Translation Widget for Your Website: How to Choose and What to Translate

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A translation widget for a website is a small add-on, usually a language menu plus a script, that lets visitors read your site in another language. Widgets differ mainly in one way. Some only translate the page inside each visitor’s browser, which is quick but invisible to search engines and gives you no control. Others create real translated pages with their own URLs, which you can edit and Google can index. For a business site, choose the second kind, and make sure it also translates the widgets already on your site: sidebars, footers, forms, pop-ups, chat and review boxes.

Key takeaways

• Browser-side widgets translate on the fly for each visitor. GTranslate, for example, says of its free version that “translated pages do not have separate URLs, so they are not indexed” (gtranslate.io).
• Google’s own Website Translator widget has been available only for non-commercial use since 2020, so it’s not an option for most businesses.
• SEO-ready widgets create a URL per language, add hreflang tags, translate metadata and let you edit translations.
• The widgets already on your site (sidebar text, footers, forms, cookie banners, chat) are often left in the original language, so check each one.
• Content inside iframes from other domains (some chat, booking or review embeds) can’t be translated by any on-page tool. You have to set the language in that provider’s own settings.

What is a website translation widget?

A website translation widget has two parts:

1. A language switcher, meaning the flag, dropdown or list visitors click to change language.
2. A translation mechanism behind it, which is where widgets differ.

There are three main types:

The first two help an individual visitor read a page. Only the third helps your business get found in other languages, because Google recommends a separate URL for each language version and uses the page’s visible content to determine its language (Google Search Central).

What happened to the Google Translate widget?

For years, many sites used Google’s free Website Translator widget. Google limited it to non-commercial use in 2020 (Google Search Central blog). If you are replacing it, see our guide to Google Translate widget alternatives and what to use instead of Google Translate.

How to choose a translation widget for your website

Check these before you install anything:

1. Separate URLs per language, as subdirectories, subdomains or a language parameter. A switch that only changes text in the browser doesn’t count.
2. Automatic hreflang tags. Each language version must list itself and all others, or Google ignores them (Google Search Central).
3. Translated metadata: page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text and structured data.
4. A visual editor to fix any sentence, plus a glossary for brand and product names.
5. Coverage of menus, forms, buttons, pop-ups and text from other plugins and apps, as well as the main content.
6. Translation of dynamic content, meaning text loaded after the page appears (filters, carts, single-page apps).
7. A switcher you can customize: position, style, flags or language names, and placement (menu, footer, floating).
8. Good speed on translated pages. Test them with a page-speed tool, not just the original.
9. Clear pricing that explains how words, languages and sites are counted.

Translating the widgets on your site

Once the main content is translated, the gaps are almost always in widgets and embedded elements. Open a translated page and go through this list.

Theme and CMS widgets

Sidebar text, footer columns, “recent posts” and “categories” blocks, search boxes, newsletter sign-up forms, breadcrumbs and cookie banners. In WordPress these live in Appearance → Widgets (or the block-based widget editor) and come from your theme and plugins.

• Post-by-post multilingual plugins often need you to translate widget text separately, through string translation screens or by creating a widget per language.
• Website translation services translate the rendered page, so widget text is translated along with everything else.

Forms

Labels, placeholders, dropdown options, validation and error messages, and the confirmation message after submission. Also check the notification emails the form sends; those are generated outside the page.

Pop-ups, banners and cookie consent

These are often injected by scripts after the page loads. Make sure your translation tool handles content that appears later, and that consent text is legally appropriate for each market.

E-commerce widgets

Mini-cart, product filters, “you may also like” carousels, shipping estimators and trust badges with text. On WooCommerce or Shopify, check the cart and checkout pages specifically.

Chat, reviews, booking and maps

Many of these are embedded as iframes from another domain. Browsers don’t let a page’s scripts read or change content inside a cross-origin iframe, so no website translation tool can translate it. Instead:

• look for a language setting in the provider’s dashboard (many chat and booking tools have one);
• load a different embed per language if the provider supports it;
• or choose providers that inject content directly into the page rather than in an iframe.

Text inside images and videos

Banners with text baked into the image can’t be translated as text. Use HTML text over images where possible, or upload a translated image per language.

How ConveyThis handles widgets

ConveyThis is a website translation service with a customizable language switcher. It translates the rendered page, so text from your theme, sidebars, footers, forms and plugins is translated along with your main content, and content added after load is picked up as well.

On WordPress, the steps are:

1. Install the ConveyThis plugin from WordPress.org and choose your languages.
2. Your pages, menus and widget areas are translated automatically as a first draft.
3. To place the language switcher in a sidebar or footer, go to Appearance → Widgets and add the ConveyThis widget (described as “ConveyThis language switcher”) to the widget area you want. You can also use the [conveythis_switcher] shortcode inside content.
4. Open the visual editor in your ConveyThis dashboard, go to a page and click any text, including widget text, to edit its translation.

On other platforms (Shopify, Wix, Webflow, Squarespace, custom sites) the setup is a plugin, app or one script tag; see the integrations list.

Other features that matter for widgets and SEO:

• 210 supported languages, with each language on its own URL (subfolders, subdomains or ?lang) and automatic hreflang.
• Translated page titles, meta descriptions and JSON-LD for multilingual SEO.
• Glossary rules (paid plans) and translation memory for consistent terms.
• Exclude any element from translation with the conveythis-no-translate class (how to exclude segments), for example usernames or order numbers.
• Switcher design options; read about the new language switcher.

Language switcher best practices

• Put it where people look: the header or top navigation on desktop, and an easy-to-reach spot in the mobile menu. A footer switcher is a good second location.
• Show language names in their own language (“Deutsch”, “Español”, “日本語”). Flags represent countries, not languages, and can confuse visitors in multilingual countries.
• Don’t auto-redirect by IP or browser language. Suggest a language if you like, but let visitors choose; Google also advises against automatic redirection between language versions.
• Keep the visitor on the same page when they switch, rather than sending them to the home page.
• Make it accessible: reachable by keyboard, properly labelled, and large enough to tap.

Quick checklist before you launch

• Every page type has a translated URL and hreflang tags.
• Header, footer and sidebar widgets are translated.
• Forms, including error and confirmation messages, are translated.
• Pop-ups and cookie banner are translated.
• Cart and checkout are translated (for stores).
• Third-party iframes are configured in their own language settings.
• Brand and product names are protected by glossary rules.
• The language switcher is visible on desktop and mobile.

FAQ

What is the best translation widget for a website?

The best choice for a business is one that creates separate, indexable URLs for each language, adds hreflang tags, translates metadata and lets you edit translations. Browser-only widgets are fine for casual reading but don’t help SEO.

Can I still use the Google Translate widget on my website?

Google limited its Website Translator widget to non-commercial use in 2020, so most business sites need an alternative.

Why aren’t my WordPress widgets translated?

Some multilingual plugins translate posts and pages but need widget text translated separately through string translation. A website translation service that translates the rendered page usually covers widgets automatically.

Can a translation widget translate chat or review boxes?

Only if their content is part of your page. Content inside a cross-origin iframe can’t be changed by any on-page tool; use the provider’s own language settings.

Where should I put the language switcher?

In the header or main navigation, and in the mobile menu. A second switcher in the footer or a sidebar widget helps visitors who scroll to the bottom.

To translate your site with its widgets, create a ConveyThis account and add the switcher where your visitors will see it.