India’s multilingual market makes multilingual marketing in India more complex than simply translating a website into another language. With Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and many other regional languages used across different audiences, businesses need to consider where their customers are, how they search and shop online, and which language feels most relevant.
Choosing the right languages is only the first step. Website localization in India also involves balancing English and regional languages, adapting content to different writing systems, choosing suitable fonts, and providing familiar trust signals and payment options. In this guide, we’ll explore how to prioritize Indian languages and create a localized website that better fits regional audiences.
Key points: Multilingual marketing in India and how to localize your website by region
Choose languages based on your target audience
Prioritize languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali based on your target regions, audience, internet usage, and customer demand.
Adapt your website for local audiences
Go beyond translation by balancing English and regional languages, supporting different Indian writing systems and fonts, and ensuring your multilingual design works across devices.
Localize the customer experience
Build trust with familiar payment options such as UPI, Paytm, and RuPay, while adapting pricing, shipping information, taxes, and checkout details to the Indian market.
Which Indian languages to prioritize?
India does not have one language that works equally well for every audience. The right localization strategy depends on your target regions, customer profiles, and how people use the internet. The Kantar–IAMAI Internet in India 2024 report shows that Indic languages already play a major role in online activity.
In 2024, 870 million internet users in India accessed the internet using Indic languages, representing 98% of internet users. In urban India, 57% of users preferred Indic-language content, compared with 43% who preferred English. Among the predominant Indic languages, the reported shares were:
- Hindi: 24%
- Tamil: 6%
- Telugu: 4%
- Marathi: 3%
- Bengali: 2%
These figures provide a useful starting point for deciding which languages to localize first. Hindi offers the broadest online language reach among the listed languages, while Tamil and Telugu are classified in the report as having a high conversion ratio for predominantly using the language online. Hindi falls into the mid conversion ratio group, while Marathi and Bengali are in the low conversion ratio group. The report defines this conversion ratio as the share of users who predominantly use an Indic language to access the internet compared with users who have used that language online.
E-commerce is also relevant when prioritizing languages. The Kantar–IAMAI Internet in India 2024 report lists online shopping among the top activities performed using Indic languages, accounting for 23% of reported Indic-language online activities. However, this figure is not a language-specific e-commerce penetration rate, so businesses should combine these national-level figures with their own traffic, customer locations, engagement, and conversion data. For example, Hindi may be suitable for broader reach, while Tamil or Telugu could be prioritized when a business has strong demand from those regional markets.
Hindi vs English for Indian audiences
English and Hindi both play important roles in India, but they often serve different purposes. Choosing between them depends on your audience, industry, and whether your goal is professional communication, broader consumer reach, or ecommerce conversions.
English for B2B and professional audiences
English remains widely used in India’s professional and business environments, making it a practical choice for B2B websites. Professionals, decision-makers, and teams working with international companies often use English for business communication, software, technical documentation, and industry-related content.
For B2B companies, keeping core website content in English can also make it easier to communicate with customers across different regions. This is particularly useful when a company serves multiple states or works with international partners. English can be a strong starting point for:
- SaaS and technology products
- Business and professional services
- Technical documentation
- Corporate and investor content
For example, an HR software company targeting businesses in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi may use English for product pages and documentation rather than creating separate versions for every regional language.
Regional languages for B2C and eCommerce
For mass-market B2C and ecommerce, regional languages can help businesses reach consumers in markets where local-language internet usage is strong. This makes them particularly relevant for product discovery, shopping content, promotions, product descriptions, FAQs, and customer support.
For example, an ecommerce brand targeting customers in Tamil Nadu could provide Tamil product information and promotional content alongside English. This can make the website easier to understand and help create a stronger connection with local customers.
When to use a bilingual strategy
For many businesses, the choice doesn’t have to be English, Hindi, or another regional language. A bilingual strategy can combine English for broader professional communication with regional languages for specific consumer segments or markets.
One practical approach is to keep the main website available in English while adding localized versions for regions that generate significant traffic or sales. Businesses can then expand their language coverage based on customer demand and performance data. A bilingual or multilingual strategy can be useful when:
- English is needed for professional or nationwide audiences.
- Regional languages are important for consumer engagement.
- Different pages target different customer segments.
- Website analytics show strong demand from specific regions.
For example, a national ecommerce business could use English for its corporate and product information while offering Hindi, Tamil, or Bengali versions of key shopping pages for customers in relevant markets. A multilingual translation solution such as Linguise can make it easier to add and manage these language versions without creating a separate website for each market.
Indian scripts and localization challenges
Translating a website into Indian languages can introduce technical challenges that are easy to overlook. Different languages use different writing systems, which can affect fonts, text spacing, navigation, buttons, and the overall layout of a multilingual website.
India’s major regional writing systems
India uses several major writing systems, and the script used for a language can significantly change how translated content appears on a website. Hindi, for example, uses Devanagari, while Tamil, Bengali, and Telugu use their own distinct scripts.
These scripts have different characters, shapes, and text-rendering requirements. A font that works well for one language may not provide complete or visually consistent support for another. This is why localization should consider the script itself rather than treating all Indian languages as variations of the same writing system. Some major examples include:
Language | Writing System | Example |
Hindi | Devanagari | नमस्ते |
Bengali | Bengali Script | নমস্কার |
Tamil | Tamil Script | வணக்கம் |
Telugu | Telugu Script | నమస్కారం |
These scripts have different characters, shapes, and text-rendering requirements. A font that works well for one language may not provide complete or visually consistent support for another. This is why localization should consider the script itself rather than treating all Indian languages as variations of the same writing system.
For example, a website translated from English into Hindi and Tamil cannot simply apply the same typography settings to both versions. Each language needs to be checked to ensure its characters display correctly and remain easy to read.
Font stacks for different Indian scripts
Font selection is an important part of multilingual website localization because not every font supports every Indian script. If a selected font does not include the required characters, browsers may fall back to another font, creating inconsistent typography across the page.
Using appropriate font stacks helps ensure that each localized version has suitable character coverage and maintains a consistent reading experience. Businesses should also test fonts across common browsers and devices rather than relying only on how the website looks on a single system. When selecting fonts, consider:
- Script coverage: Make sure the font supports the target language.
- Readability: Check character shapes and spacing at different sizes.
- Fallback fonts: Include suitable alternatives when the primary font is unavailable.
- Device compatibility: Test across desktop and mobile environments.
For example, a website offering both Hindi and Bengali versions may need different font configurations to ensure that Devanagari and Bengali characters render correctly. Simply using the same Latin-focused font stack for both versions can result in missing characters or inconsistent fallback fonts.
Designing multilingual websites for different scripts
Different scripts can also affect the size and structure of website elements. Translated text may take up more or less space than the original English copy, which can cause problems with buttons, menus, headings, forms, and other fixed-width components.
Responsive testing is therefore especially important when adding multiple Indian languages. Check localized pages at different screen sizes, and make sure text doesn’t overlap, get truncated, or push important interface elements out of position. Pay particular attention to:
- Navigation menus and buttons
- Headings and text blocks
- Forms and input fields
- Mobile layouts
- Text wrapping and line height
For example, an ecommerce website may have a short English CTA that fits comfortably inside a button. After localization, the translated text may require more space, causing the label to wrap or become difficult to read. Allowing flexible button widths and testing each language version can help prevent these issues.
Build trust with localized payments
Localization should continue beyond language and website content. For Indian visitors, familiar trust signals, payment methods, and pricing can make the buying experience feel more relevant and reduce checkout friction.
Local trust signals for Indian visitors
Trust matters most when visitors decide whether to buy from a website they don’t know. Localizing the website can help by showing information and signals that Indian customers recognize, rather than relying only on generic international messaging. Consider adding:
- Local contact information and customer support details
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Clear return and refund policies
- Recognizable security and payment indicators
- Shipping information relevant to Indian locations
For example, an international ecommerce brand entering India could display India-specific delivery information, customer support options, and reviews from Indian customers. These details can make the website feel more established and relevant to local visitors.
UPI, Paytm, and RuPay
Payment preferences are another important part of the localized experience. Offering payment methods that Indian customers already recognize can make checkout more convenient and remove an unnecessary barrier to completing a purchase. Businesses targeting Indian customers can consider supporting options such as:
- UPI for direct digital payments
- Paytm as a familiar digital payment option
- RuPay for card-based payments
For example, an ecommerce store that only accepts international credit cards may create friction for customers who prefer UPI. Adding familiar local payment options gives visitors more flexibility and can make the checkout process feel more natural.
Localized currency, pricing, and checkout
Displaying prices in Indian rupees (INR) is another simple but important part of localization. Visitors should understand the final cost without converting prices themselves or wondering whether additional fees will appear at checkout.
The checkout experience should also reflect local expectations. Make sure shipping costs, taxes, payment options, and order information are clearly presented before the customer confirms the purchase. For an ecommerce website targeting India, a localized checkout could show:
- Prices in INR
- Local payment methods
- India-specific shipping options
- Clear delivery estimates
- Transparent taxes and additional fees
For example, instead of showing a product at $49 and requiring customers to calculate the equivalent price, an India-focused version could display the price in INR and provide UPI or other familiar payment options at checkout. Small adjustments like these can make the purchasing process easier to understand and help build confidence.
Conclusion
A successful multilingual marketing strategy in India goes beyond translating a website into Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, or Marathi. Businesses need to choose languages based on their target regions and audiences, balance English with regional languages, adapt their websites to different Indian scripts, and provide familiar trust signals and payment options.
If you want to make your website accessible to more Indian audiences, using Linguise can help you translate and manage multilingual content across languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi. With the right localization strategy, you can create a website that feels more relevant to regional visitors while making it easier for them to browse, trust, and convert.
