Adding a Spanish, Portuguese or German version to your website is one of the fastest ways to reach new customers. But a translated website doesn't automatically rank, and a poor one can cost you trust.
Use this checklist to check each language version of your site. You don't need to understand the technical terms: you can send this list to your web developer.
Research and words
1. You know what customers search for in each country. Check the words people actually use, not just a translation of your English. Spain and Mexico both speak Spanish, but they often search with different words: “armario” in one, “ropero” in the other.
2. Product names use local terms. Sizes, materials, styles and piece names should match what customers in that market expect. A direct translation of an English product name is often not what anyone searches.
3. Each important search has a page. If customers search for “mesa de comedor de roble macizo”, you need a page about exactly that, in Spanish, not just a mention on a general collection page.
Structure
4. Each language has its own pages with their own web addresses.
For example yoursite.com/es/ for Spanish and yoursite.com/pt/ for Portuguese. A language switch that changes text without changing the address means Google only sees one language.
5. Google knows which page is for which language (hreflang). Each page tells Google about its versions in other languages. Without this, Google may show your English page to a customer in Mexico.
6. Menus, buttons and forms are translated too. Half-translated pages, with a Spanish menu and English product details, make customers leave.
7. Titles and descriptions are written for each language. The page title and description that appear in Google results should be written in the language, using the words customers search.
Quality and trust
8. A native speaker has written or checked the text. Automatic translation is a starting point, but customers notice when text sounds foreign. So do AI assistants that decide whether to recommend you.
9. Local trust signals are there. Delivery and returns information for that region, prices and currency they expect, references from customers or designers in nearby countries, and a contact option they use, like WhatsApp in Latin America.
10. Contact details are easy to find in every language. Email, phone or WhatsApp, and a form, on every language version.
Technical
11. Every language version loads fast on a phone. Check speed from the countries you target, not just from your office. Large furniture photos are the usual reason pages are slow.
12. All language versions are in your sitemap and indexed. Use Google Search Console to check that Google has actually saved your Spanish, Portuguese or other pages. Pages Google hasn’t saved can’t rank.
What to do next
Go through the list for each language you have, or plan to add. Most furniture websites miss several points, and fixing them is usually much faster than building a new site.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes, I can check your multilingual website for free and tell you what to fix first. Request a free website check.