Whenever I see flags used to suggest languages I think of ignorant decision makers. Let me state this: flags have nothing to do with languages! Recently I read an article that supports my view. But no solutions. Nobody speaks about solutions.
If the website has only two languages it is pretty straightforward. A link labeled “view this web page in English” also you should specify in a parentheses the name of the language in the language you are viewing the page. For example, a web page that has English and Romanian versions: “Vizualizeaza aceasta pagina in romana(Romanian)” or “View this web page in English(engleza)”. It might seem too long but don’t forget that users navigate through sense, and every link should reveal what is hidden behind it.
When there are more than two languages the problem deepens, and in this point the “let’s go for the flags” direction emerges. But every problem has a solution, and this problem is best solved by the ones who face it every day.
The European Union(EU) is a real union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. The EU has 23 official languages and every website that represents a common institution has to serve the content in all languages. To present information in all those languages is a real challenge. To design a language switcher with all those languages is a tough job for any designer. A very good example of a multi language website is the European Central Bank. As you can see the designers didn’t go on the flags route. Instead they came up with an elegant solution: a separate page that presents all the languages in witch the website presents data. This is an excellent solution, not the only one, but I hope that it will become the de facto approach to multi-language websites language switchers.
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