How to build a bilingual site
The bilingual site can be displayed in the selected language or automatically in the browser language. The second option makes it easy to reach the visitor, but the home page will have a smaller PageRank.
However, it should be understood that from the point of view of references, it is desirable to have different entry points for each language.
Show site in browser language using PHP
This code has been tested with the main browsers: Crome, Firefox, Opera, Safari.
File saved as index.php
In the example, the French page has the file name index-fr.php and the English page index-en.php
You can add as many languages as you like, following the same principle...
<html>
<head>
<title></title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"</head>
<?php
$lang = "en";
$serv = $_SERVER[HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE];
if($serv != false)
{
$temp = explode(",",$serv);
$temp = strtolower(substr($temp[0]),0,2);
if($temp == "fr") $lang="fr";
}
?>
<iframe
<?php
echo "src=\"index-$lang.php\"";
?>
border=0 frameborder="no" RESIZE scrolling="YES" noresize >
</iframe>
<noframes>
<body>
Frames requises.
</body>
</noframes>
</html>If you install languages in subdirectories, for example, fr, en, etc., we will write without frames:
<?php
$lang="en";
$serv = $_SERVER[HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE];
if($serv != false)
{
$temp = explode(",",$serv);
$temp = strtolower(substr($temp[0],0,2));
if($temp == "fr") $lang="fr";
}
header("HTTP/1.1 302 Redirect");
header("location:https://www.iqlevsha.ru/$lang/");
?> Page names
A homepage in a particular language does not necessarily have an index name, it can be given a meaningful name as conception.php for a French page and design.php for an English page, and this is good for a link.
In this case, the following lines will be changed in the code, replacing the example words with keywords selected depending on the site theme:
$lang = "design";
if($temp == "fr") $lang="conception";
echo "src=\"$lang.php\""; When you link to a site, you will give addresses: https://www.iqlevsha.ru/conception.php or https://www.iqlevsha.ru/design.php (replace iqlevsha.ru with the domain name of your site and replace the page names).
Conditional greeting redirection
To avoid losing PR, one solution is to place a page of a specific language as the homepage of the site, for example, the French homepage will be called index.php and it will contain PHP code that redirects visitors from other languages.
The disadvantage, if this page is important, which is often the case with a home page, is loading two pages when entering the site, for visitors of other languages.
The redirect code, depending on the browser language, is available in a zip file .
IP Forwarding
Some services, including Google itself, identify the user's origin from his IP address and automatically redirect him (and leave him no choice) to a site corresponding to his language. To install such a system, you will obviously need the ability to determine the origin of the user, and for this, the answers can be found in the article How to find out the country of the IP address.
Bilingual website and search engines
For selection from one of the previous processes, it is decisive: how the site will be visible by search engine algorithms.
The code for automatic browser redirection does not negatively affect PageRank pages other than the home page, unlike solutions that use the PHP "header" function, where search engine robots stop.
This is not an ideal solution, you lose the PR point on the home page, the problem seems inherent in a bilingual site, all solutions have drawbacks.
Best for an English and French site, for example, in terms of search engines:
- Either create a site in .com and another in .fr
- Alternatively, create child regions in and in.
- Create subdirectories in both and.
In fact, these three solutions are suitable for different cases.
Subareas
In this case, the use of subtopics will be the least relevant. Indeed, they are perceived by search engines as different sites, hence the separation of PageRank. Better site more than two small.
In fact, subdomains should only be used for a few users, each of whom has access to their own web space.
Country areas
Use different domains with the same disadvantage, but with the advantage of extension in relation to the language and a clearer URL for the audience.
The relative extension of the language, for example .fr, gives an advantage in positioning over local search.
Subdirectories
However, the presence of a larger site may outweigh the benefits of geolocation.
If the traffic on the site is not large enough to justify multiple domain names, then it is best to use subdirectories. Using a script to customize the language for the user, in my experience, is effective with the precautions specified in the article.