With a multilingual signup form, you can collect contacts using the same form in multiple languages. Magnews chooses which version to display based on the recognized contact’s language or the visitor’s browser language.
Before you begin, check that multilingual support is enabled in your account.
Configure the form languages
When creating the form or editing its settings, you can choose:
- The main language, which is also used when no version is available in the visitor’s language
- The additional languages into which you want to translate the form content
A new form always has a main language and no additional languages. Add the other languages you want to use and prepare the corresponding translations.
For example, to display the form in Italian and English, using English for visitors with other languages, set English as the main language and add Italian as an additional language.
Forms created with a previous configuration have no main language set. When you open the settings, a message prompts you to choose one to align the content and default messages. Select the language the form text is written in, then add any additional languages you need.
How the display language is selected
The signup form appears on your website, where visitors may be contacts recognized by magnews or anonymous visitors.
If you have configured the form to display to both recognized contacts and anonymous visitors, the language is selected as follows:
- For an anonymous visitor or a recognized contact with no language set, magnews uses the browser language: if magnews recognizes it and it is included in the form languages, that version is displayed. Otherwise, the form is displayed in the main language.
The recognized browser languages are Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Modern Greek, Portuguese and Japanese.
For example, if the form has Italian as the main language and English as an additional language, an anonymous visitor with an English-language browser sees it in English. A visitor with a Spanish-language browser sees it in Italian. - For a recognized contact with a language set, magnews uses the contact’s language: if it is included in the form languages, that version is displayed. Otherwise, the form is displayed in the main language, regardless of the browser language.
For example, if the form is available in Italian and English, with Italian as the main language, a Spanish-speaking contact sees it in Italian even if their browser language is English.
Translate the content
In the designer, click Translate to open the translation page. You can work on the content of the form’s different pages, including the thank-you page, if present.
In addition to the introductory text, check and translate:
- Field labels and descriptions
- Options for single-choice, multiple-choice or dropdown questions
- Button text
- Any custom error messages
You can also switch languages using the language selector in the designer to check and edit the content in each version.
When you choose the main language or add other languages, the form uses the text available in the template for each language. Adding a language does not automatically translate the content.
Check the form before activation
Before activating the form and publishing it on your website, open the preview and use the language selector to check the result. You can also select a contact to check which version of the form that person will see.
To complete publication on your website, follow the guide to creating, configuring, and activating a signup form.