Add more languages to your website

You can publish your Smoobu website in several languages so guests read it in their own. One rule before anything else: build the site completely in your main language first, then add the other languages. Content you add to one language version afterwards does not sync to the other language versions, so every language you add early multiplies your editing work.

Before you start

Make sure of these before you add a language:

• Your site is finished in your main language: .
• You know which languages your guests actually need. Each added language is a separate version of the site that you maintain on its own.

Steps

Languages are added in two places: first in Smoobu, then in the editor.

1. In Smoobu, open Configuration > Website Builder. On the Basics tab, add the languages you want; the language selection sits at the bottom of the tab. You can choose from 29 site languages, more than Smoobu's own interface offers. English (UK) and English (US) are separate choices, and so are Portuguese and Portuguese (Brazil); pick the variant that matches your guests.
2. Your text fields on the Website Content and Accommodations tabs now show one tab per language. Enter the translated text in each language tab of every field you use. A field only saves once all of its language boxes are filled.
3. Click Go to Editor. Make sure the editor is showing your default language; site languages are managed from the default language, so switch to it first.
4. Open More > Settings > Site Languages, choose Manage Languages, and add the same languages you set in Smoobu. Turn on Use automatic translation for new languages so each language you add starts from a machine translation, then save. Treat that translation as a first draft and review every language version yourself.
5. Save, then check each language version of the site, and Republish when it reads right.

One language setting translates only the built-in labels

In the editor's settings you will also find a Default Site Language option. It does something different: it translates only the ready-made texts that ship with the Website Builder, such as button labels, form labels, and the cookie notice. It never touches the texts you wrote yourself. Your own content is translated per language version, in the language tabs in Smoobu (step 2) and in each language version in the editor. If you change the Default Site Language and your pages still read in the old language, this is why.

Check it worked

Open your published site and use the language selector in the header (it is added automatically when you add a language). Each language shows your translated texts.

Common problems

A text field in Smoobu won't save and shows an error

You have most likely added a language and left its box empty in that field. Every language tab of a field must be filled before the field saves. Find the empty box and fill it, or remove that language from the Basics tab if you don't need it.

I set a Default Site Language but my texts didn't change

That setting only translates the built-in widget labels, not your own content. Translate your content in the per-language tabs in Smoobu and in each language version in the editor, as described in the steps above.

I updated a page, but the other languages still show the old text

Language versions do not sync with each other. After any edit, switch to each language version in the editor (start from the default language) and make the matching change there.

Related articles

• How do I edit my website?

Still stuck?

If these steps didn't fix it, contact the Smoobu team: open the Help menu to open a ticket or book a call slot, or use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. To get the fastest answer, please include:

• Your Smoobu User ID (in the profile-icon menu, top right).
• The property name or ID, if it's about one property.
• The Booking ID, if it's about one booking (Bookings, then View more).
• The channel name, if it's about channel sync (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on).
• A short step-by-step: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
• Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem.
• Your browser and operating system, if something looks wrong on screen.