What a bilingual English–Chinese website needs to get right

Published October 2, 2026 · SunTech Solutions

Why a translated page is not a bilingual site

Many Toronto businesses serve customers in both English and Chinese, and most of their websites were built in one language with the other bolted on later. A translation plug-in or a machine-translated copy looks bilingual, but it fails in the ways that matter: search engines do not know which version to show, the Chinese reads like a translation, and the second version quietly goes stale because nobody owns it. A bilingual site is two complete sites that share a design and a database, not one site with a switch.

1. Every page exists in both languages, at its own address

Each language version needs its own URL, for example /services and /zh/services, and the two should link to each other. Avoid showing different languages at the same address based on a cookie or the browser setting: search engines see one page, and a visitor who shares a link sends their friend the wrong language. The site you are reading does exactly this, with an English page and a /zh/ page for everything.

2. Tell search engines which is which

Each page should declare its language and point to its counterpart with hreflang tags, so Google shows the Chinese page to someone searching in Chinese and the English page to someone searching in English. Without this, the two versions compete with each other, and the one that wins is often the wrong one. The sitemap should list both versions with the same cross-references.

3. Write the Chinese, do not translate it

Machine translation has become good enough to read and still produces Chinese that no business would write. Marketing copy in particular does not translate: the English says "fast, friendly service", and the literal Chinese sounds odd. Have a native speaker write each page for its readers. Keep the facts aligned between versions (prices, hours, addresses, phone numbers), and let the wording differ. A page can even be shorter in one language than the other if that is what reads well.

4. Typography and layout for Chinese text

Chinese characters are denser than Latin letters, so a layout tuned for English often looks cramped in Chinese. Check the Chinese version at every screen size: line height usually needs to be a little larger, headings a little smaller, and buttons need room for text that may be shorter or longer than the English. Pick fonts that render Chinese cleanly on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android rather than one brand font that only covers Latin characters. And remember that the vast majority of Chinese-speaking visitors in Canada will open the site on a phone, often from inside WeChat.

5. Forms, phone numbers and addresses

Small details break trust fast. The contact form should accept names in Chinese characters. Phone numbers and addresses should be in Canadian format on both versions, since the business is in Canada, but labelled in each language. Dates should be written in a way that is unambiguous in both languages. If you offer service in Chinese, say so plainly on the English page too; many bilingual families have one member who reads each language.

6. Being found in both languages

Chinese-speaking customers in Canada mostly use Google, but they search in Chinese, and the words they use are not translations of the English keywords. "Kitchen cabinets" and the Chinese term a Markham homeowner types are different searches with different competition. Do a little keyword research in each language before writing titles and headings. Google Business Profile should carry both languages too, since that is where local searches land first.

Sharing works differently as well. Links posted in WeChat show a preview card, which is built from the page's Open Graph tags; a page without them shows a blank card and gets fewer taps. Set a title, description and image for every page, in the right language.

7. Decide who keeps the second version current

The most common failure is organisational, not technical. A year after launch the English site has new prices and a new service and the Chinese site has neither. Before launch, decide who updates each language, and make the site easy for that person to edit without a developer. If the business cannot commit to maintaining both versions, it is better to have a smaller bilingual site that stays accurate than a large one that drifts.

The checklist

• Separate URL for each language version, linking to each other.
• hreflang on every page and in the sitemap.
• Chinese written by a native speaker, with facts matched to the English.
• Layout checked in Chinese on phone, tablet and desktop.
• Fonts that cover Chinese on every platform.
• Forms that accept Chinese names; contact details in both languages.
• Titles and headings based on keyword research in each language.
• Open Graph tags so WeChat and other apps show a proper preview.
• Google Business Profile in both languages.
• A named person responsible for each language after launch.