--- title: "Build a multilingual site" description: "For a multilingual site with Éclair, set the language of each page or post, link the translations, file them under /en/ or /es/ and know the theme's limits." url: "https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/multilingual-site" lang: "en" author: "Thierry Gustin" published: "2026-11-02" updated: "2026-11-02" --- # Build a multilingual site > **Key takeaways** — Éclair handles a multilingual site one piece of content at a time, in 6 public languages (fr, es, en, de, it, pt). You choose each page's language and link its translations in the editor, and Éclair adds the hreflang and x-default tags, the sitemap entries and the “Read in” links. File each language under a prefix (/en/, /es/) with subpages, knowing that menus and URL words stay shared. A multilingual site with Éclair is built one piece of content at a time: each page has its own language, and you link its translations together. Éclair handles the hreflang tags, the sitemap and the “Read in” links. This lesson shows the right way to organize URLs and, honestly, what the standard theme doesn't do, so that Atelier Nova can also welcome English-speaking students. > **Before you start** — Duration: 35 minutes. Prerequisites: knowing how to create pages and subpages ([pages, menus and home page](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/beginner/pages-menus-home)) and knowing the SEO tab ([SEO with Éclair](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/seo)). ## What you'll be able to do ### 🌍 Publish in several languages Set the language of each piece of content and link its translations. ### 🏠 Organize your URLs File each language under its own prefix, with subpages. ### 💡 Know the limits Menus, blog and search: what stays shared and how to deal with it. ## How Éclair handles languages The public site speaks 6 languages: French, Spanish, English, German, Italian and Portuguese. Two settings work together: - **Site language**, in **Settings › General**: the main language. It's used for the shared pages (blog, search, error page) and for the reserved words in URLs. - **Content language**, in the editor (**Document** tab, **Author and language** section): the language of each page, post or product. By default, it's the site's language. The content language sets the page's `lang` attribute, the theme's texts (“Contents”, “Key takeaways”, “Frequently asked questions”, “Published”…), the date format, the language announced to social networks and French typography, which is applied only to pages in French. In **Content**, an item in a language other than the site's shows its code, such as EN or ES, next to its URL. The admin exists in 7 languages, Simplified Chinese included: each person picks their own in **My profile › Admin language**, with no effect on the site. ![The General tab of the settings, with the site language and the choice of home page](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-general-en.webp) *The site language is set in Settings › General* ## Link translations in the editor Let's take Atelier Nova's “Nos cours” page (“Our classes”), at /cours, and create its English version: 1. Open the French page, then click **Duplicate** in the **Document** tab: a draft copy opens, with the same layout. 2. Translate the copy's title and texts, for example “Our classes”. 3. In **Web address (URL)**, replace the URL with `en/classes`. 4. In **Author and language**, set **Content language** to English. 5. In **Translation of…**, choose “Nos cours (FR)”, then save. The next time you open it, the field's help text says “Linked to: Nos cours (FR)”. 6. Fill in the **SEO** tab in the new language, then publish. As soon as both versions are published, Éclair adds the hreflang tags of all the versions to each one, plus an x-default tag that points to the version in the site's language. The sitemap lists the versions of each URL, and a “Read in” link to each other version appears below the title, in the page's language. > **Only published versions count** — A version that's still a draft or marked noindex appears neither in the hreflang tags nor in the “Read in” links. Publish both versions for the link to take effect. ## Organize the URLs of a multilingual site The right organization: the main language at the root, and each other language under a prefix, with subpages. First create one home page per language (URL `en`, then `es`), then its subpages: ```text / Accueil (French, the site language) /cours Nos cours /stages Stages d'été /en Home (English) /en/classes Our classes /en/summer-workshops Summer workshops /es Inicio (Spanish) /es/cursos Nuestros cursos ``` This structure is clear for your visitors and for Google, which recommends a distinct URL for each language. The breadcrumbs follow: /en/classes shows “Atelier Nova › Home › Our classes”. A page URL has 4 levels at most: with the language prefix, you have 3 left. Only the main home page is chosen in **Settings › General**; /en and /es are ordinary pages, which you link as translations of the home page. This academy is built exactly this way: French at the root, English under /en/ and Spanish under /es/, with each lesson linked to its translations. ## What stays shared across all languages The standard theme handles translated pages very well, but in a multilingual site some elements apply to every language. Better to know this before you build: | Element | Standard theme behavior | What you can do | | --- | --- | --- | | Menus | One header menu and one footer menu for the whole site, shown on every page | See the next section | | URL words | The reserved words for search, page, author and shop stay in the site's language: /recherche, /auteur… on a French site | Nothing: these are technical URLs | | Blog | All posts live under /blog, and the lists mix languages | Keep the blog in the main language, or filter by category | | Search | A single results page, /recherche on a French-language site | Redirect /search to /recherche | | Site texts | Shared name, tagline and footer text | Short wording, understood in all your languages | Two details. The lists that mix languages are the blog page, the “Latest posts” block and the “Read next” posts. To separate them, create one category per language and filter the “Latest posts” block on it, at the cost of giving up a topic category. For search, the magnifying glass on an English page points to /search, a URL that doesn't exist on a site set to French: in **Redirects**, add a redirect from /search to /recherche, and from /buscar for Spanish. ## How do you organize the menus of a multilingual site? With the standard theme, the same header menu appears on every page. Three solutions, from the simplest to the most complete: 1. **A short menu and a language link**: in **Menus**, keep 3 or 4 items and add a **Custom link** “English” to /en. That's Atelier Nova's choice. 2. **Languages in the footer**: put “Français”, “English” and “Español” in the **Footer menu**, and let the “Read in” links do the rest. 3. **Custom templates**: a developer can filter the menus by language in the theme files. That's what this academy does, with a language switcher ([customize the theme templates](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/expert/theme-customization)). ![The Menus screen: the main menu and the footer menu, with their items to reorder](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-menus-en.webp) *One header menu for the whole site* ## Translate quickly with AI, without losing control The AI assistant translates a selected passage, and **Create with AI** composes a draft in the chosen language ([create a page with AI](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/ai-mcp/create-page-ai)). Claude or ChatGPT, connected through the MCP connector, can also create a draft in another language. In every case, linking translations stays manual: you're the one who chooses **Translation of…**. Have each version proofread by someone who speaks the language, and adapt the keyphrase: people looking for a pottery class don't use the same words in French, English or Spanish. ## Key points - Each piece of content has its language; the site language is the reference for x-default and URL words. - Link each translation with **Translation of…**: hreflang, the sitemap and the “Read in” links follow. - For a clear multilingual site, file each language under a prefix (/en/, /es/) with subpages. - Menus, blog and search are shared in the standard theme: plan for it from the start. - A translation is proofread and optimized in its own language, keyphrase included. ## Going further - [Pages, menus and home page](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/beginner/pages-menus-home): create subpages and set up the menus. - [SEO with Éclair](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/seo): the SEO tab to fill in for each version. - [Customize the theme templates](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/expert/theme-customization): filter menus by language, like this academy does. - Source: Google Search Central's page on [localized versions of your pages](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions). ## Frequently asked questions ### How many languages can I publish in? Six public languages, freely mixed from one piece of content to the next: French, Spanish, English, German, Italian and Portuguese. The admin interface offers 7 languages, including Simplified Chinese. ### Do I need a subdomain for each language? No. With Éclair, the simplest method is one prefix per language (/en/, /es/) with subpages, on the same installation and the same dashboard. ### What is the x-default tag for? It points to the version written in the site's language, the one Google offers when no version matches the user's language. Éclair adds it automatically as soon as two published versions are linked. ### Can I translate my blog posts? Yes, and link them like pages: hreflang and “Read in” links work. But all posts share the blog's URL and the same lists, so keep the blog in your main language if this mix bothers you.