How to make a bilingual Welsh and English website

A bilingual Welsh and English website works best as two full versions of the same site: every page in English, the same page in Welsh, and a switch that takes people straight between the two. Done that way, both languages show up on Google, and Welsh speakers get a site that feels made for them rather than translated as an afterthought.

Here’s how to set one up properly, and the shortcuts that cause problems later.

Do you have to have a Welsh website?

Most private businesses in Wales don’t have to. The Welsh Language Standards apply to public bodies like councils, health boards and colleges, not to a café or a building firm. Some organisations with public funding have their own requirements, so check yours if that applies.

So for most businesses it’s a choice, and often a good one. Plenty of your customers may speak Welsh at home, and very few small business sites in Wales offer a proper Welsh version. It says something about who you are before anyone reads a word.

Give each language its own pages

This is the part that matters most for Google. Each language needs its own page addresses, for example:

• yourbusiness.co.uk/about for English
• yourbusiness.co.uk/cy/about for Welsh

Some sites use a button that swaps the text on the same page with a script. It looks bilingual, but Google only ever sees one version, so the Welsh never shows up in search. Separate pages fix that.

Tell Google the two versions belong together

Each page should carry a small tag, called hreflang, that tells Google “this page also exists in Welsh, here” and the reverse on the Welsh page. Google then shows the right version to the right person, and doesn’t treat the two as duplicates.

Three things to get right:

1. 01
   Both directions. The English page points to the Welsh one and the Welsh page points back. If only one side does it, Google ignores it.
2. 02
   The right codes. Welsh is cy. English for the UK is en-GB.
3. 03
   A default. One version, usually English, is marked as the default for everyone else.

A good bilingual build does this automatically for every page, including the sitemap.

Make the language switch go to the same page

If someone is reading your English prices page and taps Cymraeg, they should land on the Welsh prices page, not the Welsh home page. It sounds small, but it’s the difference between a site that feels bilingual and one that feels like two sites stapled together.

It’s also worth remembering the choice, so a Welsh speaker who picks Welsh once keeps getting Welsh.

Translate everything, not just the main text

The parts people forget are the ones that make a Welsh version feel half done:

• Page titles and the descriptions that show in Google
• Buttons, menus and the footer
• Form labels, error messages and the thank you message
• The emails your forms send
• Image descriptions, for screen readers and Google
• Cookie notices and legal pages

Use a person, not a plugin, for the words

Automatic translation has come a long way, but Welsh readers spot it quickly, and a stiff or wrong phrase on your home page does more harm than having no Welsh at all. A professional translator is the safe choice for anything customers will read. Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru, the association of Welsh translators, lists members you can contact.

For short pieces, the Welsh Government’s Helo Blod service offers free translation help for businesses. It won’t take on a whole website, but it’s handy for smaller bits.

WordPress, Wix and the rest

Most platforms can do a bilingual site, with varying amounts of effort:

• WordPress needs a plugin such as WPML or Polylang. Both work, but they add weight and need looking after.
• Wix and Squarespace have multilingual features built in, with some limits on how much you can control for Google.
• A site built bilingual from the start avoids plugins altogether, which is how I build them. Each page is written once in each language, and the hreflang tags, sitemap and language switch are all generated together.

Is it worth the extra cost?

A Welsh version costs more, because every page needs translating and setting up. Whether it’s worth it depends on your customers. If you’re in a strongly Welsh-speaking area, or you serve schools, councils or community groups, it’s often one of the best things you can do to stand out. Welsh searches also have far less competition than English ones, so a well-built Welsh page can do well quickly.

I’ve covered prices in how much does a website cost in the UK?, and there’s more on how I build them on the bilingual websites page.