Website localization: how to localize a website and keep it in sync

Definition

What is website localization?

Website localization is the process of adapting a website so it works for people in another language and market. Translation converts the words. Localization also adapts what surrounds them: dates, numbers, currencies, units, examples, images, legal copy, and the search terms people in that market actually use. A localized page should feel written for its reader, and it should be findable in that reader's search results.

• Translation: the same content, accurately rendered in a new language.
• Localization: the same intent, adapted to a market's language, conventions, and expectations.
• Internationalization (i18n): preparing the code so localization is possible, with externalized strings, locale-aware formatting, and room for longer text.

Alcance

What to localize on a website

Most localization projects underestimate scope because they only count visible page copy. Search engines, screen readers, and customers also see the metadata, the URL, the form errors, the emails, and the product records stored in a database. List every source of text before choosing a tool, because the tool has to reach all of them.

• Interface copy: navigation, buttons, forms, validation and error messages.
• Page content: headings, body copy, images with text, and alt text.
• Dynamic content: products, listings, articles, and other database records and API responses.
• SEO signals: titles, meta descriptions, slugs, structured data, hreflang, and sitemaps.
• Formats: dates, numbers, currencies, units, addresses, and phone numbers.
• Everything after the page: transactional emails, notifications, and help content.

Strategy

Build a website localization strategy before you translate

A localization strategy decides which markets matter, which languages and regional variants to support, which content to localize first, and who approves it. Start with the markets where you already see demand in analytics or sales, then localize the pages that drive sign-ups and revenue before the long tail.

• Choose markets from data: traffic, sign-ups, and sales by country and browser language.
• Pick locales deliberately, for example es for all Spanish speakers or es-MX for Mexico.
• Choose a URL model such as /fr/ subdirectories before launch.
• Prioritize high-intent pages: home, pricing, product, and checkout.
• Define a glossary of brand and product terms, and who reviews key pages.

Approaches

Website localization tools and services: four ways to do it

Teams usually choose between four models. They differ in where translations live, how pages are delivered, and how much of the site they can reach. Pick the one that fits where your content comes from, not just how quickly the first language goes live.

• Application-owned localization (Altified): an SDK connects your frontend and backend, translates interface copy, database records, API responses, and metadata, and serves language routes from your own app.
• Website translators and proxies: a script or proxy translates rendered pages. Fast to start, but translations and delivery live outside your stack.
• Translation management systems (TMS): manage string files and translator workflows for engineering and localization teams. You still build delivery and SEO yourself.
• Localization services and agencies: human translators and reviewers. Strong for regulated, legal, and brand-critical copy, usually combined with one of the tools above.

Continuous localization

Keep every language current as the site changes

A localized website is never finished. Every release, new product, and edited article creates untranslated or outdated text. Continuous localization treats translation as part of shipping: new and changed source content is detected, translated, reviewed where it matters, and published with a source-language fallback, so no page shows a broken mix of languages.

• Detect new and changed source content automatically instead of exporting files by hand.
• Apply glossary rules so product terms translate the same way every time.
• Lock reviewed translations so automated updates do not overwrite them.
• Fall back to the source language while a translation is pending.

Process

The website localization process, step by step

Whichever tool you pick, the process follows the same order. Doing internationalization and URL decisions first prevents expensive rework after content has been translated.

• 1. Internationalize: externalize strings and make formatting locale-aware.
• 2. Plan: choose locales, URL structure, and content priority.
• 3. Translate: machine, AI, or human translation, with a glossary.
• 4. Localize: adapt formats, examples, images, and keywords for each market.
• 5. Test: check layouts with pseudo-localization, then review in each language.
• 6. Publish: serve crawlable language URLs with hreflang and sitemaps.
• 7. Maintain: localize new and changed content continuously.