability.
6. How do I make sure my website translations are high quality?
Some website translation services offer translation scorecards that can offer some insight to current website translations, or use stats that they have collected based on their internal translation testing. The norm is that human translations rank at the top of quality, and machine translation falls below that. With the evolution of AI, machine translations are not all that bad when you are using the right website translation service and one that can tell you the quality of your translations. Look for tools that blend AI with human expertise—automating what can be automated and involving pro translators when nuance or tone matters most.
7. Can I start small or do I need to translate the whole site at once?
You can absolutely start small. Many businesses begin with high-impact pages—like product detail pages, landing pages, or lead-gen flows—and scale from there. Just make sure the website translation service that you choose can support phased rollouts without added complexity as well as allow you to choose translation methods per page to lower costs.
8. What languages should I prioritize?
It depends on your traffic and growth goals. Start with your analytics—where are people visiting from? What languages do your users speak? If you’re targeting U.S. audiences, for example, offering Spanish content can dramatically expand your reach. Globally, French, German, Simplified Chinese, and Portuguese are also top contenders depending on your industry.
Translating your website may seem daunting at first, but with the right website translation service, it’s easier—and more impactful—than most people realize. Whether you’re just exploring or ready to go global, knowing what to expect helps you make smarter decisions.
Now that the basics are covered, let’s talk about who gets it done right in the website translation service industry.
Prescribing the Right Website Translation Service for Your Business
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to finding a website translation service—and that’s a good thing. Whether you’re testing global markets or fully scaling your digital presence, the right solution depends on your internal resources, technical environment, and long-term goals. Below are some of the most common types of website translation services—and who they’re best suited for.
MotionPoint
Best for: Mid-size to enterprise businesses looking for a Managed For You or Connected Platform website translation service with speed allowing for you to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to workflow and translation quality decisions.
Why it stands out: MotionPoint combines Adaptive Translation™ (your choice of AI, human, or both) with powerful integration options like proxy, API, or CMS connector. The platform takes on the heavy lifting—handling everything from initial translation to SEO localization, ongoing updates, and QA—so your team doesn’t have to. It’s CMS-agnostic, fast to launch, and designed to grow with you.
Things to consider: It’s a premium, custom-priced website translation service ideal for businesses looking for a long-term partner and measurable ROI from international growth.
Pricing: Custom-priced based on a variety of factors. Includes technology, project management, and ongoing maintenance.
Languages: 200+
Industries Served: Healthcare, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Retail, and more
Operational Regions: North America
Weglot
Best for: Small websites and businesses that need a fast, plug-and-play website translation service.
Why it stands out: Weglot is quick to install—especially on platforms like WordPress and Shopify—and uses automatic machine translation to get content live in minutes. This website translation service is a great way to test international demand without a big investment.
Things to consider: Limited customization, more basic SEO capabilities, and quality control mean it may not scale well for companies expanding to multiple regions or managing diverse content types.
Pricing: Starts at €15/month (~$16) for 1 language and 10,000 words. Higher tiers (up to 5 languages and 1 million words) can range from $79–$699/month. Enterprise plans are custom-priced.
Localize
Best for: Tech-savvy teams or developers who want flexibility and are comfortable managing translations themselves.
Why it stands out: Localize offers an API-driven platform with full control over translation workflows. This website translation service is great for dynamic content and custom-built websites, with developer-friendly tools that allow for deep customization.
Things to consider: This is more of a self-managed website translation service—expect to invest time in content updates, QA, and localization strategy. It’s less ideal for lean marketing teams or teams without technical expertise.
Pricing: Starts at $120/month for up to 2 languages and 50,000 pageviews. Business and enterprise pricing are custom and can scale into the thousands per month.
TransPerfect / Lionbridge
Best for: Highly regulated industries like legal, healthcare, or government that require certified, compliance-heavy translations.
Why they stand out: These legacy website translation services offer full-service localization with strict quality controls, deep industry experience, and expertise in technical content. They’re trusted by organizations with sensitive regulatory requirements.
Things to consider: Their agency model may result in slower turnaround times, higher costs, and less agility for fast-paced digital teams. Ideal for accuracy and compliance, but not always for flexibility or speed.
Pricing: Custom-priced. Typically starts in the $0.20–$0.50 per word range depending on complexity and industry. Website projects can range from $5,000–$100,000+, depending on scope and compliance needs.
Operational Regions: Global presence with offices in multiple regions.
Lokalise
Best for: Software companies and product teams translating apps, platforms, or developer-heavy sites.
Why it stands out: Lokalise is a Translation Management System (TMS) built to integrate directly into your product development workflow. This website translation service supports string-based translation, team collaboration, and tools like Git, Figma, and Slack.
Things to consider: It’s highly technical and assumes you have the internal resources or an agency to manage website translation. Best suited for dev-centric environments—not marketing or SEO-heavy sites.
Pricing: Starts at $120/month for up to 10 projects and 2 languages. Enterprise plans with full integrations and team management features are custom-priced.
Languages: 63
Industries Served: Finance, Education, Health, E-commerce, Telecom, Entertainment, and more
Pricing: Start ($140/month), Essential ($270/month), Pro ($990/month), Enterprise (Contact Sales)
Operational Regions: United States & Latvia
Phrase
Best for: Product and localization teams managing multilingual apps or software.
Why it stands out: Phrase offers flexible translation workflows, version control, and integration with popular dev tools. This website translation service is optimized for agile product cycles and in-app content.
Things to consider: Like other TMS platforms, it focuses on string-based translation and requires internal expertise. It’s not a turnkey solution and isn’t tailored for broader marketing efforts or UX localization.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month for individuals and goes up to $459/month for teams. Enterprise pricing is available on request.
Operational Regions: Global
Transifex
Best for: Development teams focused on digital products, platforms, or multi-language software.
Why it stands out: Transifex supports continuous localization, automated content syncing, and team-based translation management. It’s great for managing technical translations across complex codebases.
Things to consider: Requires localization strategy and translation work to be managed internally or with a partner. Better suited for app and platform development than full website translation and SEO.
Pricing: Starts at $70/month for small teams (up to 50,000 words). Professional and enterprise tiers are custom-priced based on usage and features.
Languages: 150+
Operational Regions: North America, Europe, and Asia
BLEND Localization
Formerly One Hour Translation, BLEND combines over a decade of experience with the power of AI to offer fast, accurate localization. This website translation service provides a global team of linguists and tech-driven processes to ensure consistent quality.
BLEND’s platform supports everything from CMS integration to custom API solutions.
Languages: 120+
Industries Served: Gaming, Software, Fintech, E-learning, Media, Life Sciences
Pricing: Pro ($0.096/word), Pro Plus ($0.14/word), Expert ($0.15/word), Expert Plus ($0.19/word)
Operational Regions: Israel, United States, China, Romania, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Alconost
Alconost specializes in high-quality translations for IT and tech companies. With a network of native-speaking subject matter experts, this website translation services focuses on preserving cultural context while delivering technically accurate content.
This website translation service also offers both on-demand and managed services tailored to development cycles.
Languages: 100+
Industries Served: Information Technology
Pricing: Contact for quote
Operational Regions: United States, Poland, Japan, Portugal, Germany, China
Choosing the Right Fit for Your Global Growth
No matter where you are in your global journey—testing new markets or scaling internationally—the right website translation service makes all the difference. From plug-and-play tools to robust, fully managed platforms, each website translation service has its place depending on your goals, team, and technical setup.
If you’re looking for flexibility without sacrificing quality or speed, MotionPoint’s Adaptive Translation™ stands apart. Our website translation services lets you choose the right level of translation—AI, human, or a blend—for each page, so you can balance cost, quality, and speed based on your content’s needs. Combined with seamless integration options (proxy, API, or CMS connectors) and a fully managed workflow, MotionPoint makes it easy to scale your website translation efficiently—without draining internal resources.
Ready to grow your way? MotionPoint’s built to help you do it.
Last updated on May 02, 2025
