Studios XeniaA bilingual website for a Hispanic-owned business in the US
One site with every page in English and Spanish, each at its own address with the hreflang tag, reaches both audiences without splitting the brand. Titles and descriptions are written for each language, not translated word for word.
The United States has 406,086 Hispanic-owned employer businesses, according to the Census Bureau (2021 data). Many sell to two audiences at once, and that's where a website gets complicated: write it in one language and lose the other audience, or run two sites that end up saying different things.
One site, two languages
Each page exists in both languages, at its own address, and tells Google about its version in the other language with the hreflang tag. That way each search lands on the right page.
Translating isn't enough
The same service is searched for with different words in each language. Titles and descriptions are written for the reader, not word for word.
What it must have
- A visible language switcher that keeps you on the same page instead of sending you home.
- Call and WhatsApp buttons in plain sight on phones.
- Forms and confirmations in both languages.
- A privacy policy and terms in both languages.
If you also send commercial email
In the United States, the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide asks for, among other things, a physical postal address, saying that it's an ad and a clear way to opt out, including between businesses.
And in customer service
A WhatsApp AI agent can answer in both languages, and a well-built brand identity works the same in each.
See what changes when you sell in the United States and our portfolio.
How it's organized
- Separate addresses per language, such as
/es/and/en/. - The language switcher leads to the same page in the other language.
- The sitemap lists both versions of every page.
- Structured data is written in each page's language.
What it costs
A bilingual site is, in practice, two sites sharing one design: the design is done once and the copy twice. In our corporate site package, each additional page costs US$40.
WhatsApp and service in two languages
The ready message on the WhatsApp button should be in the page's language, so you know which language to reply in. A WhatsApp AI agent can answer in both.
This very site
This site works that way: every page has its version in the other language at its own address, and a few guides exist only in Spanish because they answer searches from Chile.
Frequently asked questions
Is one bilingual site better than two sites?
One site with two languages: a single brand, a single domain and both versions linked for Google.
Can I translate my site with machine translation?
As a draft. Titles, descriptions and calls to action are best written for each language.
What is hreflang?
A tag that tells Google which page is the version in another language, so each person sees the right one.
Keep reading
- Checklist for a website that actually shows up on GoogleWhat we check on every site before publishing.
- How to hire a remote agency without surprisesWhat to get in writing before you pay.
- How much a brand identity costs and what it should includeThree levels with real prices and when each one makes sense.