How your banner language is chosen

Consent Studio shows your banner in one of the languages you activated for your domain. This article explains how the banner picks that language for each visitor. To change the texts themselves, see How to translate the Consent Studio components on your website.

How the banner picks a language

Every time the banner loads, it goes through these steps:

1. Page language. The banner reads the lang attribute of your page's <html> tag, for example <html lang="nl">.

2. Browser language. Only when your page has no lang attribute does the banner use the visitor's preferred browser language instead.

3. Your activated languages. If the detected language is one of the languages you selected under Multilanguage, the banner shows that language.

4. Fallback. If it isn't, the banner shows your Fallback Banner Language.

Only the first two letters of the language code count. en-GB and en-US both count as English, and nl-BE counts as Dutch. [TODO Thierry: confirm there is no way to show different texts for region variants such as pt-PT and pt-BR.]

Where to set your languages

1. In the top bar, open the Web CMP dropdown and click Behaviour.

2. Open the Multilanguage section.

3. Under Languages, select every language your banner should be able to show. You need at least one.

4. Under Fallback Banner Language, choose the language for visitors whose language isn't available.

5. Click Save & Publish.

The languages you select become available in the Translations screen, where you can also translate your tracking technology descriptions. The fallback language is always part of your selection: if you choose a fallback you didn't select, Consent Studio adds it to your languages when you save.

New domains start with English and Dutch selected, with English as the fallback.

If you select more languages than your plan includes, the dashboard warns you that the extra languages are charged. For a step-by-step guide, see How to add more languages to your banner.

The cookie declaration uses the same language

The cookie and tracking technology declaration on your website is shown in the same language as the banner, so visitors see both in one language.

Accessibility

When the banner shows a different language than your page, or your page has no lang attribute, Consent Studio sets the lang attribute on the banner itself. Screen readers then read the banner text in the right language.

Common questions

“My website is in Dutch, but the banner shows in English”

Check the lang attribute in your page's source code. If it says lang="en", the banner treats the page as English. Set the correct site language in your website builder or CMS, and the banner follows. Also check that Dutch is selected under Multilanguage.

My website has several language versions on one domain

Make sure each language version sets its own lang attribute, for example lang="de" on your German pages, and select all those languages under Multilanguage. The banner then follows the language of each page.

Can I always show the banner in one language?

Yes. Select only that language under Languages. Because the fallback language is always part of your selection, every visitor then sees that language.

Does a geotargeting rule change the banner language?

No. The country in a geotargeting rule doesn't determine the language. See Geotargeting rules explained.

Still unsure? Contact us and include your domain.