Quick answer
A bilingual website needs two useful customer experiences, not one design with text swapped out. Decide whether both languages cover the same services and whether the forms, emails, search and downloadable files must also be bilingual.
Practical scope
Write pages in the terms your customers use. A literal translation may miss local expressions or the way buyers describe their problem. Keep each page at a separate, crawlable URL and make the language switch easy to find. Give each version its own page title and description. Ask the developer to connect equivalent pages with the appropriate language annotations.
Plan for maintenance: when a price, policy or product changes, who updates both versions? Test forms and confirmation emails in each language. If one language has less content, make the missing material explicit rather than sending users back to the homepage unexpectedly.
What to define before requesting proposals
- Language coverage for pages, forms, emails and downloads
- Local terminology and translation ownership
- Separate crawlable URLs and an obvious language switch
- A process for keeping both versions current
Questions to ask service providers
- Will equivalent pages have correct language annotations?
- How are missing or unequal translations handled?
- Who checks forms, search and emails in both languages?
How to assess the answers
Review each language as a complete customer journey. Translation quality and maintenance ownership matter as much as the initial technical setup.
Map languages across the whole journey
Build a matrix covering page text, form labels, validation errors, booking confirmations, payment outcomes and staff notifications. Assign an owner to each translation. A bilingual homepage does not tell you whether customers can complete the process in both languages.
Questions for the editor and developer
- Can editors update each language separately and see what remains untranslated?
- Does switching language keep the user on the equivalent page?
- Who checks prices, dates and availability after a content update?
- Which external tools support the required language experience?
Must every page launch in both languages?
Set priorities around complete customer tasks. If a version is unavailable, explain it clearly and provide a useful next step; do not present an incomplete flow as fully bilingual.
Bilingual journey coverage matrix
Copy these items into your brief, adapt the requirements and assign an owner and status. Examples illustrate planning decisions, not customer case studies. Fill cost fields with HKD quotations you obtain and state the billing period.
| Decision / item | Information to provide | Acceptance / comparison check |
|---|---|---|
| Pages and navigation | Equivalent URLs, titles, translations and update owner | Language switching opens the equivalent page |
| Forms and messages | Labels, errors, confirmation pages and emails | A customer can complete the same task in either language |
| External tools | Booking, checkout, search and download languages | List unsupported translations and a useful alternative |
Download the editable worksheet (CSV)