Translate Dutch website
If you already have an established Dutch website, it is sometimes attractive to translate it. With a new language you can open up other markets and ensure that you can reach new customers. Another language such as English or Spanish also has a global reach that you can reach in this way. Below, you will learn how to translate a website or have it translated. And whether you need to register another domain name to do so.
Translating an existing website has many advantages and is also less costly than creating a completely new website. You already have the content of a website and can use it for translation. You already know which articles or pages in the Netherlands perform best in Google for certain terms. And you know what your visitors expect from your website. Still, it can be a lot of work to translate your existing Dutch hosting website. But it's often worth it in the end. Let's get started!
What language should it be?
It's obviously useful to have a clear idea of what language you're aiming for. Most people reading this already have an idea of what language the website should be in. You can then develop a second language, such as German or English, to offer your products to those markets as well. If you are not clear about this yet, you can do research on your possible competitors in that language. Learn about their strengths and keywords and see if you can match them.
Translating texts
There are a number of ways to translate text, one of which is simple, for example Google Translate. You translate the website yourself if you also have a good command of the other language. You can also opt for a translator, which is often recommended if your business already has a budget for it. And you can outsource this work or hire a freelancer. With text translated by a person, this is better (if all goes well) than a machine translated website. And will look more natural. Of course, an easy task if you only have a company website for contact and information with a few pages. However, it becomes more difficult if you also have a large amount of content on the site. This can often be a year-long project as new content is constantly being added.
This is a decision best made by yourself, if you want to maximize your efforts then this should be included in the cost of the new website.
New domain name, recommended in most cases.
A new domain name is advisable in most cases, as it will give you better chances in the local search engines, allowing you to benefit from organic traffic. Also, this is often an element that builds more trust with the public. For example, a .nl domain name is better known in the Netherlands than a .co.uk website. And can therefore be better used for a specific country. So, if you are creating a website in another language, check which extension is most commonly used in that country and register a new domain name accordingly.
With a new domain name, you can also create a completely different website from the original one. This means you'll have to create everything from scratch. In the end, though, it often works better thanks to this separation. A separate website can be created with the same layout and house style. This way, you keep the sections separate, but it's clear that the other language is also under your care.
Adding a link to the other language on your original site
There are several solutions to this as well, the simplest being to create a completely separate site based on the original and then translate the existing content and make it live. Images can also be reused, it's just a good idea to indicate in the site header that the two sites are linked. Moz has a good description of this tag, which you can read here:
https://moz.com/learn/seo/canonicalization
To determine what you need, take stock of your current website. Consider what technology you are using and the quickest way to restore it to the new domain name.On the website itself, it is common to put a notice about the other version of the domain name, most websites do this with a flag of the other country to make it clear that it is also possible to choose the English, German or Spanish language of the website. This way, visitors can easily find the language that is easiest for them.
We hope that you too will take the plunge into a second language for your website, and that this article will make the steps involved a little clearer to you. With a total SSD hosting package, you can purchase up to 5 websites for less than a week and run them for a year! Also start expanding your websites for a low price at MijnHostingPartner.nl!
