Multi-language Squarespace Sites Showcase
One of the things we love about working in website localization is the thousands of websites we can draw inspiration from. Every day hundreds of websites go multilingual with the help of Weglot and we get the pleasure of checking them out and building articles around website localization done right.
Hence, we’re back with another one of our roundups, specifically showcasing some of our Squarespace users. Just like with any website CMS – going multilingual doesn’t need to interrupt your design game and adding a translation solution certainly shouldn’t cause such issues.
That’s one of the big benefits of choosing Weglot as your Squarespace multilingual solution (well apart from an effortless translation solution that just takes minutes to go from one language to multiple 😉). No matter what template you’ve chosen – Weglot is compatible with them all meaning you don’t need to change your template to a more multi language accommodating one.
In fact, we even wrote about that very subject the other day. You might not need to change the design of your website, but often there are times when the length of text changes dramatically depending on the language you’re translating into. Weglot’s visual editor can help you see your translations directly in the context of your website before you go live so you can make subtle changes such as the font size of a particular language to accommodate your new languages.
But enough about us, let’s take a look at 5 Squarespace websites that have caught our eye – from the restaurant industry to an NGO and even a medical website working within these challenging times – every industry can benefit from a multilingual website.
To Share
First on our list, it’s Saint-Tropezian café-restaurant To Share. What’s immediately striking about this Squarespace built site is the utter simplicity and sophistication of the design. The subtle cream and yellow tones are complemented by a charming grayscale video animation. With only four landing pages, it’s clear the intention here is to make their site as pristine, succinct, and user friendly as possible.
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that they’ve opted for a bilingual site English-French to further enhance user experience and accessibility on their site. Saint-Tropez being the tourist hotspot that it is makes this a smart choice from a commercial point of view, meaning their menu will be understood by all the English-speaking tourists in the area. They’ve also cleverly taken advantage of Weglot’s ability to customise your language switcher, creating one that integrates perfectly with the site’s understated design.
Oh, and did we forget to mention the owner of this restaurant? None other than 13 time Grammy award-winning artist Pharrell Williams! Not a bad endorsement for both Squarespace and Weglot alike – if we may say so ourselves 😉
CardMedic
Next site on our list is that of the incredible CardMedic. Set up just earlier this year in response to the COVID19 pandemic, they provide a flexible digital communication tool which enables the transfer of vital information between frontline healthcare workers and patients, regardless of potential barriers – be it either language differences; visual, hearing or cognitive impairments; or PPE. The communication takes the form of a collection of flashcards covering common healthcare topics, written by clinical experts.
Their Squarespace site is beautifully constructed and combines functionality with professionalism. From the offset, it’s apparent what they provide and how to get access to the different resources available. The team here at Weglot are very proud to say we provide CardMedic with multilingual functionality and they now have their website available in 9 different languages – meaning that their communication flashcards are available to a significantly greater proportion of the population.
Often, when we think of translating and localizing our websites it’s for commercial reasons – to effectively target more customers and boost our sales. However, CardMedic’s use of Weglot is testament to how beneficial going multilingual can be in times of need, with the potential to make a real and lasting positive impact on society.
One Waterfront Initiative
Also making the list is Boston based conservation non-profit initiative One Waterfront.
The aim of One Waterfront is to improve the quality of life in Boston City by creating and managing a number of different parks along the coast. It is envisaged that these areas will prosper and develop into world-class destinations, putting Boston back on the map as a coastal go-to location.
However, beyond this the initiative also works to fulfil environmental and social objectives; the areas are built with the purpose of being climate-friendly and resistant, and aim to serve the diverse needs of communities in the city.
When we take a look at their Squarespace site’s design – there’s nothing to fault. If you take a glance yourself, you’ll see what we’re getting at. The site effuses vibrancy and professionalism all in one. Combining a lucid colour scheme with an array of impressive visuals and videos, they truly make the most of Squarespace’s design capabilities.
In addition to this impressive design, they’ve also set out to impress by translating their site to Spanish with Weglot. With their language switcher conveniently located on the bottom right-hand corner of their pages, and indicated with flags – you won’t miss it. Given that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the USA with 41 million native speakers (which is more than Spain itself), going multilingual was without a doubt a good call.
Q80 Living
Located at Quellijnstraat 80 Amsterdam, the aptly named Q80 Living is host to seven spacious and spellbinding apartments for rent, each of which is thematically and experience decorated – underpinning different historical contexts of the building.
With the apartments aiming to reflect past lives and purposes of the building; such as a music salon, a ballet studio, a mirrordust theatre and much more, a sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing site design was needed to get this vision across.
Fortunately, they opted for a Squarespace site which gave them all the range they needed to achieve this. The site has a refined and contemporary elegance, with the high-quality imagery being cleverly juxtaposed with the minimalist white space background. The UX is also cleverly done, the ability to scroll and browse seamlessly from one page to another gives the site a light, whimsical, dreamlike feeling – perfectly encapsulating the novelty and appeal of the apartments.
The site owner also knew the importance of making the showcase sight multilingual, after all, Amsterdam is the city with the most spoken languages in the world. With Weglot they opted for an English to Dutch translation and haven’t looked back. Notice how they’ve customised their language switcher on the bottom right-hand corner of their pages, tying in perfectly modest design.
Ambitious Africa
Rounding out our list is NGO Ambitious Africa. The initiative aims to bridge the gap that sometimes exists between the Nordics and Africa. They help to connect, inspire, and empower young people through mutual cooperation and teamwork to enact change. Collaboration focuses on education, entrepreneurship, and entertainment, and it is envisaged that these core strengths of the Nordics will help to empower African youth.
When we consider the site itself, it evokes exactly what it should – hope and excitement. The vibrant colours combined with the stunning portraits give the site a real sense of authenticity. On top of this, they’ve made their site easy to navigate thanks to the power of their Squarespace CMS.
Of course, this initiative is a multilateral one, aiming to involve and bring together many communities from many different countries. Website translation is the foundation of successful localization and can help bring about increased website traffic, engagement and much more.
With Weglot, Ambitious Africa seamlessly made their Squarespace site multilingual to effectively target more communities who could benefit from their initiative. It’s now available in 5 languages, meaning they’re maximising the reach and impact of their initiative.
What makes these Squarespace sites stand out?
So, now that you’ve seen some sites for sore eyes 😉, you might be wondering how you could emulate a Squarespace site as effective as these for your own business or organisation.
We’re going to wrap up by looking at a few of the common denominators between these sites.
Choosing sublime Squarespace templates/features: Each of the sites above used Squarespace to full effect when designing their site, whether it be through the use of text light templates, stunning image holders, and even intuitive navigation.
Conveying a clear message: Each of the sites above had a unique point of view and mission. All were able to convey this not only through words, but also through clever use of Squarespace’s design capabilities.
Localizing through translation: Perhaps the most impressive aspect of each of these sites was the efforts made to localize their site to appeal to a greater audience. Whether it was for commercial, social, or charitable purposes each of these sites made a smart choice translating their site to boost traffic.
Making your Squarespace site multilingual has never been easier thanks to the Weglot translation solution. So, why not remove the language barrier from your organisation and shift your focus to other areas of potential growth for your business?!
Interested in giving it a go? Don’t hesitate to try our 10 day free-trial to see first-hand how Weglot can transform your business.