Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
Three months ago, I was sitting across from a B2B startup founder who'd just told me their biggest growth blocker wasn't their product—it was their website. "We're getting traction in France, but we can't break into other European markets because our site is English-only," he said. Sound familiar?
Here's the thing everyone gets wrong about website translation: they think it's just about swapping text. It's not. After working with dozens of startups expanding internationally, I've learned that website localization is actually about creating entirely new market entry points while maintaining your brand consistency.
Most founders either hire expensive translation agencies that deliver generic results, or they try DIY solutions that break their site architecture. Both approaches miss the real opportunity: using translation as a growth multiplier, not just a cost center.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why the conventional "translate everything" approach kills conversion rates
My exact 4-phase framework for Framer translations that preserves SEO juice
How to structure content overrides for maximum efficiency
The cultural adaptation tricks that 10x your international conversion rates
A step-by-step technical implementation guide for Framer's component system
This isn't theory—it's the exact system I've used to help startups break into new markets without rebuilding their entire website or losing months of SEO work.
Industry Reality
What the localization industry wants you to believe
Walk into any marketing conference and you'll hear the same advice about website translation: "Hire professional translators, create separate domains for each language, and make sure everything is culturally adapted." The localization industry has built a massive business around this approach.
Here's what they typically recommend:
Start with professional human translators (€0.15-€0.30 per word)
Create separate domains or subdomains for each language
Translate everything at once—content, meta tags, alt text, forms
Implement hreflang tags and proper technical SEO
Adapt all visual elements for cultural preferences
This conventional wisdom exists because it's the "safe" approach. Translation agencies make more money when projects are complex and comprehensive. SEO consultants prefer perfect technical implementations. Everyone covers their bases.
But here's where it falls short in practice:
Most startups don't have €10,000+ to translate everything upfront. They need to test market demand before committing resources. The "do everything perfectly" approach means you're months away from seeing any international traffic, and you've invested heavily before knowing if the market wants your product.
More importantly, this approach treats translation as a one-time project instead of an ongoing growth system. You end up with a beautiful multilingual website that nobody finds because you focused on perfection over market entry speed.
The reality? I've seen startups spend six months on "perfect" translations only to discover their messaging doesn't resonate in the target market. Meanwhile, competitors who shipped "good enough" translations captured market share and iterated based on real user feedback.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Let me tell you about the moment I realized everything I thought I knew about website translation was wrong. I was working with a SaaS startup—let's call them TechFlow—who wanted to expand from English into French and German markets. Classic B2B scenario: solid product-market fit in one language, ready to scale internationally.
The founder came to me with what seemed like a straightforward request: "We need our Framer website translated into French and German. We've got quotes from translation agencies, but they're asking for €15,000 and saying it'll take 8 weeks. Can you help us do this faster and cheaper?"
My first instinct? Do exactly what the industry recommends.
I started mapping out the "proper" approach: professional translators, separate page structures for each language, comprehensive content adaptation. I even began researching cultural preferences for color schemes and layout patterns in France and Germany.
But then something made me pause. This startup was still iterating their English messaging based on user feedback. They were changing their value proposition every few weeks based on sales calls. Why were we trying to perfectly translate content that was still evolving?
That's when I had my "aha" moment: we were treating translation like a website redesign when we should have been treating it like an MVP launch.
I pitched them a different approach: "What if we start with your 5 highest-converting pages, use AI for the initial translation to test market response, then invest in human refinement only for the content that actually drives conversions?"
The founder was skeptical. "Won't that hurt our brand? What if the translations are awkward?" Fair concerns. But I convinced him to try my lean approach for just French first—we could always upgrade later if it worked.
Here's what happened next: We shipped the French version in 2 weeks instead of 8. Cost was under €2,000 instead of €15,000. And within a month, we had real French users giving feedback on messaging that resonated versus content that felt off.
More importantly, we discovered their core value proposition needed completely different framing in French. The direct English-to-French translation of "streamline your workflow" fell flat. French users responded much better to "simplifiez votre travail quotidien" (simplify your daily work). This insight only came from shipping fast and iterating with real users.
That project taught me that website translation isn't about linguistic perfection—it's about market entry speed and iteration velocity. The best translation is the one that gets you real user feedback fastest.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
OK, so here's the exact system I developed after that breakthrough moment. I call it the "Ship-Test-Refine" approach, and it's designed specifically for Framer's component architecture.
Phase 1: Content Audit and Prioritization (Week 1)
First, you need to identify what actually matters. Not everything on your website deserves the same translation effort. I start by analyzing the client's Google Analytics to find their 5-7 highest-converting pages. These become our MVP translation scope.
In Framer, I create a simple spreadsheet mapping every text component on these priority pages. The key insight here: Framer's component system makes it incredibly easy to update translations later, so perfectionism is your enemy.
For the TechFlow project, we identified: Homepage, Product Features page, Pricing, About, and Contact. That's it. Everything else stayed English until we proved demand in the target market.
Phase 2: Smart Translation Strategy (Week 1-2)
Here's where I break from industry best practices. Instead of hiring expensive human translators upfront, I use what I call the "AI-first, human-polish" approach:
I feed all the priority content through Claude or ChatGPT with highly specific prompts that include context about the business, target audience, and desired tone. The key is not just translating words, but adapting the messaging for cultural context.
For example, American SaaS marketing loves phrases like "streamline your workflow" and "boost productivity." But in France, direct productivity language can feel aggressive. I prompt the AI to suggest more collaborative, process-focused alternatives.
Phase 3: Framer Implementation Architecture
This is where most people mess up. They try to duplicate every page and component, creating a maintenance nightmare. Instead, I use Framer's content override system strategically.
I create language-specific variants of key components—especially headers, CTAs, and value proposition blocks—while keeping the visual structure identical. This means updates to design or layout automatically propagate across all languages, but content can be customized per market.
The technical setup goes like this: Create a master component library with text properties exposed, then use content overrides to swap in translated text without breaking the design system. This architecture lets you ship translations in days, not months.
Phase 4: Real-User Feedback Loop (Week 3-4)
Here's the game-changer: instead of trying to perfect translations in isolation, I ship the "good enough" version and set up feedback collection immediately.
I add simple feedback widgets to translated pages asking: "Does this make sense?" and "How would you say this?" in the target language. This approach is controversial because it acknowledges imperfection, but it generates insights you'd never get from focus groups or professional translators.
For TechFlow, French users immediately flagged that our pricing page felt "too American" because we emphasized individual productivity gains over team collaboration benefits. This feedback let us refine our messaging based on real market response, not theoretical cultural research.
The Technical Framer Steps:
1. **Component Structure**: Set up your main components with text properties exposed through Framer's property panel. Every text element that needs translation should be connected to a property, not hardcoded.
2. **Page Duplication Strategy**: Instead of duplicating every page, create language-specific instances of your core pages. Use Framer's CMS if you have dynamic content, or manual overrides for static content.
3. **Navigation Architecture**: Create a language switcher component that updates both the current page content and navigation structure. This maintains user context while switching languages.
4. **URL Structure**: Use subdirectories (/fr/, /de/) rather than subdomains for better SEO consolidation. Framer's custom domain setup makes this straightforward.
5. **SEO Implementation**: Set up language-specific meta titles, descriptions, and hreflang tags through Framer's SEO settings. Don't overthink this initially—focus on getting the basics right.
The Content Override Workflow:
The magic happens in how you structure content overrides. I create a systematic approach where each component has clear translation properties, making bulk updates possible without touching the design system.
This meant TechFlow could test different value propositions in French without rebuilding page layouts. When "streamline your workflow" didn't resonate, we could swap in "simplifiez votre travail quotidien" across all instances in minutes, not hours.
Technical Setup
Framer's component system with exposed text properties for instant translation swaps
Cultural Testing
AI translation with real-user feedback loops to refine messaging that actually converts
Speed Strategy
Ship MVP translations in 2 weeks instead of waiting months for perfect versions
Iteration Framework
Use content overrides to test different value propositions without rebuilding page layouts
What actually moved the needle for TechFlow:
Within 30 days of launching French translations, they saw 340% increase in French organic traffic and 180% increase in demo requests from France. But here's the interesting part: their original translations only achieved about 60% of English conversion rates.
The real breakthrough came from iteration. After collecting feedback and refining messaging based on actual French user responses, conversion rates jumped to 95% of English performance within 60 days.
The timeline breakdown:
Week 1-2: Initial French launch with AI translations
Week 3-4: User feedback collection and first iteration
Week 5-8: Messaging refinement based on real user insights
Week 9-12: Expansion to German using lessons learned from French
The German launch was even faster—just 10 days from start to finish—because we'd already built the systems and learned which cultural adaptations mattered most.
Most importantly, this approach cost 80% less than traditional translation methods while delivering market entry 4x faster. The speed advantage let them capture early market share while competitors were still planning their localization strategies.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here's what I learned that completely changed how I approach website translation:
Perfect is the enemy of shipped: Market feedback beats linguistic perfection every time. Users care more about understanding your value than perfect grammar.
Cultural adaptation > direct translation: The biggest wins came from changing messaging approach, not just words. French users wanted collaboration benefits, not productivity gains.
Component architecture is everything: Framer's content override system makes iteration possible. Without it, every change becomes a design project.
Start narrow, expand fast: Translating 5 pages well beats translating 50 pages poorly. Focus creates momentum.
AI + human insight = best ROI: Use AI for initial translation, humans for cultural adaptation based on real user feedback.
Speed creates competitive advantage: While competitors plan perfect launches, you can be collecting real market data and iterating.
Technical simplicity enables business complexity: Simple Framer setup lets you test complex cultural variations quickly.
What I'd do differently: Start collecting cultural feedback even before translation. Survey existing users about language preferences and messaging resonance to guide initial translation approach.
This approach works best for B2B SaaS with clear value propositions and established English-market success. It's less effective for consumer brands where cultural nuance matters more than functional clarity.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups expanding internationally:
Focus on your top 5 converting pages first
Use Framer's component system for easy iteration
Test market demand before perfect translations
Collect user feedback to refine messaging
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores going multilingual:
Start with product category pages and checkout flow
Use AI for product descriptions, humans for brand voice
Test cultural preferences for trust signals
Implement currency and shipping localization simultaneously