The verdict in three sentences
For a Bordeaux wine merchant earning 55% of revenue in Asia, with Singapore and Hong Kong as distribution hubs, a website in French, English, Chinese and Japanese costs EUR 14,000 to 30,000 excl. VAT (about USD 15,200 to 32,500) in 2026, delivered in 10 weeks. The budget depends less on design than on professional translation (EUR 0.12 to 0.18 per word), market-specific SEO (Google, Baidu, Yahoo Japan) and a CDN with Asian points of presence at EUR 40 to 120 per month. A protected importer area (tech sheets, prices, en primeur allocations) turns the site into a sales tool rather than a brochure.
Cost per language and expected traffic share
Based on a 40-page site with 60 wine sheets, about 26,000 words to translate per language. Figures are 2026 orders of magnitude.
| Language | Translation (26,000 words) | Native review and local SEO | Expected traffic share | Cost per language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French (source) | EUR 0 | Writing and French SEO: EUR 1,500 to 2,500 | 20 to 25% | EUR 1,500 to 2,500 |
| English | EUR 0.12 to 0.14 per word: EUR 3,100 to 3,650 | EUR 800 to 1,500 | 30 to 35% (Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, US) | EUR 3,900 to 5,150 |
| Simplified Chinese | EUR 0.15 to 0.18 per word: EUR 3,900 to 4,700 | EUR 1,500 to 3,000 (Baidu, WeChat) | 20 to 30% (mainland China) | EUR 5,400 to 7,700 |
| Traditional Chinese | Adaptation from simplified: EUR 1,200 to 1,800 | EUR 500 to 1,000 | 5 to 10% (Hong Kong, Taiwan) | EUR 1,700 to 2,800 |
| Japanese | EUR 0.15 to 0.18 per word: EUR 3,900 to 4,700 | EUR 1,000 to 2,000 | 10 to 15% | EUR 4,900 to 6,700 |
Machine translation alone should be avoided on wine sheets: approximate tasting vocabulary damages the house's credibility with sommeliers and Japanese importers. Best practice is machine pre-translation followed by post-editing by a wine-specialist translator, which saves 15 to 25% on the rate.
The rest of the budget: technical stack, hosting and importer area
| Item | Range excl. VAT | Watch point |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping, design and multilingual guidelines | EUR 3,500 to 6,000 | CJK typography, variable text length |
| Development and multilingual CMS | EUR 4,000 to 8,000 | Hreflang, per-language URLs, language switcher |
| Protected importer area | EUR 2,000 to 4,500 | Tech sheets, prices per market, allocations |
| Asian CDN and hosting | EUR 40 to 120 per month | Load time under 2.5 s in Shanghai and Tokyo |
| WeChat mini-site or official account | EUR 1,500 to 3,500 | The website alone is not enough in mainland China |
| Compliance (French alcohol advertising law, legal notices, GDPR) | EUR 500 to 1,200 | Health warning, age gate |
Key technical point: in mainland China, Google Fonts, Google Maps and some scripts are blocked. A site that calls them can take over 10 seconds to render. Fonts and assets must be self-hosted and served through a compatible CDN, with Singapore often the best-performing edge for Southeast Asia.
Mini case study
Henri, export director of a Bordeaux merchant with EUR 40 million in revenue, 55% in Asia, budgets EUR 22,000 excl. VAT for a 4-language site with an importer area, plus EUR 90 per month of CDN.
His team spends 6 hours a week emailing tech sheets and price lists. The importer area saves 4 of them, about 200 hours a year, at a loaded EUR 45 per hour: EUR 9,000. On top come 25 qualified importer requests a year through the Chinese and Japanese versions; 3 signings at EUR 60,000 annual volume, at a 15% margin, bring EUR 27,000 of margin. The site pays back in under 10 months.
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FAQ
How much does a 4-language wine merchant website cost?
Budget EUR 14,000 to 30,000 excl. VAT depending on the number of wine sheets and the importer area, of which EUR 12,000 to 18,000 goes to translation and local SEO.
What translation rate for Chinese and Japanese?
EUR 0.15 to 0.18 per word with a wine-specialist translator, against EUR 0.12 to 0.14 for English. Post-editing a machine pre-translation cuts the bill by 15 to 25%.
Will the site be reachable from China?
Yes if Google resources are removed and a CDN with Asian presence is used. Hosting in mainland China requires an ICP licence, worth it only for significant traffic.
Should prices be shown online?
Not publicly. Prices per market and en primeur allocations belong in the protected importer area, with account-based access.
What is the delivery timeline?
Ten weeks on average, including 3 to 4 weeks for translation and native review of the 4 languages.
Let's scope your project. Send us your markets, number of wine sheets and importer needs, and we will price a multilingual website between EUR 14,000 and 30,000 excl. VAT, deliverable in 10 weeks. 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.
