Translating your site into another language need not involve any expense of hiring a translator. There's a quick and free way to translate your site using Google's automatic translation service, and reach a much larger audience.

First, visit Google at http://translate.google.com and enter your webpage's address in the box under the "Translate a Web Page" heading. Select the language you want your site to be translated into (ie: from English to French)

Once you click on the translate button, Google will present the translated version of your site in a frame. You can remove the top frame by click on the "Remove frame" link.

Now, to allow visitors to view your site in the new language, all you have to do is place a link to this translated page from your website. Just copy the web address of the translated page and use it to construct a hyperlink on your site. Typically, this link involves a little flag that you can place somewhere on your website where it is visible without scrolling down, but is not obtrusive.

Here's a little twist for those who are careful web designers: the Google link may not validate. Since it would be a shame for a website to fail HTML validation just because of this reason, you'll have to find an easy way around the issue. The answer: simply convert the Google link using the service at TinyURL.com into a new address. This new tinyurl address will validate.

Why would you want to do any this? Well, the fact is that there are equal numbers of Chinese-speakers on the Web right now as there are Americans, and soon there will be more. And considering that this type of translation costs nothing, why NOT do it?

And now, to see all this in French, click here
Ensuite, Viola! un nouveau site Web pour vous.


Interestingly, once Google translates your site, all your linked pages are also translated. In other words, starting from the Google-translated version of your site, if you click on a link to another page in your website, it too will be shown in the translated language.

Also, all your Adsense advertisements will continue to be displayed, however some images may not be displayed and there may be some other minor design issues.

But what's the point of offering a French version of your site, if French-speaking visitors are not likely to visit your site in the first place because your site is never indexed by French-language search engines? Well, there's an easy way to fix that too: use the Google translation service to create a whole new page on your site in the chosen new language. Simply cut and paste the translated text into a new page on your site (call it French.html, for example) and then fill it full of links to the rest of your site. This page can then be indexed by search engines and presented to French-speaking visitors as a landing page made specially for them, and from there your visitors can see the rest of your site too.