How Strapi Supports Multilingual Content Management?

To win in the age of globalization, you need to break into new markets and capture new customer segments. The best way to do that is to speak the language of your potential customers. 

But building multilingual websites is hard, right? You need to use translation services and hire language experts to remove errors…quite a hassle!

Thankfully, Strapi is here to help you overcome the challenge of building a seamless multilingual with the Strapi Internationalization plugin. 

In addition to its powerful customization capabilities, Strapi now offers a very simple way of creating websites in any language! 

So, how can you harness the power of Internationalization? What do you need to do to start building the website of your vision?

In this blog, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about multilingual website development with Strapi.

Let’s dive in!

The Source of Strapi Multilingual Support 

Strapi’s multilingual capabilities have been around for at least three years. However, the Strapi Internalization (i18n) Plugin has been an especially powerful force since 2024. 

This plugin is the main reason why Strapi has been able to offer us content in different languages and dialects.

How does the Strapi Internalization Plugin Work? Let’s check it out:

• To translate and display your content in different languages, go to your project’s administration panel. From there, click on Settings > Global Settings. 

• You should see the Internationalization plugin in this section. Click on it to be directed to a page where you can set up different “Locales.”

• Each Locale has a corresponding language. For instance, GB-En is a locale for the UK area with English as the language. 

• Similarly, you can set up different locales: an FR-Fr locale for France with French or a US-En locale for the United States with English language.

• Repeat this process for as many languages as you need and deploy your content in different countries.

Here’s what the Internationalization plugin should appear on your screen: 

Now that we know what Internationalization is and how to set it up let’s also examine some of its main features.

Features of The Strapi Internationalization Plugin

In our experience working with Strapi, we’ve found five standout features of the Internationalization Plugin:

Smooth Navigation

Building, hosting and maintaining the same website in different languages can be confusing, especially if you don’t speak all the languages. 

So, how does Strapi help you solve the problem of navigating different languages? 

Easy: it separates language-specific pages and websites using the “Locale” feature. Plus, one user can only edit one Locale at a time, so there are no chances of mistranslations creeping into your website.

Fast Editing - Auto Copy-Paste Translated Copies

Strapi’s multilingual capabilities aren’t just there for their own sake. They also offer you an extremely smooth experience. You don’t need any external plugin or microservice to translate your content. Strapi’s own system takes care of this. 

Once you’ve selected a language for a locale, Strapi automatically translates and copy-pastes content and copies for that locale. 

Dynamic Design

True to its name, the Locale feature localizes your content. It enables you to deploy different content, copies and products to different markets depending on regional preferences, variations and tastes.

This way, you can strategically position different offerings in different markets, use optimal marketing strategies and adopt different sales techniques to drive localized conversions. 

After all, the entire point of multilingual content is to reach different audiences and meet their demands.

Granular Security

Different locales mean different pages, which means compromising permissions, user roles and security, right? 

Not quite! Strapi’s highly secure Internationalization plugin lets you set up granular permissions to protect your online ecosystem from unauthorized access.

You can configure different permissions for different pages, meaning only authorized users have access to specific locales. Thus, Strapi helps you minimize the risks associated with multilingual content deployment.

Rapid API

Alright, so Strapi provides a suite of dedicated services for new markets and languages. That should at least slow its performance down, shouldn’t it?

Fortunately, this isn’t the case: Strapi’s API helps you fetch only Locale-specific content, so your users never have to suffer slow-loading websites. Strapi makes your content available in all languages equally quickly!

Benefits of Using Strapi’s Multilingual CMS

Strapi’s multilingual capabilities have several benefits in store for its users. Here’s what you can expect:

Reach More Customers

If you’re enterprise’s growth is plateauing, one possible reason is market saturation: you’ve sold your product to everyone who needs it.

The solution? New markets and new customers. 

The perfect way to break into a new market and attract new customers is to speak their language—or at least let your website speak their language.

Facebook is a great example of a company that has broken into emerging markets by reaching users in their own languages.

Thus, one of Strapi’s inherent benefits is that it lets you reach a completely new segment of users in a way they can easily see and appreciate your product/service.

Efficient Translation Process

Some products are so good that you don’t need to translate a website for your customers to see them. Rather, they’ll do it by themselves via Google Translate or other such tools. 

On the other hand, you can also offer a translation service on the website. Users can click and translate the webpage using a plugin or a microservice.

But why force your customers to do the heavy lifting when you can reach them at almost no additional cost and win their trust? 

With built-in multilingual capabilities, you can make the translation process more efficient for both you and your customers by showing them content in their own language from the beginning!

Boost Brand Image

While there are several ways to boost brand image, nothing projects your brand as a big company like a multi-language website. 

It tells the world that you mean business in every language possible: you’re a global brand with foreign customers and international reach.

With Strapi, you don’t need to hire translators, use AI or verify translated text: it’s got you covered on all fronts. 

International SEO

If you’ve ever tried to look up a Wikipedia entry of a French or German person, you must’ve seen a SERP in non-English text. If not, we highly recommend you try it. It’s a great way to understand International SEO. 

With multi-lingual translations, your website can also rank among foreign-language SERPs without any additional effort on your part. This way, you can increase organic traffic in foreign markets and save on your marketing budget.

And when you do want to aggressively market your product through SEO efforts with multilingual content, you have a ready-made repository for doing so. 

Competitive Advantage

There are 1.1 billion websites on the Internet, but only 52% use English as the UI language. Spanish, German and Russian are the next most-used languages.

This means hundreds of thousands of websites are competing with yours to reach the top of the SERP. One good strategy to carve out a competitive advantage is to fight on different fronts and try to capture emerging markets before your competitors. 

Strapi’s multilingual content deployment is one of the simplest tactics for pursuing the internationalization strategy.

Are There Other CMS Platforms with Multilingual Capabilities?

While Strapi’s Multilingual Content Management System is one of the best in the market, there are also other CMS with similar capabilities. Let’s check them out so you can make a more informed decision:

WordPress (Open Source)

WordPress offers language and region-specific site settings with plugins like WPML and Poylang. One simple way to set up multilingual content is to create a duplicate of your website in a different language. However, this may lead to problems of mistranslation. 

Still, WordPress is worth a shot if you’re building a static site. Check our Headless WordPress vs. Strapi blog to see which CMS is right for you. 

Drupal (Open Source)

Drupal is one of the most famous CMS systems around. It offers dedicated multilingual support, configurations, translations, and localization. Drupal also has a language detection protocol that helps you determine which region or language different visitors use.

It’s a better option than WordPress for complex websites.

Adobe Experience Manager (Proprietary)

While Adobe doesn’t have its own translation services, it relies on third-party providers to deliver multilingual support. You can use Adobe’s Journey Optimizer to set up auto or manual language translation for your website. 

Adobe might be a good option if you have a design-heavy e-commerce website that needs translation.

Sitecore (Proprietary)

Sitecore is one of the oldest providers of multilingual content management capabilities. While it has a rich database of languages, its strength lies in its country-specific language settings. For instance, you can choose Spanish as it’s spoken in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, or Mexico.

Sitecore is recommended if you want a truly global website. However, ensuring consistency across these websites might also be a lot of work.

Kentico (Proprietary)

Kentico is a good option for multilingual content management. You can use language detection to display different languages depending on your users' locations. 

It provides you with options like fallback language, so if there’s no translation available in a specific language, it’ll revert to your preferred language. 

Kentico can also create URLs in different languages for International SEO. 

Why Choose Strapi Over Other CMS Platforms For Multilingual Projects? 

So, if there are so many options available, why should you use Strapi over other platforms like WordPress? We recommend Strapi for several reasons:

Headless Architecture

Strapi’s headless architecture allows you to deploy your content across multiple platforms, devices and channels. You only need to develop your content once, and you can publish it anywhere in multiple languages.

Customization

In an age when customers are demanding more personalization, Strapi is the best CMS platform for you. It helps you build custom content types so you can provide your users with dynamic content and unforgettable experiences.

Community Support

Strapi’s strong community is a huge asset to its development process. Whether you want to upgrade Strapi V4 to  V5 or set up multilingual content, its rich community will guide you through the process. 

Scalability

Scalability is an important consideration for CMS platforms. As your business grows, your traffic will grow with it. You don’t want a CMS that has an upper limit on the number of users it can accommodate. 

Strapi is one of the most seamlessly scalable CMS platforms that can handle increased traffic and footfall. 

Cost Effective

Strapi’s open-source nature makes it a cost-effective solution to content management. All you need to do is hire a good Strapi development company, and you can develop sophisticated websites that offer your users unforgettable online experiences.

Craft a Sophisticated Multilingual Web Experience with Green Apex

Strapi is a bridge between you and distant international markets. The simple but powerful Internationalization plugin has put new customer segments within your grasp. 

To get started, all you need to do is begin your Strapi project. However, the technical requirements of Strapi can be challenging, especially if you’re unfamiliar with CMS programming…

But that doesn’t have to stop you from building a future-proof multilingual website! 

As a veteran Strapi custom development company and one of Strapi’s community partners, we have helped our customers create scalable, vibrant and multilingual websites that can withstand time and traffic. 

At Green Apex, we offer tailored CMS services to help you create the website of your dreams…connect with us and discover how Strapi development can help you unleash your potential and break into new markets! 

Strapi’s development potential, powered by Green Apex’s engineering expertise, makes it your dream team for conceptualizing, building and deploying your future-proof website.