Multilingual QR codes

On a multilingual site the generator produces one code per language for every destination you select, and groups the results by language. Handling those groups carefully is what keeps a Spanish code off an English table tent.

What you get

Select one destination, and the results appear as one group per published language, each labelled with the language it belongs to. Every code in a group points at that destination in that language.

The downloaded file names include the language, which is the second safeguard.

The risk

QR codes are visually identical. A code for the English wine list and a code for the Spanish wine list look exactly the same, and nothing on a printed table tent reveals the difference until a guest scans it.

Almost every multilingual QR problem is a file mix-up, not a generation failure.

Handle the files properly

1. Download from the correctly labelled group.
2. Rename immediately, with the language in the name: wine-list-en-2026-03.svg.
3. Keep one folder per language, or one clearly named file per language.
4. Send the printer one file at a time, naming the language in the message.
5. Scan every printed proof and confirm the language that opens.

Do you need one code per language?

Often not, and this is worth deciding before printing anything.

One code, guests switch language. Print the code for the site's main language and let guests use the language switcher on the menu. One printed item, one file to manage, and a guest is one tap from their language.

Requires the Language toggler to be enabled for that archive under Content settings → Content settings.

One code per language. Print separate material — table tents with a flag, or a card per language. Better when the restaurant serves a strongly bilingual clientele and wants guests to land in their language without a step.

Most restaurants are better served by the first option, with the second reserved for specific placements.

What the codes point at

• Home page codes point at the home page in that language.
• Menu and category codes point at the archive in that language, which is a different address per language.

Because a translated category is its own record with its own address, a category code in one language is not interchangeable with the same category in another.

Adding a language after printing

Existing codes keep working — they point at the languages they were generated for. To offer the new language:

• rely on the language switcher, if it is enabled; or
• generate and print the new language's codes.

Nothing already printed becomes invalid by adding a language.

Before printing

• [ ] Every language you intend to print is published and complete.
• [ ] Codes were downloaded from the correctly labelled group.
• [ ] Files were renamed with their language.
• [ ] Each printed proof was scanned and the language confirmed.
• [ ] If relying on one code plus the switcher, the language toggle is enabled on that archive and reaches every language.
• [ ] Table material makes it obvious to a guest which language a code is for, if you printed several.