What CMS is good for a corporate website? AnQiCMS multi-language function test

title: What is the best CMS for corporate websites? AnQiCMS multilingual function test description: Foreign trade enterprises do multilingual corporate websites, AnQiCMS built-in multilingual function is ready-to-use, no additional plugins need to be installed. Test the process and cost of building four stations of Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean at the same time. keywords: Foreign trade multilingual website, multilingual CMS, AnQiCMS multilingual, corporate website CMS tag: Foreign trade website construction, multilingual, CMS, corporate website

category_id: 35

Foreign trade enterprises do multilingual official websites, the most common question is: should a language station be built for a website, or should multilingual be placed in one system?

I have previously worked on an export-oriented project, initially setting up separate websites for each language, with one WordPress site for the Chinese, English, and Japanese versions.After building, it turns out that maintenance is particularly麻烦, changing the content of the article requires logging into three backends, and changing the template also requires changing three times.Later, it was changed to the multi-language function of AnQiCMS, which manages all languages in one backend, making it very convenient.

The traditional solution for multilingual website construction

There are two traditional methods:

Plan one: each language has an independent website

Advantages: simple and direct, each language site is independently deployed, without affecting each other.

Shortcoming: The maintenance cost is too high. Content updates require multiple operations, template modifications need to be repeated, and data synchronization can easily lead to inconsistencies. The server cost also needs to be doubled.

Plan two: WordPress with multilingual plugin

WordPress has multilingual plugins like WPML and Polylang, which can be used to make a WordPress site multilingual.

The plugins are mature and feature-rich. However, the problem is that these plugins are not cheap, the official version of WPML costs $49 a year, and the Pro version of Polylang also costs 79 euros a year.And these plugins will make WordPress heavy, significantly reducing performance.

The multilingual solution of AnQiCMS

The multi-language feature of AnQiCMS is built-in, there is no need to install a plugin or pay extra (it's included in the free version).

Feature highlights

Multilingual Management

Multiple languages can be added in the background, currently supporting Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and more. Each language can be configured independently:

• Language package (translation file)
• Display language name
• Domain configuration (can use different domains for different languages)
• URL prefix

Content related

An article can be associated with multiple language versions. When creating a new article, you can select 'Translation' to associate it with an existing article, automatically filling in the basic information of the title and abstract, and only translating the specific content.

For example, if I write a Chinese version of an article, after clicking 'Translation', I can create an English version and a Japanese version, inheriting the title and structure automatically, and only need to modify the main content.

Front-end language switching

AnQiCMS templates support language switching functionality. In the template, uselang_linkandlang_nametags to generate language switching links, allowing users to switch languages on the front end.

{% for lang in languages %}
    <a href="{{ lang_link(lang) }}">{{ lang_name(lang) }}</a>
{% endfor %}

Domain configuration

Each language can be configured with an independent domain. For example:

• Chinese site: www.example.com
• English site: en.example.com
• Japanese site: jp.example.com

You can also use sub-paths, for example:

• Chinese site: www.example.com/zh/
• English site: www.example.com/en/
• Japanese site: www.example.com/ja/

Which method to use depends on your needs.

Test process

I built a trilingual website using AnQiCMS, Chinese, English, and Japanese.

Step 1: Installation and Basic Configuration

The installation of AnQiCMS is very simple, one command in the docker version:

docker pull anqicms/anqicms
docker run -p 8080:8080 anqicms/anqicms

After installation, go to the background settings to add languages. I added Simplified Chinese, English, and Japanese.

Step 2: Configure Language Packages

Each language needs to configure language packages. AnQiCMS has some built-in common translations, such as background menu, button text. If you need to translate custom text in the template, you can add it in the background's 'Language Package Management'.

The format of the language pack is a JSON file, placed/lang/语言代码/in the directory. For example, the English language pack is placed/lang/en/Directory.

Third step: Create a template

The template syntax is similar to Django's{{ variable }}and{% tag %}format. In the template, use language-related tags to get the current language and switch languages.

Home page template/template/模板名/index/index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="{{ language }}">
<head>
    <title>{{ site_name }} - {{ language }}</title>
</head>
<body>
    <nav>
        {% for lang in languages %}
            <a href="{{ lang_link(lang) }}">{{ lang_name(lang) }}</a>
        {% endfor %}
    </nav>
    
    <div class="content">
        {{ content }}
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Fourth step: Create content and translation

Create columns and articles in the background. When creating articles, you can check the option 'Need translation' and then fill in the corresponding content for each language.

I built 10 categories, each with 10 articles. The Chinese content is written first, and then each article is translated into English and Japanese. The translation can be directly based on the Chinese version, which is much more efficient than starting from scratch.

Step 5: Configure the domain

The background can set the access domain for each language. I have configured:

• Chinese site: localhost:8080 (default)
• English site: localhost:8081
• Japanese site: localhost:8082

Each port corresponds to a different language. If you want to configure a real domain, just change it in the background settings.

Step 6: SEO Optimization

Each language can be set separately for SEO information, including title, keywords, and description. The static rules also support configuration by language, and different languages can have different URL structures.

cost comparison

After building three language sites, I will calculate the cost.

Plan one: three WordPress sites

Server cost: 3 servers with 2 cores and 4G, about 600 yuan/month × 3 = 1800 yuan/month.

WPML plugin: 49 US dollars/year ≈ 350 yuan/year, 3 sets are 1050 yuan/year.

Maintenance cost: three backends need to be maintained, and the content needs to be updated three times each time.

Plan two: AnQiCMS multilingual

Server cost: 1 4-core 8G server, about 1200 yuan per month. Because three languages share a system, the resource utilization is higher.

Plugin cost: Multilingual function built-in, no additional payment required.

Maintenance cost: One backend manages all languages, content updates only need to be operated once, and translation function assists in multilingual editing.

In this way, the server cost saves one-third, the plugin cost saves more than a thousand a year, and the maintenance cost saves more.

Issues to pay attention to in multilingual websites

Translation quality

AnQiCMS only provides a multilingual technical framework, the content translation still depends on you. If it is machine translation, it is recommended to use the translation module of the AI writing function in the background, but the final proofreading still needs to be done manually.

URL structure

If multiple languages share a domain name, the URL structure will affect SEO. Google suggests that multilingual websites use the subdirectory method (example.com/en/), which is easier to pass weight than subdomains (en.example.com).

Content localization

User preferences vary by language. For example, Japanese users prefer pages with more information, while American users prefer simpler pages. Do not simply translate, but localize the content for each language.

Search Engine Settings

Google Search Console and Baidu Webmaster Tools both support setting up multilingual websites. Each language version must submit a sitemap to the corresponding platform and set the target language and country/region.

Summary

The multilingual feature of AnQiCMS is a practical function for enterprises that need to build multilingual websites. It comes out of the box, does not require additional plugins, manages all languages from one backend, and has low maintenance costs.

If your foreign trade business involves multiple countries, a multilingual website is a must. The AnQiCMS solution is more cost-effective and saves maintenance effort compared to traditional solutions.