A business in Georgia almost always has three audiences: local customers, Russian-speaking residents and visitors, and foreigners and tourists. A single-language site loses at least one of them. But a proper multilingual site isn’t a “translate” button — it’s three full versions, each with its own URL, its own headings and its own search queries. With us, every extra language costs +300 GEL.
Which audience needs which language
| Audience | Language | How they search |
|---|---|---|
| Local customers, public sector, B2B | Georgian | ”საიტის დამზადება”, “ონლაინ მაღაზია” |
| Russian-speaking residents and tourists | Russian | ”создание сайта под ключ”, “сайт для ресторана” |
| Foreigners, expats, partners abroad | English | ”web design tbilisi”, “shopify developer georgia” |
If you only sell locally, Georgian and Russian are usually enough. English matters when your customers include tourists, expats or buyers abroad — or when you’re looking for partners and investors.
How a proper multilingual site is built
Each language has its own URL. For example /ka/, /ru/, /en/. Google
then sees three separate pages and shows each one in its own results. If the
language switches without the URL changing, search engines only see one
version.
Search engines are told these are translations. Dedicated markup (hreflang) links the versions together, so Google doesn’t treat them as duplicates.
Everything is translated, not just the copy. Buttons, forms, error messages, confirmation emails, image captions. Nothing gives away a rushed translation like a Russian “Send” button on a Georgian page.
The language switcher is in plain sight. In the header, on every page — and it leads to the same page in the other language, not back to the homepage.
Why not Google Translate
An auto-translate widget looks like a saving but works against you. Search engines don’t see widget-translated text — to Google the site is still single-language. And machine translation into Georgian still often sounds unnatural: a native speaker notices from the first line and draws conclusions about the company.
The sane setup: texts are written or translated by a person, and the Georgian version is proofread by a native speaker.
Georgian: the technical details
- Fonts. Many beautiful Latin fonts have no Georgian letters, so the browser falls back to a system font. Pick a font that supports the Georgian alphabet from day one.
- Word length. Georgian words are often longer than Russian or English ones. Buttons, menus and headings have to handle that, or the layout breaks.
- Real script, not transliteration. The Georgian version is written in Georgian letters. Latin transliteration looks careless and is harder to find in search.
SEO: every language searches differently
Page titles aren’t translated word for word — they’re written for how people search in each language. A Russian speaker types “сайт под ключ цена”, a Georgian speaker “საიტის დამზადების ფასი”, an English speaker “website development tbilisi”. Different phrases, different competition. In Georgian, by the way, there are noticeably fewer competitors in search results — for a young site that’s the fastest way up.
Tilda, WordPress or custom code
- Tilda — multilingual means a separate page for each language. It works, but every edit has to be repeated three times.
- WordPress — translation plugins. Convenient, but the good ones are usually paid and make the site heavier.
- Custom code — languages are built into the foundation: one template, three sets of texts. That’s how archam.net works, and so does our 3D printing website, which takes orders in three languages.
More on choosing an engine in Tilda or custom code.
What it costs
The base price of a site includes one language. Each extra language is +300 GEL: the page versions, the switcher, separate URLs and search setup. A landing page in three languages starts at 1,100 GEL, a corporate site at 2,100 GEL. You can provide your own texts — or we’ll prepare the translation together; we’ll discuss it on the call.
FAQ
Do I need English if all my customers are local?
Not necessarily. Start with Georgian and Russian and add English once foreign customers show up — a language can be added at any time.
Can I add a language later?
Yes, as long as the site was built with separate URLs per language from the start. That’s why we build even single-language sites so a second language can be added without rework.
Should the language switch automatically by the visitor’s country?
Only on the first visit and only by browser language, not by country: a Russian speaker in Tbilisi should land on the Russian version straight away. And visitors must always be able to switch manually.
Need a site in two or three languages? Tell us a few words about your task — we’ll suggest which languages you actually need.