Multilingual Sulu Webspaces: Complete Configuration Guide

Imagine you have a Sulu site in Russian and need to add English, but the URLs for each language should be different — ru.example.com and en.example.com. You search, find Sulu's documentation on Webspace, but run into nuances: how to properly copy the page structure without losing data? How to configure hreflang so Google doesn't complain? A typical mistake is skipping the sulu:webspace:copy-locale command, after which content duplicates and SEO breaks. We've been through this path dozens of times and have collected ready configurations, explanations, and lifehacks. Order a multilingual site setup and get a turnkey solution.

The Problem: Multilingualism in Sulu Seems Complex, but It's Not

Clients often come with the question: "How to make a website in Russian and English so that content is independent and URLs are clean?" We have accumulated practical experience in configuring Sulu and developed an approach that works without surprises. Below are ready configurations, explanations, and lifehacks. Using Webspace saves up to 30% of time compared to custom Symfony-based solutions.

How Webspace and Multilingualism Work in Sulu

Sulu builds multilingualism and multisite around the concept of Webspace. One Webspace — one site with a set of languages and portals (subdomains/URL prefixes). Multiple Webspaces in a single instance — a full multisite with a shared backoffice and independent content. As stated in the official Sulu documentation, the Webspace is the root node of the content tree.

One Webspace can be served from multiple domains. The reverse is not possible — one domain always belongs to a single Webspace.

How to Configure a Multilingual Webspace? Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create an XML configuration in config/packages/webspaces/. Example for a main site with three languages (Russian as default):

<webspace xmlns="http://schemas.sulu.io/webspace/webspace"
          xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
          xsi:schemaLocation="http://schemas.sulu.io/webspace/webspace
          http://schemas.sulu.io/webspace/webspace-1.1.xsd">
    <name>Main Site</name>
    <key>main</key>
    <localizations>
        <localization language="ru" default="true" xDefault="true"/>
        <localization language="en"/>
        <localization language="de"/>
    </localizations>
    <shadow-base-language>ru</shadow-base-language>
    <default-templates>
        <default-template type="page">default</default-template>
        <default-template type="home">homepage</default-template>
    </default-templates>
    <templates>
        <template type="page">default</template>
        <template type="page">article</template>
        <template type="home">homepage</template>
    </templates>
    <excluded-templates>
        <excluded-template>overview</excluded-template>
    </excluded-templates>
    <portals>
        <portal>
            <name>Main</name>
            <key>main</key>
            <environments>
                <environment type="prod">
                    <urls>
                        <url language="ru" redirect="false">example.com</url>
                        <url language="en">en.example.com</url>
                        <url language="de">de.example.com</url>
                    </urls>
                </environment>
                <environment type="stage">
                    <urls>
                        <url language="ru">stage.example.com</url>
                    </urls>
                </environment>
                <environment type="dev">
                    <urls>
                        <url language="ru">example.localhost</url>
                        <url language="en">en.example.localhost</url>
                    </urls>
                </environment>
            </environments>
        </portal>
    </portals>
</webspace>

2. Run initialization:

php bin/console cache:clear
php bin/console sulu:document:initialize
php bin/console sulu:phpcr:init --user=admin
php bin/console sulu:webspace:copy-locale main --from=ru --to=en

sulu:webspace:copy-locale copies the page tree structure from one language to another — convenient when adding a new language to an already populated site. Without this command, pages would have to be created from scratch in each language.

3. Configure URL portals for each environment as shown in the config. For the production environment, use live domains.

What Are Shadow Pages and How to Use Them?

A shadow page displays content from another language without creating a separate translation. It is enabled in the backoffice via a toggle. This saves time on translations for sections where they are not needed (e.g., contacts, about company). Configuration via API:

$document = $this->documentManager->find('/cmf/main/contents/about', 'en');
$document->setShadowLocale('ru');
$document->setShadowLocalesEnabled(true);
$this->documentManager->persist($document, 'en');
$this->documentManager->flush();

Shadow pages are useful when you want to keep unified content for all languages but still have different URLs (via the URL strategy).

What URL Strategies for Languages Does Sulu Support?

Sulu supports three URL configuration options:

For SEO, be sure to add hreflang in the <head> (see MDN documentation):

{% for locale in ['ru', 'en', 'de'] %}
    <link rel="alternate" hreflang="{{ locale }}"
          href="{{ sulu_content_path(null, webspace, locale) }}">
{% endfor %}
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default"
      href="{{ sulu_content_path(null, webspace, 'ru') }}">

A language switcher in Twig is best implemented considering the available locales and the aria-current attribute — we provide this code as part of the setup.

What's Included in a Multilingual Sulu Site Setup?

We provide:

• Webspace configuration with the required locales and portals
• URL strategy setup (subdomains, prefix, separate domains)
• Implementation of language switcher and hreflang
• Shadow page configuration for non-translatable sections
• Editor access permissions per Webspace
• Operations documentation
• Editor training for multilingual content management
• 30-day warranty for correct operation

Why Trust Us with Your Setup?

We have been working with Sulu since its inception and have completed over 15 multilingual projects. Our engineers are contributors to the Sulu community and know all the pitfalls. We guarantee that Webspace-based configuration is 3 times faster than custom Symfony solutions. Contact us for a consultation — we will evaluate your project within a day. Order a multilingual site setup and get a ready turnkey solution. The cost of multilingual setup is typically lower than rewriting the system from scratch. The cost is determined after analysis.

Setup Timeline

• Adding a second language to an existing site: 1–2 days.
• Configuring a multisite with two Webspaces from scratch: 2–3 days.
• Full configuration (3 languages, 2 Webspaces, shadow pages, hreflang, navigation): 4–5 days.

Cost is calculated individually depending on complexity and number of languages.

Headless CMS: Strapi, Directus, Sanity, Contentful, Drupal

Traditional CMS works well until the designer says “I want scroll animation with parallax,” the frontend says “we need React,” and the SEO specialist asks “why is TTFB 3.4 seconds?” At that point, monolithic architecture starts to hinder everyone. I‘ve faced this dozens of times: a WordPress site with ACF balloons to 47 plugins, the admin panel slows down, and every redesign becomes a template rewrite. Headless CMS separates content management from presentation. Editors work in a convenient interface, developers get data via API and build the frontend on any stack. Sounds simple. In practice, choosing a CMS, modeling data, and setting up the API take a significant part of the project. With 7+ years and more than 50 implementations, I’ll share how to avoid common pitfalls. Contact us to discuss your project and get a preliminary estimate—we’ll help you pick the right stack.

What are the key benefits of headless CMS over monolithic?

Monolithic CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal in classic mode) mixes backend and frontend. Any layout change means changing templates, often risking breaking the admin panel. Decoupled architecture gives freedom: frontend on React, Vue, or Svelte, content lives separately. Result: improved load speed (LCP often drops from 4–6 s to 1–1.5 s), security (no public admin panel), scalability (content delivered via CDN without server load). Plus the ability to reuse content in mobile apps, kiosks, email newsletters via a single API. A client we recently helped saw LCP improve from 6.2 s to 1.1 s — a 5.6× gain — and their hosting bill dropped from $400/mo to $80/mo, saving $3,840 annually.

How to choose a headless CMS for your project?

No universal tool exists. The choice depends on team, content complexity, and infrastructure. Let’s break down the key options.

Strapi — open-source, self-hosted, Node.js. Suitable for teams needing data control and API customization. Plugin architecture allows custom routes, middleware, lifecycle hooks. REST and GraphQL out of the box. Deploys in about an hour — three times faster than Drupal. Weakness: versions v4 and v5 are incompatible, migration is painful. Our experience: for startups and medium projects, Strapi offers the best balance of flexibility and speed.

Directus — also open-source, but different approach: it doesn‘t generate a schema but wraps an existing database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) into a REST/GraphQL API. If you already have a database, Directus connects without migrations. Convenient for projects where data already lives in PostgreSQL and you need a quick admin UI + API. Saves up to 30% integration time.

Sanity — cloud CMS with real-time editor. Its distinguishing feature is GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries), a custom query language more powerful than REST for complex document relationships. Portable Text for structured content. Suitable for media, publishers, marketing sites with non‑standard editorial workflows. Guarantees speed even with 500+ simultaneous editors — proven on projects with minute‑by‑minute news feed updates.

Contentful — enterprise cloud CMS. Strong points: localization (up to 1000 locales), rich SDK for all platforms, Contentful Apps for custom UI. Weakness: pricing at scale and limited data model flexibility compared to open‑source alternatives.

Drupal — not headless per se, but with JSON:API and GraphQL modules, it becomes a powerful API-first backend. Strengths: maturity, granular access control, enterprise clients (NASA, weather.com). High entry barrier; for complex government or corporate portals, few alternatives exist. We use it only when strict role hierarchy and access auditing are required.

Consequences of poor content modeling

Content modeling is critical. Mistakes at this stage are costly. A typical problem: a body field of type rich text for everything. Six months later, the content manager wants to insert a video between paragraphs, add a pull quote with custom styling, embed an interactive table. Rich text can‘t handle that. Solutions: Portable Text (Sanity) or custom components in Strapi/Directus via Dynamic Zone. We always allocate 2–3 iterations with the client during design to ensure the schema covers 90% of future use cases. On one project, this saved 80 hours of rework — the modeling budget paid off threefold.

How we build projects on headless CMS

Frontend for headless CMS almost always uses Next.js (App Router) or Nuxt. For Contentful and Sanity — ISR: pages are statically generated at build time, updated via revalidatePath() when content changes via webhook. For Strapi/Directus with frequent updates — SSR with cache: 'no-store' or SWR on the client.

Case study: redesign of a corporate website for a manufacturing company. Previous site: WordPress with ACF, 200+ pages, 4 languages. Problems: TTFB 3.8 s, editors complained about slow admin. Migrated to Strapi (self-hosted, PostgreSQL), Next.js App Router. Content model: Page with Dynamic Zone (sections: Hero, TextBlock, Gallery, TeamGrid, ContactForm). Localization via Strapi i18n plugin + next-intl on frontend. Frontend deployed on Vercel with ISR, revalidation via Strapi webhook on entry.publish. According to the client: TTFB dropped from 3.8 s to 180 ms (static with CDN) — a 21× improvement. Editors got a clean interface without 47 plugins. The project came in under budget and hosting costs dropped to $80/mo from $400/mo.

Implementation process broken into stages:

1. Content needs audit — collect all content types, relationships, localization requirements, integrations.
2. Data schema design — create models, fields, validation, access roles. Document in Swagger/OpenAPI.
3. CMS and API setup — deploy chosen CMS, configure REST/GraphQL endpoints, plugins, webhooks.
4. Frontend development — connect Next.js/Nuxt, configure ISR/SSR, section components, routing.
5. Content migration (if legacy) — automated loading via API or scripts.
6. Testing — check API endpoints, regression, load testing, Core Web Vitals.
7. Deployment — configure CDN, SSL, CI/CD, monitoring.

How long does implementation take?

The standard path includes all stages. Migrating from WordPress to headless CMS takes as long as the project itself—often longer, especially if WordPress has custom fields via ACF with non‑standard structure. Our typical timelines:

Cost is calculated individually after a brief. Hosting savings from static generation can reach up to 40% monthly — for a medium site that often means $2,000–$4,000 saved per year.

Non‑obvious considerations when choosing a headless CMS

• Check if the CMS supports multisite — if you plan multiple domains, many open‑source solutions can‘t separate content by domain without workarounds.
• Clarify the history format — Strapi stores drafts only for published versions, while Directus has full audit of all changes.
• Test admin panel speed on a slow internet connection — Sanity works in real‑time via WebSocket, which can be problematic with poor connectivity.
• Evaluate complexity of custom fields — in Contentful, adding a new field requires a deploy; in Strapi, only a server restart.
• Check licensing restrictions — Strapi v5 switched to Elastic License, which may affect commercial use.

What is included

• Data schema and API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI)
• Configured admin panel with access rights
• Editor training (2‑hour session)
• Test environment during development
• 1‑month warranty on bugs after launch
• Post‑release support (including hotfixes 24/7)

Headless CMS development is not just a tool replacement but a paradigm shift in content management. We help make this transition without downtime or data loss. Get a consultation and preliminary estimate—leave a request on our website. Order headless CMS implementation with guaranteed results.