Multilingual Website Content: An Ownership and Update Matrix

Copy the multilingual ownership record

• Content family: the same page or resource in its different languages.
• Source of truth: who confirms the business fact, distinct from who translates it.
• Locale: language/region, public URL and named reviewer.
• Change: exact source sentence or fact and the reason it changed.
• Status: needs translation, needs factual review, approved or published.
• Evidence: approved version, reviewer and publication date.
• Follow-up: next review trigger, not merely an arbitrary future date.

Keep one entry per affected locale. “Portuguese done” can hide a difference between European and Brazilian wording or commercial context.

A fictional inclusion changes

A service no longer includes an optional setup task. The service owner confirms the new scope. The English page changes, while the Portuguese pages still promise the task.

Flag both translations for factual review, including headings, pricing notes and related hub summaries. Translation is not only replacing the edited paragraph: linked summaries can preserve the old promise. Record who approves the business fact and who checks each language.

Choose an honest fallback

If a translation cannot be updated immediately, decide which accurate content can remain public. Do not silently substitute an English claim under a Portuguese title or present stale commercial wording as current.

Use the CMS’s supported unpublished/draft behaviour where needed and check the visible language navigation. Do not invent local tax or legal wording simply to make two regions look different. Regional adaptation should preserve meaning while changing terminology and relevant verified context.

Check search and editorial links separately

Verify each published translation’s own URL and canonical, plus reciprocal alternate-language references. The Google localized-versions guidance describes these search signals; they do not establish translation accuracy.

Also follow the language switcher as a reader. It should lead to the equivalent published resource, not an unrelated homepage. Keep editorial approval and technical publication checks as separate evidence.