A multilingual site for Uzbekistan: structure, UX and content

We've covered the technical side of multilingual separately — hreflang, URL structure, canonicals. This is about what matters more than the technical part: which languages to choose, how to organise translation, and how not to break the interface.

Choosing the languages

The decision isn't "the more the better" but based on real segments: who makes the buying decision, who uses the product, where the traffic comes from, and whether there are resources to maintain it.

• Russian — urban B2B, the established business environment.

• Uzbek — a wider audience, the regions.

• English — international partners and investors.

Two good versions beat three rushed ones. A poor translation in the interface damages trust more than a missing language does.

What to prepare before design

• A matrix: page — language — translation status — owner.

• A glossary: service names, industry terms, what must not be translated.

• A separate list of interface strings: buttons, form errors, emails.

• Legal texts and meta tags separately — they need a different kind of review.

Translation as part of the product

A working chain: an editor removes ambiguity from the source → the translator works from the glossary and can see the screen context → a native speaker checks it reads naturally → the text is tested in the live interface on mobile → the page owner confirms the meaning and the calls to action.

One recurring problem is string length. Uzbek and English text is often longer than Russian and breaks button and menu layouts. That's checked before release, not after.

The language switcher

• Clear labels — RU, UZ, EN or the language names. Flags don't work: a language and a country aren't the same thing.

• Switching keeps the current page rather than dumping you on the homepage.

• Auto-detection by location must not override a user's manual choice.

Forms and sales

The language of an enquiry has to reach the manager — if the form was filled in in Uzbek, replying in Russian is odd. Auto-replies and thank-you pages get translated along with the form. And an honest question to yourself: is there anyone to answer in that language. Promising support in three languages without the ability to deliver it is worse than offering two.

After launch

Every new page creates translation tasks. Changes to prices, addresses and terms ship in all languages at once. Analytics is split by language — otherwise there's no telling which version actually produces enquiries.

Our own site runs in eight languages with translated page URLs and complete hreflang — if you want the same approach, we can design it for your project.