Bilingual Website Development: Essential for Montreal Businesses

The business case for bilingual websites: Market reach: - 85% of Quebecers speak French - 50% of Montrealers are bilingual - English-only sites miss 70%+ of Quebec market - French-only sites limit growth potential Legal requirements: - Bill 96 strengthens French language requirements - Commercial websites must offer French - Non-compliance risks complaints and fines - French version must be as accessible as English Competitive advantage: - Many competitors are English-only - Proper bilingual shows commitment to Quebec market - Builds trust with French-speaking customers - Better SEO coverage (rank for both language searches) French isn't optional if you're serious about doing business in Quebec.

How to structure bilingual websites: URL structure (recommended): - Subdirectories: example.com/en/ and example.com/fr/ - Clear, simple, SEO-friendly - Easy to manage - Preferred by Google Subdomains (not recommended): - en.example.com and fr.example.com - Splits SEO authority - More complex DNS setup - Use only if you have specific reasons Separate domains (rarely needed): - example.com and example.fr - Most expensive - Highest maintenance - Only for truly separate markets Language detection: - Detect browser language preference - Show suggestion, don't auto-redirect - Remember user's choice - Allow manual switching anytime Switcher placement: - Top-right of header (standard location) - Clear labels: EN | FR or English | Français - Visible on every page - Maintains current page context when switching

Quality translation is non-negotiable: Professional translation: - Critical for business-facing content - Nuance matters in marketing copy - Legal text must be precise - Investment that pays off Machine translation: - Never use for customer-facing content - Bad translation damages brand - Google Translate is obvious and unprofessional - Only acceptable for user-generated content Translation services in Montreal: - Professional agencies: $0.15-$0.30/word - Freelance translators: $0.10-$0.20/word - Marketing copy: Higher rates, specialized - Legal/technical: Specialists required Content considerations: - French text typically 20-30% longer - Design must accommodate expansion - Cultural adaptation, not just translation - Quebec French vs France French (use Quebec) Maintenance: - Keep both versions updated - Version control for translations - Clear process for content updates - Don't let one language fall behind

Technical SEO requirements: Hreflang tags (essential): <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-CA" href="/en/page" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-CA" href="/fr/page" /> Tells search engines: - Language variants exist - Prevents duplicate content penalties - Improves rankings in both languages Language-specific optimization: - Different keywords in each language - Separate meta titles and descriptions - Localized content (not just translated) - French content for French searches Sitemap: - Include both language versions - Proper lastmod dates - Submit to Google Search Console - Monitor each language separately Content strategy: - Create valuable content in both languages - Target different search behaviors - French searchers use different terms - Local Quebec terminology vs international French

What Bill 96 means for websites: Required: - French version available - French as accessible as English - French version can be more prominent - Contact information in French - Terms and conditions in French Not required (but good practice): - French as default language (you can detect) - French version appearing first - Hiding English version Compliance tips: - Make language selection obvious - Don't disadvantage French users - Complete translation, not partial - Update both versions simultaneously - Keep French version quality high For Quebec businesses: - Your primary market speaks French - Legal compliance is minimum - Excellence in both languages wins For Canadian businesses selling to Quebec: - Quebec is 23% of Canadian market - Too large to ignore - Bilingual shows you value Quebec customers

Budgeting for bilingual development: Development costs: - Bilingual adds 20-30% to project cost - i18n infrastructure setup - Testing in both languages - Quality assurance Translation costs: - Small website (20 pages): $2,000-$5,000 - Medium website (50 pages): $5,000-$12,000 - Large website (100+ pages): $12,000-$30,000 - E-commerce (products): Varies by SKU count Ongoing costs: - New content must be translated - Updates in both languages - Monitoring both versions - Separate SEO efforts Saving money: - Write content knowing it will be translated - Simpler language translates easier - Avoid idioms and cultural references - Reuse translations where appropriate - Build template content library The investment pays off through expanded market reach and legal compliance.