Quaritalia Multilingual Header Implementation
Overview
The Quaritalia website will receive a persistent language selector in the site header to support its international audience. The implementation uses a sticky dropdown in the header rather than relying solely on the browser-level Google Translate prompt, ensuring users can always switch languages regardless of how they navigated to the page.
This was decided during the [1] working session with Lincoln Durham.
Decision
Implement a sticky header language selector dropdown supporting English, Italian, and French as the initial three languages.
The Google Translate browser plugin will still be installed as a baseline fallback, but it alone was deemed insufficient because it is not persistent — users can accidentally dismiss it and lose the translation feature mid-session.
Implementation Details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Component | Sticky header dropdown |
| Initial languages | English (EN), Italian (IT), French (FR) |
| Fallback | Google Translate browser plugin |
| Future expansion | Dropdown format allows additional languages to be added without redesign |
Why a Dropdown
Flag/abbreviation selectors displayed inline work well for two or three languages but become unwieldy as the list grows. Using a dropdown from the start means adding Spanish, German, Arabic, or other languages later requires only a new entry — no layout changes.
Why Sticky
A non-sticky translation prompt (e.g., the Google Translate banner) can be dismissed by the user and does not reappear on subsequent page navigations within the same session. A header-fixed selector ensures the option is always visible and accessible, which is important for a site serving Italian and French-speaking audiences who may not be comfortable navigating in English.
Content Dependency
The language selector implementation is blocked on receiving translated content from the Quaritalia Italy team. Lincoln Durham set a firm deadline of Wednesday EOD (the week of 2026-02-13) for the Italy team to deliver site content. Karly Oykhman is following up to enforce this deadline.
Action Items
- [ ] Install Google Translate plugin on Quaritalia site (@Karly Oykhman)
- [ ] Add sticky header dropdown with EN / IT / FR options (@Karly Oykhman)
- [ ] Follow up with Quaritalia Italy team on content deadline — Wednesday EOD (@lldurham / @Karly Oykhman)
Future Expansion
Languages noted as candidates for future addition:
- Spanish
- German
- Arabic
Users navigating from regions without a dedicated language option will still have access to the Google Translate browser-level prompt as a fallback.
Related
- [2]
- [1]