Website with multiple languages

[Need Help!]

Hi!
I'm totally new to web design and at the moment I'm still trying to figure out what everything means and what things do.
A problem that I'm having with it all is that I, kind of, know what I want to do but because I don't know what some stuff is called I have no idea where to look to find out how to do it... So, I apologise if my following question is a stupid one, I just don't where to start to look to find the answer.

So, I'm making (well, hopefully) a website in 2 languages, English and German. My idea is to have two buttons on the home page, click one the website is English, click the other, it is German. So, I think I've figured out how to make links to make that happen.
What I can't figure out is: I have an English name/logo and a German name/logo. From what I've played around with so far, it seems that what I make can either have the English logo on every page or the German logo, but I can't figure out how to have half with one and half with the other. Is this possible? Do I need to make 2 separate websites and then link them together?

Thanks in advance!

p.s. Really simple suggestions will be much appreciated!

[Drwyd]

Hi Need Help!, welcome to TG

I'd build both sites within the same .web file. The repeating items can be updated easily and the varying text lengths of English and German can be adjusted for. Each page would have a link to its twin in the other language.

[Need Help!]

That sounds straightforward enough! Thanks
And, thanks for the welcome. I get the feeling that I'll be asking plenty more idiotic questions over the next few weeks.

[gwpriester]

Welcome to TalkGraphics NH

This might help you to organize your two sites: http://www.xaraxone.com/webxealot/wo...kbook%201.html

[Need Help!]

Thanks gwpriester,
That link is really clear to follow and, I think, exactly the information I was looking for

[korayk]

hi Guys,

I tried to find how to make a website with multiple language selection and I found some answer which I thought already. But I have another problem that I have more than one domain (around 30-40) and I have 10 language selection.

So I have flags to choose language in the index page and I copied my .web file to create second language. I give the link to the flag A index to main page with main language and flag B link to another language www.mysite.com/index_fr. The problem occurs at that moment, I have to change www.mysite.com address for each domains like www.my2ndsite.com/index_fr and www.my3rdsite.com/index_fr.

That's what I found as a solution so I will have to keep 10 different .web file for each domain... Do you know easier solution or does it the easiest way???

[Cloud]

Woud it not be simpler to keep just one domain.

Create your main site, for instance it could be just one page with the flags of each country and the visitor selects which language.

So the main page would be www.mysite.com/index

then you would create each site as a seperate site and through filezilla create new directories for each language and upload the relevant language to the relevant directory

So for instance it would be:

www.mysite.com/english/index.htm

www.mysite.com/french/index.htm

etc etc.

And link each flag to the relevant directory, for instance for english the link would be www.mysite.com/english/index.htm

[Radiohawk]

This may seem taboo to all of the more initiated, as I'm still a beginner to all of this... but would it not be simpler to include script like google's translation tool? If so, is anyone aware of an alternative to google's version?

I too am looking for a good solution but don't have the language skills to build sites in multiple languages.

thanks by the way, to all that contribute time here. Us'n noob's and un-ed-u-ma-cated ijuts (that'd be me) appreciate it

[gwpriester]

Google translation is OK, but sometimes if you are fluent in another language your grammar, idioms, etc. will be more natural.

A good example is when you get driving directions from Google maps or any of the other on-line map/driving directions site. If you follow the directions you will get there but not always as directly as if someone who knows the area prepared the directions.

[Radiohawk]

Thanks for the quick (as usual) response Gary. I'm more interested in the end user's experience than learning multiple languages... hence my interest in a translation tool script, any thought on which script works the best? Tried Google, but would like an alternative to "Skynet"