The language selector

The language selector is how a guest moves from the menu they landed on to the menu in their own language. Without it, a translated site depends entirely on printing one code per language.

Where it appears

Two places, and they serve different situations:

In the category navigation. The Language toggler is a per-menu-type setting under Settings → Restaurant settings → Content settings → Content settings. When enabled, the navigation carries a language control alongside the filters and favorites controls.

In the menu header. The supplied archive layouts include a language switcher in the header area, beside the allergen filter and the favorites control.

Enable it per menu type

The toggle is set per menu type, so it can be enabled on the menus visitors read and left off elsewhere. In practice, enable it everywhere on a multilingual site: a guest who lands on the wine list should not have to go back to the home page to change language.

One code, or one code per language?

The selector is what makes the cheaper option viable.

One printed code plus the selector. Print the code for the site's main language. Guests who need another language switch with one tap. One printed item, one file to manage.

One printed code per language. Guests land in their language with no step. Better for a strongly bilingual clientele, and more printed material to keep in step.

Most restaurants are better served by the first, with per-language material reserved for specific placements.

What guests expect from it

• It is visible without hunting for it — top of the screen or in the navigation.
• It shows which language they are currently reading.
• It lists the available languages recognizably, by name or flag.
• Switching keeps them on the same menu rather than returning them to the home page.
• Switching back works.

Test all five on a phone, signed out.

When a language is missing from it

• The language is not enabled.
• The translation layer is not active.
• The content for that language does not exist for this menu.

The selector reflects what the site publishes; it cannot offer a language that has no content.

Space on a phone

The navigation bar is narrow, and it can carry up to three utility controls — filters, favorites and language — alongside the category list.

Enable only what the menu needs. On a single-language site the language toggle is pure clutter; on a menu type without allergen data the filters toggle opens nothing useful.

Check it

• [ ] The selector is visible on every menu archive.
• [ ] It reaches every published language.
• [ ] Switching keeps the guest on the same menu.
• [ ] Switching back works.
• [ ] The current language is indicated.
• [ ] It is tappable one-handed on a phone.
• [ ] It does not crowd the category navigation out of the bar.