Multilingual websites: Czech, Slovak and English done right
Give every language its own URL, link the versions with hreflang, and adapt the copy to each market instead of translating it word for word. Don't redirect visitors by IP or browser language. Webflow and Framer charge a monthly fee per extra language, Astro with Sanity doesn't. In our projects, each extra language adds 15% of the design and build price and about a week.
Do you need more than one language?
If your customers search in more than one language, yes. People buy in the language they read best. In a CSA Research survey of 8,709 online shoppers in 29 countries, 76% preferred product information in their own language, and 40% said they never buy from websites in other languages (CSA Research, July 2020).
Czech and Slovak are a special case. Most Slovaks read Czech without trouble, so a Czech site can feel good enough. But people search in their own words. When we checked Google's suggestions in Slovakia in October 2026, "tvorba web stránok" (the Slovak way to say web design) got ten suggestions. The Czech-style "tvorba webových stránok" got none. A Czech page can still show up for Slovak searchers. It just won't match what they type.
AI answers work the same way. We learned that on our own name. Our old site was a single English page. Asked in Czech, Seznam's AI described us as a digital marketing, SEO and social media agency, because the only Czech-language sources about us were directories.
One language is enough when all your customers live in one country and search in its language. One language done well beats three done badly.
How should the URLs work?
Give each language its own URL. Google recommends separate URLs over switching the language with cookies or browser settings on one address (Google Search Central, December 2025). It compares four ways to do it:
| Structure | Example | Good | Watch out | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country domains | firma.cz, firma.sk | Clear to visitors. Each market can run on its own | More domains and sites to run. Each domain targets one country | When each country runs as a separate business |
| Subdomains | sk.firma.cz | Easy to set up | Visitors can't tell if "sk" means a language or a country | Rarely |
| Subdirectories | firma.cz/sk/ | Easy to set up, low maintenance, one host | Harder to split the markets later | Our default |
| URL parameters | firma.cz?lang=sk | Nothing worth having | Google marks it "not recommended" | Never |
Two more rules from the same guide. Don't redirect people automatically by their location or browser language: it can stop both visitors and Google from ever seeing the other versions. Link to the other language versions instead. We make the switch lead to the same page in the other language, not back to the home page.
This site uses subdirectories: /pricing/, /sk/cennik/ and /cz/cenik/. The slugs are translated too, so the address reads naturally in a Slovak or Czech search result.
What does hreflang do, and where does it go wrong?
hreflang is a small tag that tells Google "this page also exists in Slovak, and here it is". Google then shows each searcher the version in their language. You can add it in the page head, in HTTP headers or in the sitemap (Google Search Central, September 2026).
It breaks in predictable ways:
- Missing return links. Each version must list itself and every other version. If the Czech page points to the Slovak one and the Slovak page doesn't point back, Google ignores the tags.
- Wrong codes. Language codes come from ISO 639-1. Czech is cs, not cz, which is the country code (Library of Congress). Slovak happens to be sk either way. A country code on its own isn't accepted.
- No fallback. Add x-default for everyone whose language you don't offer. Usually that's the English page.
- Half-translated pages. Google works out a page's language from its visible text, not from hreflang or the lang attribute. Translating only the menu and footer while the body stays in one language makes a poor experience, Google's guide says.
Every page on this site carries hreflang for en, sk and cs plus x-default, and the sitemap lists the same alternates.
Why adapt the copy instead of translating it?
Because each market searches, reads and pays differently. Here's what that means on this site:
- Keywords per market. Each page's title, heading and description come from a keyword map per language. Our pricing page is "Ceník tvorby webu: kolik stojí web na míru" in Czech and "Cenník tvorby web stránok: koľko stojí web" in Slovak. Same page, different words, because people type different words.
- Local prices. Euros on the English and Slovak pages, rounded crowns on the Czech ones.
- Local examples. Our Czech guides cover Seznam and Firmy.cz next to Google. The Slovak ones focus on Google.
- Tone. Polite forms, local phrases, and none of the stiff sentences that give a translation away.
AI helps, and here's how. It drafts the first version of each language fast. Then we rewrite and check every page by hand. Raw machine output published in bulk is a risk: Google's spam policies list mass translation done to game rankings as scaled content abuse (Google Search Central, August 2026).
Which platform handles languages best?
All three platforms we build on can run several languages. They differ in what you pay every year.
| Webflow | Framer | Astro + Sanity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee per extra language | Localize Essential, $9 a locale a month, up to 3 locales. Translated URL slugs need Advanced, $29 a locale a month | $20 a locale a month, up to 20 locales | None. Each language adds documents to Sanity's quota: 10,000 on the free plan |
| Roughly per year, per extra language | about €100 on Essential | about €210 | €0 |
| Best for | 2 or 3 languages, a team that edits visually | A small site that needs a second language fast | 3 or more languages, lots of content, top speed |
Prices from Webflow, Framer and Sanity, checked 19 October 2026. Webflow and Framer both include AI translation in the add-on. You still want a person to read the result.
Our verdict: two or three languages and a marketing team that edits on the page, Webflow. More languages, a lot of content or a site where speed matters most, Astro with Sanity. This site runs on Astro in three languages. More on the trade-offs in Webflow vs WordPress.
What does an extra language cost?
In our calculator, each extra language adds 15% of the design and build price and about one week. That covers every page, form and search setting built and checked again in the new language. CMS collections and motion don't grow with it.
| Package | One language | Two languages | Three languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch: up to 5 pages, tested sections | from €3,900 · 2 to 3 weeks | about €4,500 · 3 to 4 weeks | about €5,100 · 4 to 5 weeks |
| Studio: up to 10 pages, custom, collections | from €9,900 · 4 to 6 weeks | about €11,000 · 5 to 7 weeks | about €12,000 · 6 to 8 weeks |
| Flagship: up to 20 pages, art-directed | Two languages included | from €19,900 · 8 to 12 weeks | about €22,000 · 9 to 13 weeks |
These totals are priced on Astro with Sanity. On Webflow, add 10% to design and build, on Framer 5%, plus the yearly language fees above. The calculator shows a range around each total, because no two sites are the same.
We work in English, Slovak, Czech and German. For any other language, plan for a native speaker to read the copy before launch.
What we'd do
Start with the languages your buyers search in, not the ones that look good in a switcher. For most Czech firms selling into Slovakia, that's Czech and Slovak, with English only if you sell further abroad. Use subdirectories on one domain, hreflang on every page, and adapt titles and prices per market.
Two or three languages and a team that edits visually: Webflow. More languages or lots of content: Astro with Sanity. Put your languages into the calculator, or see how we design and build websites.