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Multilingual Website Design for Language Schools: A Client Case Study

Updated on: Updated by: Ciaran Connolly

In our digitally connected world, language schools play a crucial role in bridging communication gaps across cultures. However, when a language school itself faces challenges in reaching a diverse audience due to website limitations, the irony is evident.

In this article, we explore a client case study of how we tackled such a challenge: creating a multilingual website design for a local language school.

Our journey through this project showcases the significance of creating a digital platform that Is not just linguistically inclusive but also offers user-friendly and informative experience for a wider audience reach.

ClientBridge Mills Galway Language Centre
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The Client

Bridge Mills Galway Language Centre is an adult English language school located in Galway, Ireland. The school was established in 1987 and is accredited by EAQUALS, ACELS, MEI, ALTO, QQI, Quality English, Cambridge Examinations and Cambridge Admissions Testing.

The school offers a wide range of courses, including general English, exam preparation, business English, and teacher training. They also offer online lessons and self-guided study packs and boast a strong reputation for providing high-quality English language instruction.

Bridge Mills Galway Language Centre

The Challenge 

Our client, a local language school with a global student base, was confronted with a pressing issue that threatened the core of their digital strategy.

The platform hosting their existing website was scheduled for discontinuation, a development that put the school in a precarious position. This wasn’t just about finding a new digital home; it was about safeguarding their online presence, which had become integral to their client reach and reputation.

A New Digital Home

Our task was clear: to create a new digital platform that not only met the immediate technical needs of the language school but also addressed their deeper concerns about client retention, market presence, and seamless transition. The solution needed to be strategic, empathetic to the school’s community, and forward-looking in its design and functionality.

The need for a new digital home was apparent, but there were also additional, unique requirements due to the nature of their business.

Multilingual Website Design

As a language school catering to students from various linguistic backgrounds, it was essential to have a website that could communicate effectively in multiple languages. This feature was not just a convenience but a necessity to reflect the school’s commitment to language learning and cultural diversity.

Clearer Course Information

The school offered a wide range of language courses, but the existing website failed to present this information in a clear and accessible manner. Prospective students found it challenging to locate and understand the specifics of different language programmes.

Improved Website Navigation

The goal was to streamline the website’s navigation system, making it easier for students and visitors to find the information they needed, enhancing their overall experience on the site.

These challenges presented us with an opportunity to not only build a new website but to create a platform that truly represented the school’s ethos and met the diverse needs of its students. This was going to be a big multilingual website design project – but nothing that we couldn’t handle.

Our Strategic Approach to Multilingual Website Design

1. Choosing the Right CMS: WordPress

We migrated the site to WordPress, a CMS known for its versatility and plugin compatibility. Given the client’s need for frequent updates, flexible page creation, and international scalability, WordPress was a natural choice.

This foundation also allows the site to be extended with SEO tools, booking engines, and analytics integrations.

2. Multilingual Framework via WPML

To implement an effective multilingual website design, we deployed the WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin). This enabled us to:

  • Translate content into six languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Polish
  • Apply language-specific SEO tags and canonicalisation rules
  • Add language switchers to both header and footer, ensuring visibility across all device types

Much like designing booking platforms, where users expect fast and clear language toggling, this multilingual capability was essential in improving overall usability and reducing barriers to engagement.

3. Information Architecture and UX

Drawing inspiration from website design best practices, we restructured the information architecture to guide users through a logical, conversion-focused journey. Enhancements included:

  • Clear categorisation of course types (General English, Business English, Exam Prep)
  • Filters for location, duration, and language level
  • Downloadable course brochures in all supported languages
  • A “frequently asked questions” area to address concerns of international learners

This structure ensured that visitors could quickly find the most relevant information, regardless of their country of origin.

Through this strategic approach, we aimed to not only provide a seamless transition to a new digital platform but also to enhance the school’s online presence, ensuring it remained a preferred choice for current and prospective students in the ever-competitive educational landscape.

The Results

With a new digital home and multilingual website design, our efforts yielded remarkable results for the client. 

Robust Multilingual Website Design with Optimised Performance

The newly designed website emerged as a robust digital platform, supporting multiple languages without compromising on crucial performance metrics. 

We achieved optimal site speed, ensuring quick load times, smooth interactivity, and visual stability across all language versions. This technical proficiency provided a seamless user experience, crucial for retaining and attracting a global audience.

Significant Increase in SEO Keyword Rankings

A dramatic improvement was seen in the website’s search engine optimisation (SEO). By carefully crafting the site’s content and structure, including multilingual capabilities, we significantly increased the ranking for a variety of SEO keywords. 

This enhancement in SEO not only improved the site’s visibility in search engines but also made it more accessible to prospective students from different regions, thereby expanding the school’s digital reach.

Creation of a Welcoming Digital Home for a Global Audience

The new website became more than just a digital space; it transformed into a welcoming platform for students from around the world. The multilingual design and user-friendly navigation made the school’s courses and resources more accessible to a diverse audience, reinforcing the school’s commitment to inclusivity and global education. 

This new digital home resonates with the school’s ethos, offering a space where language barriers are diminished, and educational opportunities are broadened.

Through these results, the language school not only regained its online footing but also enhanced its capacity to engage and educate students across the globe. The project’s success was a testament to the power of thoughtful multilingual web design and its impact on an institution’s global presence and accessibility.

Why Is Multilingual Website Design Important?

Enhanced SEO Efficiency

One of the primary benefits of a multilingual website design lies in its SEO advantages. When you have multiple language options integrated into a single website, it centralises your SEO efforts.

Instead of dividing your resources and strategies across multiple sites for different languages, a multilingual site allows you to focus on optimising a single domain. This leads to a more consolidated and effective SEO strategy

Search engines favour websites with high-quality, diverse content, and a multilingual site naturally increases your content’s reach and relevance, potentially improving your rankings across different language searches.

Streamlined User Experience

A multilingual website offers a more streamlined and cohesive user experience compared to managing separate sites for each language. Users can easily switch between languages as per their preference, which enhances user engagement and satisfaction. 

This seamless transition between languages on a single platform is not only user-friendly but also maintains the aesthetic and functional consistency of your website.

Cost-Effectiveness and Simplified Management

Building and maintaining one website with multiple language options is more cost-effective than creating separate websites for each language. It simplifies the management of your online presence, as updates and changes need to be implemented only once and can be easily replicated across all language versions. 

This approach saves time and resources in website management and ensures that all language versions stay up-to-date and consistent with each other.

Multilingual website design structure is a strategic choice that offers numerous benefits, from improved SEO and user experience to cost-effectiveness and a wider global reach. It is an essential component for businesses and educational institutions looking to establish a strong, inclusive, and efficient online presence in the global market.

Multilingual Website Design Content Strategy

We advised the client on an ongoing content strategy using their new CMS setup. Recommendations included:

  • Writing blog articles in each supported language, optimised for regional search terms
  • Creating location-specific landing pages (e.g. “Study English in Ireland for Spanish Speakers”)
  • Including testimonials and reviews in native languages
  • Integrating video content with multilingual subtitles and transcripts

These approaches align with proven strategies in website content planning and are vital for scaling organic growth.

Conclusion: Why Multilingual Website Design Matters

This project illustrates the strategic advantage of effective multilingual website design. For global-facing organisations—be they education providers or hospitality brands—multilingual digital experiences are essential for increasing reach, improving usability, and maximising ROI.

ProfileTree delivered a platform that not only solved a technical challenge but also unlocked long-term strategic value for an international audience. If you’re seeking to improve your multilingual web presence, our expert team can help you plan, design, and execute a tailored solution that supports your growth goals.

More projects

If you enjoyed this case study, be sure to check out some of our other project reviews: Hotel Marketing Strategy | Training Website Design | How We Improved Our Client’s GT Metrix Score From C Grading to A Grading | Creative Website Design and Build for Brexit Business Advisory Service | Retail Software Website Design.

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