## Introduction Building a React app for global users? This guide walks you through internationalization (i18n) from setup to deployment. We'll use react-i18next, the most popular i18n library for React. ## Prerequisites - React 18+ application - npm or yarn - Basic React knowledge ## Step 1: Install Dependencies ```bash npm install i18next react-i18next i18next-http-backend i18next-browser-languagedetector ``` | Package | Purpose | |---------|---------| | i18next | Core i18n framework | | react-i18next | React bindings | | i18next-http-backend | Load translations from files | | i18next-browser-languagedetector | Auto-detect user language | ## Step 2: Create Translation Files Create a folder structure for translations: ``` public/ locales/ en/ translation.json de/ translation.json es/ translation.json ``` **`public/locales/en/translation.json`**: ```json { "welcome": "Welcome to our app", "nav": { "home": "Home", "about": "About", "contact": "Contact" }, "buttons": { "submit": "Submit", "cancel": "Cancel", "save": "Save Changes" } } ``` **`public/locales/de/translation.json`**: ```json { "welcome": "Willkommen in unserer App", "nav": { "home": "Startseite", "about": "Über uns", "contact": "Kontakt" }, "buttons": { "submit": "Absenden", "cancel": "Abbrechen", "save": "Änderungen speichern" } } ``` ## Step 3: Configure i18next Create `src/i18n.js`: ```javascript import i18n from 'i18next'; import { initReactI18next } from 'react-i18next'; import Backend from 'i18next-http-backend'; import LanguageDetector from 'i18next-browser-languagedetector'; i18n .use(Backend) .use(LanguageDetector) .use(initReactI18next) .init({ fallbackLng: 'en', debug: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development', interpolation: { escapeValue: false, // React already escapes }, backend: { loadPath: '/locales/{{lng}}/{{ns}}.json', }, }); export default i18n; ``` ## Step 4: Initialize in Your App **`src/index.js`**: ```javascript import React, { Suspense } from 'react'; import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client'; import App from './App'; import './i18n'; // Import i18n configuration const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root')); root.render( Loading...}> ); ``` ## Step 5: Use Translations in Components ### Using the `useTranslation` Hook ```jsx import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'; function HomePage() { const { t } = useTranslation(); return (

{t('welcome')}

); } ``` ### Using the `Trans` Component For complex translations with JSX: ```jsx import { Trans } from 'react-i18next'; function WelcomeMessage({ name }) { return ( Hello {{ name }}, welcome back! ); } ``` Translation file: ```json { "greeting": "Hello <1>{{name}}, welcome back!" } ``` ## Step 6: Add Language Switcher ```jsx import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'; function LanguageSwitcher() { const { i18n } = useTranslation(); const languages = [ { code: 'en', name: 'English' }, { code: 'de', name: 'Deutsch' }, { code: 'es', name: 'Español' }, ]; return ( ); } ``` ## Step 7: Handle Pluralization **Translation file**: ```json { "items_count": "{{count}} item", "items_count_plural": "{{count}} items" } ``` **Component**: ```jsx function CartCount({ count }) { const { t } = useTranslation(); return {t('items_count', { count })}; } ``` i18next automatically selects the plural form based on count. ## Step 8: Interpolation with Variables **Translation file**: ```json { "greeting": "Hello, {{name}}!", "order_status": "Your order #{{orderId}} is {{status}}" } ``` **Component**: ```jsx function Greeting({ user, order }) { const { t } = useTranslation(); return (

{t('greeting', { name: user.name })}

{t('order_status', { orderId: order.id, status: order.status })}

); } ``` ## Best Practices ### 1. Organize Translation Keys Use nested objects for organization: ```json { "pages": { "home": { "title": "Welcome", "description": "..." }, "checkout": { "title": "Checkout", "steps": { "shipping": "Shipping", "payment": "Payment" } } } } ``` ### 2. Extract Strings Early Don't hardcode strings. Use translations from the start: ```jsx // Bad // Good ``` ### 3. Use Namespaces for Large Apps Split translations into multiple files: ```javascript // i18n.js i18n.init({ ns: ['common', 'home', 'checkout'], defaultNS: 'common', }); ``` ```jsx // In components const { t } = useTranslation('checkout'); ``` ### 4. Handle Loading States ```jsx function App() { const { t, ready } = useTranslation(); if (!ready) return ; return

{t('welcome')}

; } ``` ## Translating Your React App Once your app is set up for i18n, you need translations. Here's the workflow: 1. **Export** your `en/translation.json` 2. **Upload** to shipglobal.dev 3. **Select** target languages (German, Spanish, etc.) 4. **Download** translated JSON files 5. **Place** in `public/locales/{lang}/` 6. **Deploy** Your React app now speaks multiple languages! ## Conclusion Internationalizing a React app with react-i18next is straightforward: 1. Install dependencies 2. Create translation files 3. Configure i18next 4. Use `useTranslation` hook 5. Add language switcher Start with your primary languages and expand based on user demand. With proper setup, adding new languages takes minutes, not days.