Use Cases
How teams use database content localization in practice.
Product Catalogs
E-commerce products with localized names, descriptions, and attributes. High read volume.
CMS Content
Articles, pages, and rich content stored in database. Editorial workflow across languages.
User-Generated Content
Reviews, comments, listings. Machine translation stored alongside user-provided content.
Configuration & Settings
Localized dropdown options, category names, and system configuration strings.
Common Challenges
What makes database content localization difficult.
Schema Complexity
Many approaches: column per language, JSON blob, separate translation table. Each has trade-offs in query complexity and flexibility.
Query Performance
Fetching localized content adds JOINs or JSON extraction. Indexing strategies differ by approach.
Adding Languages
Column-per-language requires migrations. Other approaches are more flexible but have different trade-offs.
Fallback Logic
What if translation is missing? Fall back to default language? Show nothing? Needs application logic.
Full-Text Search
Searching across languages requires language-specific analyzers. One index or multiple?
How IntlPull Helps
Purpose-built features for database content localization.
JSONB Translation Column
Store translations as JSONB: {"en": "Hello", "es": "Hola"}. Flexible, no migrations for new languages. Good for moderate complexity.
vs column-per-language rigidity
Separate Translation Table
Normalize into translations table: (entity_id, field, locale, value). Most flexible. JOINs required.
vs denormalized JSON
Hybrid Approach
Main content in primary table. Translations in separate table. Best for complex content with many translated fields.
vs single-pattern constraint
Query Helpers
PostgreSQL functions to extract translations with fallback. Simplify application code. Consistent behavior.
vs duplicated query logic
Materialized Views
Pre-compute joined content per locale. Fast reads. Refresh on content change. Good for read-heavy workloads.
vs runtime JOINs
Language-Specific Indexes
GIN indexes for JSONB. Partial indexes per language. Full-text indexes with language-specific dictionaries.
vs unindexed queries
Best Practices
Proven approaches for database content localization success.
Choose Based on Query Patterns
Read-heavy with few languages? JSONB. Many languages with complex queries? Separate table. Analyze your access patterns.
Index for Your Queries
JSONB: GIN index on translations column. Separate table: composite index on (entity_id, locale). Profile before optimizing.
Handle Fallbacks at Query Time
COALESCE in SQL or application logic. Decide fallback strategy early: default language, empty string, or error.
Consider ORM Support
Some ORMs have i18n plugins. Prisma, TypeORM, Sequelize handle this differently. Choose schema compatible with your ORM.
Plan for Translation Sync
How do translations from IntlPull get into your database? Import script, API sync, or direct integration?
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
CMS Content Localization Guide
Localize headless CMS content with Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, and WordPress. Sync workflows, structured content, and multi-language publishing.
API Documentation Localization
Localize API documentation, developer guides, and SDKs. Code sample handling, versioned docs, and developer experience in multiple languages.