Localising an English startup website for German speakers

Short answer: Treat localisation as four layers: copy, formats, user experience and SEO. Start with one well-written German version (choosing Sie or du deliberately), make dates, numbers and currencies follow local conventions, adjust the details that make German-speaking buyers comfortable, and connect language versions with hreflang. Only create separate Austrian or Swiss versions when the content or offer genuinely differs.

Many startups in Berlin, Vienna or Zurich launch in English because the team works in English. That's fine for early adopters, but most customers in the region search, compare and buy in German. A German version that reads like a machine translation of your English site can do more harm than staying English-only, so it's worth doing in layers.

Layer 1: Copy

Decide on one German or three

German is used across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with differences in vocabulary, spelling and tone. Options:

One German version (de) for the whole region. Usually the right start for a startup.
One version plus small regional pages where offers differ, such as pricing in Swiss francs or local contact details.
Separate de-DE, de-AT and de-CH versions when you have real differences in product, pricing or sales teams.

The W3C's guidance on choosing language tags gives a useful principle: keep the tag as short as possible and only add a region when it's needed to distinguish content. That applies to your site structure too.

Sie or du

Decide once, document it, and apply it everywhere, including buttons, emails and error messages. "Sie" is the safe default for B2B, finance, health and anything aimed at older customers. "du" suits consumer apps, younger audiences and brands with a casual voice. Mixing them on one site looks careless.

Regional vocabulary and spelling

Swiss Standard German doesn't use "ß"; it writes "ss" instead. If you have a Swiss version, check for it.
Austrian German has its own everyday terms, from month names (Jänner for January) to food and office words. Don't force them into a pan-regional version, but use them on Austria-specific pages.
Avoid literal translations of English startup jargon. Many German-speaking B2B buyers prefer concrete, specific descriptions to slogans.

Translation workflow

Write a short style guide: Sie or du, product terms that stay English, terms that must be translated, tone.
Build a glossary of your product's key terms and use it consistently.
Use machine translation or AI for a first draft if you like, but have every page edited by a native speaker who knows your market.
Translate the whole journey: navigation, forms, validation messages, confirmation emails, invoices and the help centre, not just the homepage.
Set up a process for updates, so the German version doesn't fall weeks behind the English one.

Layer 2: Formats

Locale data that browsers and most frameworks rely on handles much of this automatically if you set the locale correctly. A quick check of standard browser formatting in November 2026 gives:

de-DE: 1.234,50 € and "15. Januar 2027"
de-AT: € 1.234,50 and "15. Jänner 2027"
de-CH: CHF 1'234.50 and "15. Januar 2027"

Practical points:

Use your framework's locale formatting instead of hard-coding formats.
Show prices in euros for Germany and Austria and in Swiss francs where you sell to Switzerland in francs.
Use 24-hour times and day-month-year dates.
Phone number fields should accept international formats with country codes for all three countries.
Address forms need postcodes of the right length for each country; don't force US-style "state" fields.

Layer 3: UX and trust elements

German-speaking buyers often look for evidence before getting in touch. Things worth checking:

Clear company details: where you're based, who's behind the company, and how to reach a person. A German phone number or a named contact helps.
Detailed product information: specifications, integrations, data handling and hosting location are frequently asked about early in B2B sales.
Pricing transparency: if you show prices in English, show them in German too.
Payment methods: offer what your target customers expect to pay with, and name them on the pricing or checkout page.
Language switcher: visible, labelled with language names ("Deutsch", "English") rather than flags, and keeping the visitor on the equivalent page.
Don't auto-redirect by IP address alone. Visitors may be English speakers living in the region, or German speakers abroad; suggest a language rather than forcing it.
Longer words: German text is often longer than English. Test buttons, menus and mobile layouts for overflow.

Legal and company-information pages are their own topic; check the requirements that apply where you operate.

Layer 4: SEO

Google's documentation on localised versions explains how to tell it about language and regional variants with hreflang, through HTML link elements, HTTP headers or the sitemap, and notes that the three methods are equivalent. Key points from that page:

Each version should list itself and all its alternates, and the links must point to each other; links that don't are ignored.
Use x-default for a fallback page, such as a language selector.
Localised versions are only treated as duplicates if the main content stays untranslated, so translate the main content, not just the menu.
Small regional variations in one language (for example, different prices for Germany and Switzerland) are a valid reason to use hreflang with region codes such as de-DE and de-CH.

Also:

Use separate URLs per language (for example /de/ and /en/), not cookies or scripts that swap text on the same URL.
Do German keyword research rather than translating English keywords; the terms people use can be quite different.
Translate titles, meta descriptions, image alt text and structured data.
Add the German pages to your sitemap and check them in Search Console.

FAQ

Should I start with German or keep the site English-only?

If your buyers are in the region and outside the startup scene, German usually helps. Start with your highest-traffic pages and the sign-up or enquiry flow.

Is AI translation good enough?

As a first draft, often yes. Published pages should be reviewed by a native speaker, especially headlines, pricing and anything legal or technical.

Do I need separate Austrian and Swiss versions?

Not at first. Add them when you have different prices, offers or contacts, or clear demand.

What about the URL: /de/ or a .de domain?

Both work. Subdirectories on one domain are easier to manage for a small team; country domains make sense when you operate as separate local businesses.

If you're planning a German version of your startup site and want the structure and hreflang right before translation starts, tell us about your markets.