Blog
Should your website be in Irish too?
What it takes to run a bilingual site well, and where to start.
More businesses are putting Irish on their websites, from cafés and shops to clubs and practices. Public bodies have duties under the Official Languages Acts; for a private business it is a choice. If you are weighing it up, here is what it takes.
Why businesses do it
Some serve Gaeltacht areas or Irish-speaking customers. Some want to show where they are from. Some simply think a bilingual site says something about how they do business. All are good reasons, as long as both languages are kept right.
Start with what people read most
You do not need every page on day one. Start with the home page, your services or menu, opening hours and how to get in touch. Publish each page in Irish when it is ready, rather than a site half in one language and half in the other.
Keep both languages in step
The hard part is not the first translation; it is every change after it. When the English price changes, the Irish one must too. Whoever looks after the site needs to see at a glance which pages have fallen behind.
Have a person read it
A machine draft can be a useful start, but someone who speaks Irish well should read anything a customer will rely on. Getting it slightly wrong can say the opposite of what you meant.
Make each language findable
Each language should have its own address, and every page should tell search engines which other languages it is in, so people searching in Irish find the Irish page.
In Webseer
Irish is one of the languages a Webseer site can be written in. The Studio marks each page as up to date, out of date or missing in each language, and Seer can write a first draft as a suggestion for a person to check.