What is the hreflang code for Dutch?

The hreflang / BCP-47 code for Dutch is "nl". Use it in hreflang tags and the attribute.

Does translating to Dutch change my layout?

Dutch text is +very long — often the longest of the Germanic set. Leave room in buttons and menus so translated text doesn't clip.

How many people speak Dutch?

Dutch (Nederlands) has ~25 million speakers and is written in the Latin script, left to right.

nlLatin script

How to translate WordPress to Dutch

Dutch (Nederlands) reaches roughly ~25 millionspeakers. Here's what's actually involved in translating a WordPress site into it — the technical setup, the Dutch-specific gotchas, and the SEO.

Translate to Dutch with Gloty

hreflang

Native

Nederlands

Direction

LTR

Text length

+very long — often the longest of the Germanic set

Plurals

2 forms

“Welcome”

Welkom

What's specific to Dutch

Most of translating WordPress is the same in any language, but each language has quirks that break layouts or SEO if you ignore them. For Dutch:

Dutch compounds and translations run long — the classic case that overflows fixed-width buttons.
nl-BE (Flemish) has minor differences from nl-NL; usually one nl covers both.
Formality: je (informal) vs. u (formal).

Step by step

1. Add Dutch as a target language

Set your source language, then add Dutch (nl) as a target. With an automatic plugin you don't create a translated copy of every page by hand — it translates on the fly.

2. Translate — automatically or by hand

Machine and AI translation get you Dutch coverage in minutes; review the strings that matter (navigation, calls to action, legal) for the right register. Estimate the cost with the translation cost calculator.

3. Serve it under a clean URL

Publish Dutch under a language-prefixed path like /nl/. Give pages readable slugs with the slug generator.

4. Get the Dutch SEO right

Add reciprocal hreflang pointing at your nl version (with x-default), set <html lang="nl">, and translate titles and meta descriptions. Build the tags with the hreflang generator and verify with the hreflang checker.

Doing it the easy way

Gloty translates your whole site into Dutch automatically — with no API key to set up — stores it in your own database, and emits the correct hreflang and lang/dir attributes for you. See how it stacks up against Weglot and WPML, or read the pillar guide on making WordPress multilingual.

Dutch translation FAQ

What is the hreflang code for Dutch?: The hreflang / BCP-47 code for Dutch is "nl". Use it in hreflang tags and the <html lang> attribute.
Does translating to Dutch change my layout?: Dutch text is +very long — often the longest of the Germanic set. Leave room in buttons and menus so translated text doesn't clip.
How many people speak Dutch?: Dutch (Nederlands) has ~25 million speakers and is written in the Latin script, left to right.

Add Dutch to your WordPress site in minutes — automatic AI translation, stored in your own database.

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