By Mehdi HassanWhat makes multilingual site migration SEO different?
Multilingual site migration SEO is different because every page exists several times, and the versions are tied together by hreflang. A normal migration can survive a few missed redirects. A multilingual one can also break the links between language versions, which leads search engines to show the wrong language to the wrong market.
The fundamentals still apply, so start from our website migration SEO checklist. This guide covers what's extra: locale URLs, hreflang rebuilding, and the common move from a translation proxy to a platform's native localization. If you're still choosing tools, our guide to migrating a multilingual website compares platforms and translation options.
How do locale URLs change in a Weglot to native migration?
In a Weglot to native migration, locale URLs usually change structure. Translation proxies are often set up on subdomains such as fr.example.com, while native localization in builders like Webflow and Framer typically uses subfolders such as example.com/fr. That means every translated URL changes, even if the English site doesn't.
Setup | Example URL | What changes in the move |
|---|---|---|
Proxy on subdomains | fr.example.com/pricing | Host changes to a subfolder |
Proxy on subfolders | example.com/fr/pricing | May stay the same if paths match |
Native subfolders | example.com/fr/pricing | Target structure for most builders |
Translated slugs | example.com/fr/tarifs | Slug may differ from English |
Separate country domains | example.fr/tarifs | Usually kept, redirects only if paths change |
Translated slugs add another layer. Some setups translate the slug, so /pricing becomes /fr/tarifs, while others keep the English slug. Decide which the new site will use before building the map. The structure choice itself is covered in our multilingual website guide, and moving locales off subdomains follows the same page-level redirect rules as any other host change.
How do you build a redirect map for every locale?
Build a redirect map for every locale by crawling each language version separately and giving each old URL its own row. Don't assume the French site mirrors the English one. Translated sites often have missing pages, extra pages and different slugs.
Crawl each locale
Crawl every language version on its own host or folder, and export Search Console data per locale property or folder.
Pair pages across languages
Group the URLs that are translations of each other. These groups become your hreflang sets.
Map old to new per locale
For each old locale URL, record the new URL in the same language. Never redirect a French page to the English one if a French version exists.
Handle gaps
If a locale page won't exist on the new site, redirect it to the closest page in the same language, such as that locale's parent page.
Serve redirects from the old host
If locales move off subdomains, the subdomains must keep returning 301s after launch. Set that up at DNS or CDN level.
Use our 301 redirect map template with an added language column. If the main redirects live in Webflow or Framer, see our guides to Webflow 301 redirects and Framer redirects.
How do you migrate hreflang without breaking it?
You migrate hreflang without breaking it by regenerating the tags from your new URL groups, not by copying the old tags. Every page in a group lists every other page in the group, plus itself, using the new absolute URLs.
- Reciprocal tags: if the English page lists the French one, the French page must list the English one. Missing return tags cause Google to ignore the pair.
- Self-reference: each page includes an hreflang entry for its own language.
- Absolute URLs: include the protocol and host, and use the new URLs, not the old subdomains.
- x-default: point it at the version for users whose language you don't serve, often the English page or a language picker.
- Valid codes: use language codes, optionally with region, such as en, fr or pt-BR.
- Self canonicals: each locale page canonicalizes to itself. Canonicalizing to English tells Google the translation is a duplicate.
Google's documentation on localized versions of your pages explains the three ways to declare hreflang: HTML tags, HTTP headers or the sitemap. Native localization in most builders outputs HTML tags automatically, which is one reason to check the live source rather than trust the settings.
Hypothetical example: three locales moving from a proxy to native localization
For example, suppose a SaaS site runs English on example.com and French and German through a translation proxy on fr.example.com and de.example.com. The team moves to native localization with subfolders and keeps English slugs in every language.
The map has three columns of URLs per page group. fr.example.com/pricing becomes example.com/fr/pricing, and de.example.com/pricing becomes example.com/de/pricing, so each subdomain needs a single path-preserving redirect rule at the DNS or CDN level. The new pages output hreflang for en, fr, de and x-default, each with a self canonical. A crawl before launch confirms every hreflang target returns a 200 and every page lists all four entries.
What should you check before choosing a native localization platform?
Before choosing a native localization platform, check how it prices locales, how it handles translated slugs and metadata, and whether it outputs hreflang and per-locale sitemaps. These decide both your running cost and how much manual SEO work each language needs.
Pricing models differ. Framer, for example, charges per locale for localization, so costs grow with each language you add; check the current plan page for the numbers. Also check whether alt text, Open Graph tags and CMS fields can be translated, and whether the platform supports locale-specific pages that don't exist in English. Our multilingual website guide covers strategy and structure beyond the migration.
How do you monitor a multilingual migration after launch?
Monitor a multilingual migration by watching each locale separately in Search Console and checking which language version ranks in each market. Totals can hide a locale that dropped out entirely.
Filter performance by folder or by country and compare each with its own baseline. Check Search Console's pages report for crawled-not-indexed translations, which often signals canonical or hreflang problems. Spot-check search results in each target country for your key queries to confirm the right language shows. If a locale loses traffic, our guide to traffic drops after a website migration gives the order to diagnose it.
