What a Bilingual English and Japanese Website Costs

A website in English and Japanese costs more than the same site in one language. How much more depends on a few things you can control. Here's what moves the number.

The short answer

Our websites start at $10,000, and most land between there and $50,000. Page count, how much is custom and how many languages you need decide where yours sits. A second language pushes a project toward the upper part of that range, because it's a writing and design job as well as a translation job. The full breakdown is in what a website redesign actually costs.

Why isn't it just a translation fee?

Anyone can run a page through their browser's auto-translate for free. If you're paying for a second language, it should be better than that.

• Copy. Each version is written for its own readers. Japanese buyers tend to want more detail before they get in touch. English readers want the point sooner.
• Layout and type. Japanese says a lot in a small space, so the same content takes up much more room in English. Buttons, navigation and table headings are the first things to break. Each language also needs its own font and line height.
• Proof. What builds trust is different. A Japanese page leans on company details and a greeting from the representative. An English page leans on client logos, results in numbers and the people who do the work.
• Forms. Japanese forms ask for furigana and a company name. Those same fields make English-speaking visitors give up.
• Search. Keywords are researched separately for each language, and the two versions are linked with hreflang so each one shows up in the right search results.

What pushes the cost up

• More pages in both languages
• New copy in both languages, when there's nothing usable to start from
• Components that were never designed with a second language in mind
• A blog or news section that has to run in both languages
• Approvals from teams in two countries

What brings it down

• Five to eight pages done properly in the second language, instead of every page half-translated. Homepage, services or products, case studies, company information and contact cover most of what a new visitor needs.
• Existing copy that's good enough to edit
• One person on your side who can approve both versions
• Planning for two languages from the start. Adding one later costs more.

Does the platform change the price?

A little. We build bilingual sites on Framer, on custom code with a headless CMS, or on WordPress with a custom theme. We usually suggest the one your team is most comfortable updating, since you'll be the ones keeping two languages current.

FAQ

Is a bilingual website twice the price of a single-language one?

No. Strategy, design system and build are shared. The second language adds copywriting, layout adjustments, keyword research and CMS setup.

Can I translate the site myself to save money?

For help pages, specs and legal text, yes. For the pages that have to win customers, have a native writer write them.

Do I need every page in both languages?

No. Five to eight well-made pages in the second language usually do more than a full site that was translated in a hurry.

Want a number for your site?

Tell us which pages you need and in which languages, and we'll come back with a fixed quote. See how we build bilingual websites.