Multilingual website development in Japan – the right structure and copy for every language

When a multilingual website makes sense – and where it goes wrong

Companies in Japan usually start multilingual website development for one of a few reasons: more bookings from inbound visitors, presenting products to overseas buyers, selling online abroad, or recruiting people from abroad. Each goal points to different languages and a different set of pages.

Starting with "let's just add English" tends to cause the same problems:

• A translation widget is the only solution, so search engines never see real foreign-language pages
• Only the home page is translated; menus, prices, booking and contact pages stay in Japanese
• Switching language always sends visitors back to the home page
• Text inside images, PDF menus, form fields and auto-reply emails remain untranslated
• The Japanese pages get updated while the English ones quietly go out of date

All of these are avoidable with planning. Start by writing down who you want to reach, in which language, and what you want them to do. If English alone covers your audience, see our guide to English website development.

Five signs of a multilingual site that works

What matters most is that each language version works on its own. Strong multilingual sites share these traits:

• A dedicated URL per language: each version can appear in search results and be shared or linked
• Page-to-page switching: switching from the Japanese price page opens the English price page
• The full journey is translated: booking, inquiry, checkout and payment instructions included
• Information for that reader: how to get there, accepted payments, tax-inclusive prices explained, opening hours in a familiar format
• A clear update routine: when the Japanese page changes, everyone knows who updates which language and when

Check your current site against this list to see what is missing. For shops, restaurants and venues serving tourists, our page on websites for inbound tourists covers industry-specific points.

The technical setup: URL structure and hreflang

The first technical decision is how to separate languages in your URLs. There are three common options:

• Subdirectories (example.jp/en/): share the authority of one domain and are easy to manage – the default choice for most sites
• Subdomains (en.example.jp): useful when a language version runs on a separate system
• Country domains (example.com.tw and so on): an option when business and pricing differ a lot by country, with more registration and upkeep

Once URLs are set, each page gets hreflang annotations that tell search engines "this page also exists in English and Chinese". The basics: every version references all the others, each page includes itself, and an x-default points users with no matching language to a sensible page.

Avoid automatic redirects based on visitor location or browser language. A visible language switcher lets people choose, and lets search engines crawl every version. To get found in searches abroad, see our guide to overseas SEO.

Choosing a multilingual CMS: WordPress, Shopify or BASE

The right platform depends on who will update which language after launch. The usual options:

• WordPress: plugins such as WPML, Polylang or TranslatePress add languages, with each language managed as its own pages. A good fit for sites with regular news or articles
• Shopify: multiple languages and currencies are built in, with translations managed through an app. Strong for selling online abroad
• BASE: quick to start, but more limited for detailed multilingual setups, so confirm the languages and features you need first
• Small sites: if updates happen a few times a year, a simple build with separate pages per language is perfectly workable

WordPress translation plugins differ in price, URL format and how translations are stored, and switching later is costly. Settle the number of languages and how often you update before choosing.

Writing the copy: from translation to natural reading

In the end, the copy decides how your site feels. A literal translation of Japanese text rarely moves readers to act. This process produces copy that reads naturally in each language:

• Choose the pages: home, services or products, prices, access, booking and contact first; local-only news can stay in Japanese
• Build a glossary: fix romanized spellings of your company, products and place names, plus key phrases
• Rewrite for the reader: add context a foreign reader lacks, shorten long introductions, put the point in the heading
• Native review: machine translation can be a draft, but a person checks tone and facts before publishing
• Cover everything around the page: text in photos, menus, form auto-replies and map directions

It helps to have ready: your target languages and countries, a list of pages to translate, any existing English brochures, and official spellings of product names. For choosing a translation provider and budgeting, see website translation.

How UNANOBO builds multilingual sites: a free demo first

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo of your multilingual site, based on your current content and brand. Usually centered on the English version, it lets you test the language switcher, the URL structure and the headings and paths in each language on a real screen. You decide whether to go ahead after seeing it.

The process is simple: free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally – from the first demo through hreflang and CMS setup to marketing abroad after launch. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English, so you can discuss direction in Japanese while colleagues overseas review the English copy.