I would like to propose that for smaller businesses and artists living in geographies with a wide range of languages (Europe, Asia, Africa) it would be beneficial to have a simplified option of switching between languages. I appreciate there is the paid for version that auto translates the site for you - but it is very expensive and also it seems a bit like overkill if all you have is a few pages to translate (like contact, about, and portfolios). Even, some people may just prefer to translate short blog articles themselves. For example I am totally fluent in three languages and have no need for an outside service.
I would like to request from Squarespace the ability to just do your own multi language site without having to pay an extra fee.
Yes there is a free version of Weglot but
1. But only until 2000 words.
2. What if you can translate yourself?
3. What if you want certain pages in multilingual (less than 2000 words) and the blog in English
4. I don't trust that third party translators would translate better than me!
5. Why pay a monthly fee for something that only requires a one-off translation!
I would just want the ability to have on the top right a select language menu and then I can translate whatever pages I want in whatever language and I'm perfectly happy to do it myself.
I have moved to France and it is very impolite not to have a French language version. Also I have customers in Germany and Switzerland. I just want to write my own content in the languages I speak anyway. And I think it is very America-Centric/ Anglosphere Centric approach to only offer a Paid for Service to translate in other languages.
It so happens that in other parts of the world we are capable to speak other languages and monthly translation services are not only NOT REQUIRED but also I wouldn't trust to outsource it anyway!
This limitation is actually making me consider alternatives to Squarespace at this point and I would really want Squarespace to be more flexible in offering a "manual" version instead of forcing you to accept third party "monthly translation fees" for something that only requires a one off translation!