Manage your site's locales

Updated

Add, configure, and switch between the locales that power your site's languages and regions.

Before you get started

Publishing to a secondary locale, or adding more than one, requires a Localize add-on.

Every locale on your site is built from the same handful of settings (e.g., language, country, display name, subdirectory). Once you've set up your primary locale, you can add as many secondary locales as your plan allows, then switch between them at any time using Locale switcher.

Settings that make up a locale

  • Language — the primary differentiator for a locale, along with country. Setting a language is required, and Webflow automatically assigns the matching language code, e.g., en for English.
  • Country — optional, unless you want to set the same language for more than one locale, e.g., English (United States) and English (United Kingdom). Webflow automatically assigns the matching country code, e.g., US for the United States.
  • Display name — the text used in the Locale list element, useful if you want to build a locale switcher. You can update it at any time, and changes appear the next time you publish.
  • Display image — the icon or flag associated with the locale, used in a locale switcher. Upload it directly in Locale settings, not the Assets panel, though it also imports there once uploaded — deleting it in Assets removes it from Locales too.
  • Subdirectory — the locale's URL slug. By default, it's set to the language code (e.g., /en) or the locale code if a country is set (e.g., /en-us), but you can customize it without affecting the site's language code.
  • Publishing status — for secondary locales only. Controls whether a locale publishes to its subdirectory. Only locales with publishing enabled appear in the Locale list element.

Important

Don't use the same URL slug for a CMS Collection, folder, or page as a locale subdirectory. If there's a conflict, the locale wins, and the Collection, folder, or page returns a "404 — Page not found" error.

Set up your primary locale

Your primary locale is the default language, or language and country combination, you use to build and design your site. The first locale you create becomes your primary locale. You can't switch a secondary locale to primary later, or change your primary locale to a different one.

To set the primary locale:

  1. Go to Localize panel > Locales
  2. Choose a Language
  3. (Optional) Choose a Country
  4. (Optional) Edit the Display name, create a Subdirectory, or add a Display image
  5. Click Save
  6. Click Save changes at the top

Add secondary locales

Once your primary locale is set, you can add secondary locales to support additional languages and regions. On Enterprise plans, you can also restrict editors to specific secondary locales, so regional teams only manage the content they're responsible for.

To add a secondary locale:

  1. Go to Localize panel > Locales
  2. Click Add new locale
  3. Choose a Language
  4. (Optional) Choose a Country
  5. (Optional) Edit the Display name, create a Subdirectory, or add a Display image
  6. Choose if you want to Enable publishing to the subdirectory
  7. Click Save
  8. Click Save changes at the top

Navigate between locales

Once you've added a secondary locale, a Locale switcher dropdown appears in the top bar above the canvas. Choose a locale from the dropdown to enter preview mode and see your site as that locale before publishing.

From Locale switcher, you can:

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