Fallback languages

  • Updated

Multi-language websites frequently present incomplete content in specific languages. This happens when translations are unavailable, content is irrelevant for a particular language, or the system requires displaying content in a defined language.

Unless a fallback or replacement language is defined, content is invisible to visitors browsing the website in a language into which content is not translated. You have the following options:

  • Define a fallback language in which the content displays until the content is available in the desired language.
  • Define a replacement language in which content displays regardless of the language in which the content exists. If you define a replacement language for some content, a fallback language does not apply.
Fallback and replacement languages may cause the website to display mixed languages.

Set fallback and replacement languages

The All Properties view defines the fallback and replacement languages when editing a page or block and selecting Tools > Language Settings.

Set fallback and replacement languages
Child pages inherit the language settings from their parent page. Suppose you are redefining language settings for a subpage to a parent page with defined language settings. In that case, you need to deselect Inherit settings from the parent page "xxx" in the Language Settings dialog box to define settings for the subsection.

Fallback language behavior for expired content (CMS 12)

In CMS 12, fallback language rules also apply when content exists in the requested language but has expired.

If a page version in the visitor's selected language expires, the system displays content from the fallback language you configured instead of returning a 404 error.

In CMS 11, if a page version in the requested language is expired, the front end returns a 404 error and does not apply fallback language rules.

Fallback language

In this example, the master website language is English, and you have enabled Swedish, German, and Spanish.

Fallback language

You first create content in English and then translate it into Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish in that order. Optimizely uses Swedish as the first fallback for Norwegian and Danish. If content does not exist in Swedish (it is not translated yet), then Optimizely applies the second fallback language, English.

Content is first created in English and then translated into Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish in that order.

Replacement language

This example shows a multi-language website with a legal information section with content that should be displayed in English. You apply a replacement language for the legal information page branch to ensure this.

multi-language website with a legal information section with content that should be displayed in English

Another scenario for using a replacement language is when you have started translating content on your website, but do not want to have mixed languages until you complete the translation. When the translation is ready, you remove the replacement language.

Fallback language example with expired content

Your website has two enabled languages: English (en) and Swedish (sv). You configured the Swedish language to fall back to English.

  • If content does not exist in Swedish, the English version displays.
  • If the Swedish version of a page expires,
    • CMS 12 – The English version displays based on the fallback language you configured.
    • CMS 11 – The front end returns a 404 error.

This behavior ensures that content remains visible in CMS 12 even when a localized version expires.

See also

See the following for more information:

  • Translate content – How to translate Optimizely CMS content into different languages.
  • Optimizely Languages app – How to extend the functionality in Optimizely for translating content into multiple languages.