Hello all Accessibility Mavens and gurus out there , I wanted to find out a bit more about usage of Google Translate API, and using a menu to allow users to change their usage language Is that good practice or not etc or as long as we have a proper Lang set then what we do with the user agent is down to the user and how that impacts their needs?? feel free to shoot me down

I get NHS Trusts asking me this, because it's a quick and can be a cheap solution to engaging witn non english speaking visitors. I have seen it used on a number of NHS websites. My gut feeling is it's seen as quick fix but I try to make it clear to the client that it's not necessarily the "best" solution. The translation might not be entirely accurate and in some cases, an inaccuracy might even confuse or even offend a visitor. So I suggest they make this clear in their terms and conditions.

I haven't used Google Translate for a long time, so can not attest to its accessibility. I would set the correct language on the page this let's translation tools work correctly. The best choice is to translate the page into alternate languages directly (but I appreciate there is a cost in this)

Yeah.. I feel it’s a grey area, I’ve not done a huge amount of research, but as you both say it feels on the edge .. To clarify the service from Google is free if it’s related to covid other wise it’s a cost. As ever thanks to both of you taking the time to e to respond. Appreciate it..

Thanks for the clarification Ravi. You're right, Google re-introduced a free option for non-profits during COVID, and could of course take this away at any time. I would be interested to know what you decide on doing, whether you find an alternative solution or go with Google.

its a classic time versus money vs function vs commitment conundrum.. my gut and i think the best option would be a multilingual site , but we target the pages for launch so they don't have to have every page and language built but can expand it over time or have common questions in multi-lingual

Targeting the pages for launch, sounds like a practical compromise. Good luck!