Laravel 12 Multi-Language Website Setup

In today's globalized world, websites need to support multiple languages to reach a wider audience. Laravel 12 provides built-in localization features that allow developers to create multi-language websites efficiently. This tutorial will guide you through setting up a multi-language website in Laravel 12 using language files, middleware, and dynamic content translation.

Step 1: Install Laravel 12

First, install a new Laravel 12 project:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravel-multilang
cd laravel-multilang

Configure your .env file with database settings:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_multilang
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Run the database migrations:

php artisan migrate

Step 2: Create Language Files

Laravel stores language files in the resources/lang/ directory. By default, it includes an en folder for English.

Create Additional Language Folders

Inside resources/lang/, create new folders for the desired languages, e.g.:

mkdir -p resources/lang/en
mkdir -p resources/lang/es
mkdir -p resources/lang/fr

Create Translation Files

Inside each folder, create a messages.php file:

English (resources/lang/en/messages.php)

return [
    'welcome' => 'Welcome to our website!',
    'about' => 'About Us',
    'contact' => 'Contact Us',
];

Spanish (resources/lang/es/messages.php)

return [
    'welcome' => '¡Bienvenido a nuestro sitio web!',
    'about' => 'Sobre nosotros',
    'contact' => 'Contáctenos',
];

French (resources/lang/fr/messages.php)

return [
    'welcome' => 'Bienvenue sur notre site!',
    'about' => 'À propos de nous',
    'contact' => 'Contactez-nous',
];

Step 3: Create a Language Switcher Middleware

To manage language switching, create a middleware:

php artisan make:middleware LanguageSwitcher

Modify app/Http/Middleware/LanguageSwitcher.php:

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\App;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Session;

class LanguageSwitcher
{
    public function handle($request, Closure $next)
    {
        if (Session::has('locale')) {
            App::setLocale(Session::get('locale'));
        }
        return $next($request);
    }
}

protected $middlewareGroups = [
    'web' => [
        \App\Http\Middleware\LanguageSwitcher::class,
    ],
];

Step 4: Create Routes for Language Switching

Define a route in routes/web.php to change the language:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Session;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\App;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

Route::get('/change-language/{lang}', function ($lang) {
    Session::put('locale', $lang);
    return redirect()->back();
});

Step 5: Modify the Blade Views

Create a resources/views/layout.blade.php file and add a language switcher:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="{{ app()->getLocale() }}">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>{{ __('messages.welcome') }}</title>
</head>
<body>

<nav>
    <a href="{{ url('/change-language/en') }}">English</a> |
    <a href="{{ url('/change-language/es') }}">Español</a> |
    <a href="{{ url('/change-language/fr') }}">Français</a>
</nav>

<h1>{{ __('messages.welcome') }}</h1>
<p>{{ __('messages.about') }}</p>
<p>{{ __('messages.contact') }}</p>

</body>
</html>

Step 6: Set Default Language in Config

Laravel’s default locale is set in config/app.php. Update it as needed:

'locale' => 'en',

To allow fallback to English if a translation is missing, add:

'fallback_locale' => 'en',

Step 7: Test the Multi-Language Feature

Start the Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your browser.
Click on Español or Français to see the page content change dynamically

Conclusion

We have successfully implemented a multi-language website in Laravel 12. With language files, middleware, and session-based locale switching, users can dynamically change the language without reloading the entire page. This is a crucial feature for global web applications