The verdict in three sentences
A multilingual FR/DE/EN website for an exporting industrial SME costs between EUR 12,000 and 20,000 excl. VAT for design and build, plus EUR 5,000 to 7,000 of technical translation per language for a 40,000-word corpus. The structural choice is between subdirectories (/de/, /en/) and country domains (.de, .com): for an SME, subdirectories with clean hreflang concentrate SEO authority and cost less to maintain. Delivered well in 12 weeks, the project can target +50% German-language quote requests within a year, provided you translate the technical sheets and not just the homepage.
What a three-language industrial website costs in 2026
The budget splits into three separate blocks: the platform, the translation and international SEO. Agencies quoting a single multilingual website price often leave out product sheets and PDF documents, which make up most of the word count.
| Item | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| UX design and mockups (3 languages) | EUR 2,500 - 4,500 | Templates sized for German, 20 to 30% longer than French |
| Multilingual CMS development | EUR 5,000 - 9,000 | Translation management, language switcher, localised forms |
| Technical catalogue (sheets, filters) | EUR 2,500 - 4,000 | Tolerances, materials, ISO certifications per part |
| Hreflang and per-language sitemaps | EUR 800 - 1,500 | Reciprocal tags, x-default, Search Console per language |
| QA, performance and accessibility | EUR 1,000 - 1,200 | Browser and mobile testing, Core Web Vitals |
| Platform total | EUR 12,000 - 20,000 | Translation excluded |
Maintenance comes on top, and each provider prices it according to the service level you want (updates, backups, on-call support). Ask for a separate quote so you do not mix the initial investment with recurring costs.
Technical translation: the real cost driver
A precision engineering SME publishes 30,000 to 50,000 words on average: capability pages, part sheets, manuals, terms and conditions, job ads. At the 2026 rate of EUR 0.12 to 0.18 per word for a specialised technical translator, 40,000 words cost EUR 4,800 to 7,200 per target language.
| Translation option | 2026 price per word | 40,000 words | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw machine translation | EUR 0.00 - 0.01 | EUR 0 - 400 | Errors on tolerances and standards, weak image in Germany |
| Machine translation + light post-editing | EUR 0.05 - 0.08 | EUR 2,000 - 3,200 | Acceptable for secondary pages |
| Specialised technical translator | EUR 0.12 - 0.18 | EUR 4,800 - 7,200 | Exact terminology (DIN, EN ISO), buyer credibility |
| Translator + review by a native engineer | EUR 0.18 - 0.25 | EUR 7,200 - 10,000 | Recommended for critical sheets |
| Translation memory (updates) | 30 to 60% off repeated segments | Variable | Sharply reduces the cost of future changes |
Best practice is to mix: specialised translation for product sheets and capability pages, post-editing for the blog and news. A glossary approved by your engineering office before kick-off avoids costly back-and-forth.
Subdirectories, subdomains or country domains
The architecture choice shapes international SEO for years.
| Architecture | Example | Annual cost | Advantage | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdirectories | company.fr/de/ | Included | Concentrated authority, simple maintenance | Weaker country signal than a .de |
| Subdomains | de.company.com | Included | Technical separation | Partly diluted authority |
| Country domains (ccTLD) | company.de | EUR 15 - 40 per domain + dedicated SEO | Strong local trust | Link building needed per country |
| .com domain + subdirectories | company.com/de/ | EUR 15 - 30 | Neutral internationally | Migration from .fr required |
For an SME with 60% export revenue, the most cost-effective option is usually one main domain with subdirectories and reciprocal hreflang tags (fr-FR, de-DE, de-AT, de-CH, en). Country domains make sense when a local subsidiary manages its own content.
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Mini case study
Thomas, export sales director of a precision engineering SME in Strasbourg that sells heavily to buyers in Berlin and Bavaria (45 staff, EUR 9M revenue of which EUR 5.4M abroad), currently receives 8 German-language quote requests a month through a site available only in French and English. Budget committed: EUR 16,000 for the platform and EUR 6,000 for German translation, i.e. EUR 22,000 excl. VAT. With a +50% target he moves to 12 requests a month, so 48 extra requests a year. At a 15% conversion rate and an average order of EUR 9,000, that is about 7 orders and EUR 63,000 of additional revenue. As a 2026 estimate, the project pays for itself in year one if gross margin exceeds 35%.
FAQ
Should the whole site be translated into German at launch?
No, start with the pages that generate requests: capabilities, part sheets and contact, often 60% of the word count. The rest can follow within 2 to 3 months, spreading EUR 2,000 to 3,000 of spend.
Is machine translation enough for an industrial website?
Not for technical pages: one mistake on a tolerance or an EN ISO standard costs more than the EUR 0.12 to 0.18 per word of a specialised translator. Post-editing at EUR 0.05 to 0.08 per word is fine for news.
How long before SEO results show in Germany?
Allow 4 to 6 months for German pages to rank on targeted technical queries. First contacts often arrive from month 3 on long-tail queries.
Is hreflang really necessary?
Yes, without hreflang Google may show the French version to a buyer in Munich. Setup costs EUR 800 to 1,500 and prevents cannibalisation between language versions.
What timeline should we plan for the whole project?
About 12 weeks: 3 for design, 5 for development, with translation running in parallel over 4 to 6 weeks. The technical glossary must be approved before week 4.
Let's scope your project. Send us your page count, target languages and priority markets: we will price the platform, translation and international SEO with a realistic schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
