build-a-localization-routing-strategy

name	build-a-localization-routing-strategy
category	web
description	Build a localization routing strategy for stable URLs, locale negotiation, alternates, fallbacks, indexing, persistence, and migration. Use when a website serves multiple languages, countries, scripts, or regional content variants.

build-a-localization-routing-strategy

Keep content identity stable and make locale choice reversible.

When to use

• Use for new multilingual sites, URL redesigns, market launches, or localization defects.
• Do not force a locale solely from inferred location when users need another language or market.

Procedure

1. Inventory languages, scripts, regions, legal variants, translation coverage, domains, paths, query patterns, and legacy URLs.
2. Choose a canonical URL model and document whether language, region, or both determine content identity.
3. Define first-visit negotiation from explicit choice, saved preference, account setting, browser language, and location in that priority.
4. Provide a visible selector that preserves the equivalent page, accepts keyboard and assistive technology, and stores minimal preference.
5. Specify missing-translation fallback without silently changing regulated terms, prices, availability, or market context.
6. Map canonical, alternate-language, default, sitemap, redirect, and indexing behavior.
7. Preserve query, campaign, authentication, and safe navigation state across locale changes.
8. Test bots, users, logged-in transitions, shared URLs, unsupported locales, mixed scripts, right-to-left layout, and cache variation.
9. Migrate legacy routes with one-hop redirects and monitor wrong-locale landings and crawl signals.

Done

• A localization routing plan records URL identity, negotiation priority, selector behavior, fallback, alternates, caching, and migration maps
• Locale, bot, canonical, redirect, equivalent-page, accessibility, cache, and indexing tests verify every supported variant