Multilingual B2B Website for an Exporter in Dublin: Translation, Hreflang and Hosting Costs

The verdict in three sentences

For an Irish industrial company earning most of its revenue abroad, a website in 4 languages costs 12,000 to 30,000 EUR of development, plus translation at 0.10 to 0.18 EUR per word. Each extra language adds 25 to 40% of management effort in the CMS, because it must be maintained, optimised and reviewed. Correct hreflang and per-language sitemaps decide whether your German pages actually rank on Google.de.

The real cost of a 4-language website

The export director of a 90-person manufacturer in Dublin wants product pages in English, German, Swedish and French, matching the UK, DACH, Nordic and French markets. The most underestimated item is translation: an industrial site with 25 pages and 30 product sheets often holds 25,000 to 35,000 words per language.

These amounts are a 2026 estimate for an Irish agency working with specialist technical translators. Machine translation alone costs almost nothing, but it produces terminology errors that German engineering buyers spot within a few lines. A hybrid approach, machine translation followed by human post-editing, cuts the bill by 30 to 40%.

Hreflang, URL structure and EU hosting

Google must understand which version to serve to which market. Hreflang tags link each page to its equivalents (en-IE, en-GB, de-DE, sv-SE, fr-FR), with an x-default version. A frequent mistake is forgetting the return links, which makes Google ignore the whole set. A subfolder structure (/de/, /sv/) remains the simplest and keeps domain authority in one place.

Funding the project: support to check

Several schemes can lighten the bill. Enterprise Ireland supports market discovery and digital projects for exporting clients, and Local Enterprise Offices offer grants and training for smaller firms. Eligibility and amounts change every year: check them before you sign, as some schemes require an application before any spend is committed.

Mini case study

Aoife, export director of an industrial pump manufacturer in Dublin, launches a 4-language site at 22,000 EUR of development and 15,000 EUR of translation with technical review, for 37,000 EUR in total. A support scheme covers 30% of eligible costs, bringing the net cost to about 25,900 EUR. The German and Swedish pages generate 6 quote requests per month. With a 10% conversion rate and an average order of 18,000 EUR, that means about 7 orders and 130,000 EUR of extra revenue in the first year.

FAQ

How much does a 4-language website cost for an exporting SME?

Plan for 12,000 to 30,000 EUR of development and 11,000 to 15,000 EUR of translation for 30,000 words per language. The total often exceeds 25,000 EUR.

Is machine translation enough?

For an industrial site, no. Human post-editing costs 30 to 40% less than full translation and avoids terminology errors.

What is hreflang and why is it essential?

It is a tag that tells Google the language and country of each page. Without correct return links, your foreign pages can stay invisible in 2 markets out of 3.

Do we need one domain per country?

Rarely for an SME. Subfolders concentrate authority and avoid about 30% of extra maintenance.

Is there funding for an export website?

Yes, Enterprise Ireland and Local Enterprise Offices can cover part of eligible costs. Check eligibility before committing any spend.

Let's scope your project. List your target languages and page count: we will price a multilingual site between 12,000 and 30,000 EUR of development, translation extra, delivered in 10 to 14 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.