Setting up hreflang correctly on a Wix multilingual site

Hreflang is the HTML attribute that tells Google which language and country each page is intended for, and which alternative versions exist in other languages. When implemented correctly, it prevents duplicate content issues between language versions and ensures Google serves the right version to users in each market. Wix Multilingual generates hreflang tags automatically, but you still need to understand what is being generated and how to verify it is working.

How Hreflang Works

Hreflang attributes are placed in the head section of each page. Each language version must reference all other versions, including itself, using the hreflang link element. A complete set for an English, French and German site would have three hreflang references on every page. The x-default tag indicates the fallback version for users who do not match any specific language variant.

Verifying Hreflang on Your Wix Multilingual Site

Steps to verify hreflang implementation

• Publish at least two language versions of your Wix site
• Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit to crawl your site and check hreflang tags
• In Screaming Frog, go to Reports > Hreflang to see all hreflang relationships
• Open Google Search Console and navigate to Settings > International Targeting
• Check the Hreflang tab in the International Targeting report for any errors
• Google will flag issues like missing reciprocal annotations or broken URLs

Common Hreflang Errors on Wix Multilingual Sites

• Missing return tags: if the French page links to the English page but the English page does not link back, hreflang is broken
• Non-indexable pages referenced in hreflang: noindex pages should not appear in hreflang
• Incorrect language codes: use ISO 639-1 language codes (en, fr, de) and optional ISO 3166-1 country codes (en-gb, en-us)
• Missing x-default tag: always include x-default pointing to your primary language version
• Hreflang pointing to redirect chains: each URL in hreflang must be a canonical, non-redirecting URL