Almost all brands and ecommerce merchants strive to become market leaders. Some even aim to become the international or even global reference in their market.

However, having a brand that appeals to the public, and that may even sell well in physical retail points, doesn't necessarily mean that the brand's online store will work and increase the brand's reputation and revenue. That's why many brands surround themselves with web agencies specialized in ecommerce. Some agencies even offer their customers long-term support via a dedicated web project manager.

Just as in a physical store, the online customer must feel in an environment that encourages them to purchase. The web agency's job is to make the conversion as smooth as possible while communicating the brand's values and identity to the buyer. And that goes for all buyers, even those from further afield. This is what we call cross-border ecommerce.

It's cross-border ecommerce that we're going to focus on in this article, presenting the work and best practices of 10 web agencies specializing in ecommerce design and delivering effective multilingual projects to their customers. And, of course, all the examples featured below are using Weglot to help them create a multilingual store!

Axome

Over the years, Axome has become a reference in the French ecommerce ecosystem, describing itself as a "brand & tech" agency. One of their advantages comes from their mastery of different ecommerce technologies such as Shopify, Prestashop, WordPress, and Webflow (the latter two offering dedicated ecommerce extensions).

They’ve worked with brands such Tressé Paris on their multilingual online store projects.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Leveraging the glossary rules feature to enhance the brand identity and atmosphere on the website
• Optimized UX by automatically redirecting customers to their preferred language version using auto-switch functionality
• Use of subdomains by language to optimize multilingual SEO

Code

Let's move on to a country that's particularly well-developed when it comes to ecommerce players: the Netherlands. It was here that Code was founded, and they’ve since expanded into Germany.

The agency, which specializes in Shopify, Shopify Plus, and Klaviyo, has helped brands such as Osaka with their multilingual projects. You can read more about the specific use case of Osaka's multilingual project in a dedicated case study where they give us more information on how they use Weglot with Shopify Markets.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Leveraging Weglot’s compatibility with other tools such as Klaviyo and Shopify Markets to offer the most optimized user experience
• Leveraging the glossary rules feature to enhance the brand identity and atmosphere on the website
• Subdomains for a unique language URL

Moustache Republic

One of the strengths of this agency (beyond its very catchy name) is the fact that they’re both a BigCommerce and a Shopify Plus partner, a guarantee of its holistic expertise in the ecommerce sector.

As for their multilingual projects, they demonstrate their Weglot expertise on Shopify with Bondi Sands and on BigCommerce with Lyres.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• International-optimized navigation with the ability to change language, region, and currency in the same place
• Implementation of subdomains with language and region codes for SEO optimization to avoid duplicate content
• Translation into different language variants such as Irish English, Belgian French, or Austrian German

5874 Commerce

Another web agency brilliantly supporting its customers in multilingual markets is 5874 Commerce. This agency, based both in the UK and the USA, is renowned for its expertise in supporting customers with BigCommerce technology.

One of their particular strengths is that they support B2B customers such as Harrison Products and Virbac, even on their web ordering solution.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• The set up of custom languages to offer English adapted to the Irish audience
• Fully translated content, including banners and popups thanks to Weglot’s dynamic elements feature
• Collaborative translation workflow internally between the customer and agency team

Overdose Digital

What do all good web agencies have? A strong tagline and Overdose Digital is no exception. “Break the rules. Think bigger. Get sh*it done.” The message is clear and they use Weglot on several of their multilingual projects, including Salty Crew, Specialized, Impala Skate, Globe.

The agency has more than 450 employees across the US, Europe, and Oceania, and is one of the leading web agencies specializing in ecommerce.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Unique URL for each language via subdirectories or subdomains
• Leveraging the glossary rules feature to enhance the brand identity and atmosphere on the website
• Collaborative translation workflow internally with the agency team and with the customer

Swanky

When it comes to international ecommerce, the team at Swanky knows what they're talking about. They’ve even published a very interesting ebook on the topic.

They don't just talk about it, they also accompany their customers on multilingual projects that are always very well executed, such as Boucleme, Needle & Thread, Aeris, Baileys…

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Leveraging the auto switch feature to redirect potential buyers in their preferred language directly
• Fully translated content, including cart, searches, and notifications thanks to the dynamic elements translation feature
• Unique URL for each language via subdirectories or subdomains

Radikal

Based in Belgium, a country that is multilingual by nature, this ecommerce agency naturally needs to be able to offer multilingual sites to its clients. This is something the Radikal team has understood very well. As well as other projects, they have worked on multilingual stores Lore Van Keer and Pokeflip.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Use Weglot on their own agency website to promote their services work to a wider audience
• Fully translated content, including filters thanks to the dynamic elements feature
• Language switcher button design and placement that blends in well with the site's identity and navigation

Tante-E

If you're interested in ecommerce in Germany, or even in the whole of the DACH region, I imagine you've already heard of Tante-E.

As well as being a well-known Shopify and Shopify Plus agency, the agency has also supported many brands via Merchant Inspiration, organizing events and offering useful resources to all German-speaking e-merchants.

Tante-E has provided brilliant support for multilingual projects for brands such as Teveo, Hey Marly, Badesofa, and many others.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Unique URL for each language via subdomains
• Leveraging Weglot’s compatibility with other tools such as Klaviyo and Shopify Markets to offer the most optimized user experience
• Leveraging the glossary rules feature to enhance the brand identity and atmosphere on the website

Unique Paris

This Parisian agency (based just a few meters from Weglot's head office) supports several big names in French retail with their Shopify and Shopify Plus projects.

Unique’s expertise enables them to handle the multilingual projects of well-known brands reinventing themselves on the web, such as Vuarnet and Saint James, as well as more recent players such as Vitality.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Fully translated content, including search bars
• Collaborative translation workflow internally with the agency team and with the customer
• Translation exclusion of certain parts of the website in order to localize offers and collections according to the audience

WeMakeWebsites

For this last agency on our list (but not the least), let’s head to London (or even New York) to meet WeMakeWebsites, a leading Shopify Plus agency.

They present themselves as “The Shopify Plus agency for international brands” which says a lot about their expertise in the multilingual aspect of their projects. Not only do they support British and American brands, but also those operating in multilingual countries, such as Pure Scooter, which uses Weglot to develop its business in the Belgian market.

Multilingual Agency Expertise Done Right:

• Optimized UX by automatically redirecting customers to their preferred language version using auto-switch functionality
• Collaborative translation workflow internally with the agency team and with the customer
• Leveraging the glossary rules feature to enhance the brand identity and atmosphere on the website

Summing Up

All 10 of these ecommerce agencies are experienced in handling multilingual projects, ensuring seamless cross-border ecommerce experiences for their clients.

These agencies understand how to compete in the international ecommerce market by using advanced features such as glossary rules to optimize brand identity, as well as collaborative translation workflows and unique URLs for each language.

As businesses strive to become global leaders in their markets, partnering with web agencies like these proves to be a strategic choice for achieving success in the world of online commerce.