AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
After migrating dozens of company websites over 7 years, I've watched teams make the same expensive mistake: shipping their beautiful site in English, then realizing they need to expand internationally. The panic sets in when they discover that translating their Framer site will cost thousands and take months.
Most agencies will tell you to rebuild everything from scratch for each language or invest in complex headless solutions. But here's what I discovered while working on a B2B startup's international expansion: Framer variables can handle localization more elegantly than most dedicated translation platforms.
The conventional wisdom says you need separate domains, complex CMS setups, or expensive translation management systems. After testing this approach across multiple client projects, I found a way to manage multilingual content that's both developer-friendly and marketer-accessible.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why traditional Framer translation approaches fail at scale
How to architect a variable-based localization system that actually works
The exact workflow I use to manage content updates across languages
When to use this approach vs. when to invest in dedicated translation tools
Common pitfalls that break your SEO and how to avoid them
This isn't theory—it's a tested system that's saving my clients thousands while keeping their international expansion timeline on track. Let's dive into why most teams choose the wrong platform for international growth.
Industry Reality
What every startup founder gets told about internationalization
When startups decide to go international, they usually get the same advice from agencies and consultants. "You need a proper translation management system," "Separate domains for each market," "Professional localization services." The industry has convinced everyone that internationalization requires enterprise-level complexity.
Here's the standard playbook most agencies push:
Separate domain strategy: site.com, site.fr, site.de - each requiring individual hosting and management
Translation management platforms: Expensive SaaS tools that charge per word and take weeks to implement
Professional translation services: $0.15-0.30 per word, with weeks of back-and-forth revisions
Complex CMS implementations: Headless setups that require developer intervention for every content update
Dedicated localization team: Hiring specialists to manage the entire process
This advice exists because it's what worked in the WordPress era, when dynamic content required server-side rendering and complex database structures. Most agencies learned internationalization on platforms that weren't designed for modern, component-based development.
The problem? This enterprise approach kills momentum for startups. You end up spending months and tens of thousands of dollars before you even know if your international market will convert. By the time you launch, your window of opportunity might be closed.
What's particularly frustrating is that most startups don't need enterprise-level localization on day one. They need to test markets quickly, iterate based on feedback, and scale only what works. The traditional approach optimizes for perfection when you should be optimizing for speed and learning.
The real issue isn't technical—it's strategic. The industry treats localization like a final step rather than an ongoing experiment. This is why most businesses fail to balance their technical infrastructure with their actual market needs.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
I discovered this problem firsthand while working on a website revamp for a B2B startup that needed to expand into French and German markets. They had built a beautiful Framer site, were getting traction in the US, but international expansion kept getting delayed because of localization complexity.
The team had initially planned to use a traditional translation management system. The quote came back at $15,000 for the initial translation plus $200/month for the platform. Worse, the implementation timeline was 8-12 weeks before they could even start testing international markets.
Like most startups, they didn't have unlimited budget or time. They needed to validate international demand before investing in enterprise localization infrastructure. The CEO asked a simple question: "Can't we just use what we already have in Framer to test these markets first?"
That's when I started experimenting with Framer variables for localization. Most people use variables for design tokens—colors, spacing, typography. But variables in Framer are just dynamic content containers. If they can hold design values, why not text strings?
My first attempt was basic: create variables for each text element and manually update them for different language versions. It worked for small tests, but quickly became unmanageable as content grew. I needed a systematic approach that could scale without breaking.
The breakthrough came when I realized that Framer's component override system could work with variables in a much more sophisticated way. Instead of thinking about translation as replacing text, I started thinking about it as swapping entire content contexts—like switching design themes, but for language.
This reframe changed everything. Suddenly, localization wasn't about managing hundreds of individual text variables. It was about creating a content architecture that could seamlessly switch contexts while maintaining design integrity and SEO structure.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After testing different approaches, I developed a systematic workflow that uses Framer variables not just for text, but for entire content contexts. Here's the exact system I now use for all international expansions:
Step 1: Content Architecture Setup
Instead of creating variables for individual text strings, I create variable sets for complete sections. For example, rather than "hero_title" and "hero_subtitle" variables, I create "hero_content_en" and "hero_content_fr" component variants.
Each language becomes its own component variant within the same master component. This means your French page isn't a copy of your English page—it's the same component system displaying different content contexts. Changes to layout, design, or functionality automatically apply across all languages.
Step 2: The Variable Naming Convention
I use a specific naming structure: [section]_[element]_[language]. For example: "navigation_cta_en," "navigation_cta_fr," "navigation_cta_de." This keeps variables organized and makes batch updates manageable.
For complex sections, I create parent variables that contain entire content blocks. A pricing section might have "pricing_tier1_en" that includes the plan name, price, features list, and CTA text as a single variable. This reduces the total number of variables and makes content updates more intuitive.
Step 3: Content Management Workflow
The key insight is treating translation like A/B testing. In Framer, you can create page variants for each language that use the same components but different variable sets. Your French page is just your English page with French variables active.
For content updates, I maintain a simple spreadsheet with three columns: Variable Name, English Content, Translated Content. Non-technical team members can update translations in the spreadsheet, and I batch-update variables in Framer. This keeps content management accessible without requiring Framer access for everyone.
Step 4: SEO and URL Structure
Each language variant gets its own URL slug in Framer: /en/pricing, /fr/pricing, /de/pricing. I set up proper hreflang tags using Framer's custom code functionality and create language-specific meta descriptions using variables.
The critical detail: search engines see these as separate pages with unique content, not duplicate content with different languages. This approach maintains SEO integrity while using a single Framer project.
Step 5: Testing and Iteration
Because everything runs through the same component system, I can A/B test not just messaging, but entire market positioning across languages. If a pricing strategy works in French, I can quickly test similar positioning in German without rebuilding anything.
This system turns localization from a one-time migration into an ongoing optimization process. You can launch with basic translations, gather user feedback, and iterate quickly based on what resonates in each market.
Variable Setup
Create systematic naming conventions for scalable content management across all language variants
Component Variants
Use language-specific component variants instead of individual text variables for better organization
SEO Integration
Implement proper hreflang tags and URL structures within Framer's custom code functionality
Content Workflow
Establish spreadsheet-based content management for non-technical team members to update translations
The results were immediate and measurable. The startup launched their French and German markets in 3 weeks instead of 3 months. Total cost was under $2,000 (mostly for initial translation) compared to the $15,000+ quote from traditional solutions.
More importantly, they could iterate quickly. When the German messaging wasn't converting, we tested new positioning within days, not weeks. The French market response was strong enough to justify investment in professional localization for that market specifically.
User experience remained consistent across languages because design updates automatically propagated. When they redesigned their pricing page, all language variants updated simultaneously. No version control issues, no broken layouts, no inconsistent branding.
The SEO performance was particularly strong. Each language variant ranked independently in local search results because Google correctly identified them as separate, valuable content. The /fr/ pages started ranking for French keywords within 6 weeks of launch.
This approach has now been tested across multiple client projects with similar results. Average implementation time: 2-3 weeks. Average cost savings compared to traditional localization: 70-80%. More importantly, teams can start gathering international market data immediately instead of waiting for perfect translations.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
The biggest lesson: internationalization is a distribution problem, not a translation problem. Most teams over-engineer the technical solution when they should be optimizing for speed to market and learning velocity.
Here's what I learned from implementing this system:
Start with variable-based testing, scale to dedicated tools: Use this approach to validate markets, then invest in enterprise solutions for markets that prove viable
Content architecture matters more than perfect translation: Consistent messaging across languages beats perfectly localized copy that takes months to produce
Design system thinking applies to content: Treat translations like design tokens—systematic, reusable, and maintainable
SEO structure is critical from day one: Proper URL structure and hreflang implementation can't be retrofitted easily
Team workflow beats technical complexity: A simple system the whole team can use outperforms a complex system only developers can maintain
Test markets, don't build for them: International expansion should start with market validation, not infrastructure investment
Component thinking scales better than page thinking: Building reusable, variable-driven components pays dividends as you add languages
The approach works best for startups and small teams that need to move fast. It breaks down when you need complex localization workflows, extensive content approval processes, or support for dozens of languages. But for most international expansion scenarios, it's the fastest path to market validation.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups looking to test international markets:
Start with 2-3 priority markets using variable-based localization
Focus on converting landing pages and signup flows first
Use market performance data to justify investment in professional localization
Implement proper analytics tracking for each language variant
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores expanding internationally:
Test product page translations and checkout flows in target languages
Implement currency and shipping information variables alongside text variables
Set up language-specific SEO for product categories and collections
Use this approach to validate markets before investing in localized inventory