Having the website in two languages always sounds like a good idea, and often it is. But it means keeping two websites up to date, and an outdated or badly translated English website does worse than having none. It is worth deciding with criteria.
Signs in favour
- You receive enquiries, emails or calls from people who write in English.
- Your customers are tourists, foreigners living in Portugal or companies with international teams.
- You sell or want to sell abroad, or work with partners in other countries.
- The sector is searched by people arriving from outside: accommodation, healthcare, events, services for expatriates.
- There are English searches related to what you do and competitors appearing in them.
Signs against
- All your customers are local and speak Portuguese.
- You have nobody to answer enquiries in English: an English website that is then not answered creates frustration.
- The Portuguese website still has work to do: you get one language right first, then two.
- The services depend a lot on local rules that are hard to explain to people from outside.
What takes work
- Careful translation. Machine translation without review leaves odd sentences and errors of meaning. Someone who knows the language should review, especially the texts that sell.
- Keeping both versions the same. Every change, price, opening time or new service has to go into both.
- Linking the versions. The website should tell the browser which is the equivalent version in the other language, so each person sees the right one.
- The other places. The Google profile, social media and directories may also need the English version.
Details that get forgotten
Watch what changes besides the text: date and currency formats, phone numbers with the country code, opening hours with the time zone if you serve people online, and local references that are not understood abroad, such as an acronym, a neighbourhood or a unit of measure. They are small details that show care and avoid misunderstandings.
The middle option
If you still hesitate, start with one English page with the essentials: what you do, for whom, where you are and how to get in touch. You can test whether there is interest without maintaining a whole website. If enquiries start to arrive, you widen it gradually. The TMI website is in both languages.
If your idea goes further than a translation, and means thinking the brand for other markets, read how to internationalise a Portuguese brand. And if the company serves more than one area in Portugal, see whether a page per city is worth it. To choose the path calmly, our Digital Marketing work starts by seeing where the enquiries come from.
Three questions before translating
Answer in writing: how many enquiries in the last six months came from people who do not write in Portuguese? Can someone on the team answer in English, regularly? Who will maintain the English version when there are changes? Imagine a small rural tourism house (an invented example) where three in ten enquiries are from foreigners: there, an English website is justified. In a neighbourhood workshop with no enquiries from outside, the priority is different. If the answers are weak, postpone and invest in the Portuguese website first.
In short
- It is worth it when there are customers, enquiries or partners who do not read Portuguese.
- An English website badly translated or out of date does worse than none.
- Keep both versions the same and linked to each other.
- One English page with the essentials is a good way to test.
Quick questions
Can I use machine translation?
As a draft, yes. To publish, it is better that someone who knows the language reviews it, especially the sales texts and the practical information.
Does an English website help on Google?
It can help you reach people who search in English. There is no guarantee of results, and it depends on the sector and the demand. What counts is that the content is useful.
What about languages other than English?
Only if you have a clear market in that language. Each extra language adds maintenance work. Start with the one that has the most real enquiries.
Want to know whether customers are arriving from abroad?
The exploratory call is a 30-minute conversation, at no cost. We check whether customers or enquiries come from abroad and what that changes on your website. You keep the written summary.
Book an exploratory call