---
title: "Configuring site languages"
date: "2026-07-08T10:25:40+00:00"
summary: "Learn to set default languages, add multilingual support, and configure URL path prefixes for your site with this admin guide."
image:
type: "page"
url: "/acquia-source/configuring-site-languages"
id: "907aa1b5-94b3-4884-8a25-3325a48277ed"
---

Table of contents will be added

This page provides instructions to establish the foundational language settings for the site. Administrators must set the default language, add target languages, and configure URL path prefixes to support multilingual content.

Configuring the default site language
-------------------------------------

**Prerequisites**

*   Users must have the Site Administrator role. For more information, visit [Managing roles and permissions](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-source/managing-roles-and-permissions).

To set the default language for the site:

1.  [Access your site](https://docs.acquia.com/node/69836#access-a-site).
2.  On the left navigation menu, click **Configuration**.
3.  Select **Regional and language**.
4.  Select **Languages**.
5.  Navigate to the **Default language** dropdown menu and select the language to set as the default site language.
6.  Click **Save configuration**.

After a successful save, the following occurs::

*   A confirmation message opens to indicate that the default language changed successfully.
*   The **Default language** section displays the newly selected default language.
*   The **Operations** column is empty for the default language to indicate that users cannot delete the default language while it remains set as the default language of the site.

Adding a language to a site
---------------------------

**Prerequisites**

*   Users must have the Site Administrator role. For more information, visit [Managing roles and permissions](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-source/managing-roles-and-permissions).

To add a language to the site:

1.  [Access your site](https://docs.acquia.com/node/69836#access-a-site).
2.  On the left navigation menu, click **Configuration**.
3.  Select **Regional and language**.
4.  Select **Languages**.
5.  On the top navigation menu, click **\+ Add language**.
6.  On the Add language page, select the language to add from the **Language name** list.
7.  Click **Add language**.

After a successful addition, the following occurs: 

*   A confirmation message opens to indicate that the selected language exists and is available for use.
*   The newly added language displays in the list of configured site languages on the Languages page.

Configuring URL language detection
----------------------------------

**Prerequisites**

*   Users must have the Site Administrator role. For more information, visit [Managing roles and permissions](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-source/managing-roles-and-permissions).

To configure language detection with URL path prefixes:

1.  [Access your site](https://docs.acquia.com/node/69836#access-a-site).
2.  On the left navigation menu, click **Configuration**.
3.  Select **Regional and language**.
4.  Select **Site Language URL Settings**. 

The system displays the URL language detection configuration page.

6.  Enter the language code or custom text to use as a path prefix for URL language detection.
    
    For example, the `en` path prefix for English.
    
    Important
    
    Leave this field empty for the selected fallback language. Changes to this value break existing URLs. Exercise caution in a production environment. For example, if you specify deutsch as the path prefix code for German, the system creates URLs such as `example.com/deutsch/contact`.
    
7.  Click **Save configuration**.

After a successful save, the following occurs:

*   A confirmation message opens to indicate that the configuration options are saved.
*   The configured language path prefix applies immediately to enable URL-based language detection.
*   The system supports only URL path prefix detection.
*   Other detection methods, such as Domain, Session, or Browser, are not available.

Deleting a language from a site
-------------------------------

**Prerequisites**

*   Users must have the Site Administrator role. For more information, visit [Managing roles and permissions](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-source/managing-roles-and-permissions).

Use the following steps to delete a language:

1.  [Access your site](https://docs.acquia.com/node/69836#access-a-site).
2.  On the left navigation menu, click **Configuration**.
3.  Select **Regional and language**.
4.  Select **Languages**.
5.  Find the language you want to remove.
6.  In the **Operations** column, click the **Delete** link corresponding to the language.
7.  Confirm the deletion.
    
    Important
    
    Deleting a language also removes all translations for that language.
    

After a successful deletion,the following occurs:

*   A confirmation message opens to indicate that the language is deleted.
    
*   The language no longer appears in the list of configured site languages.