Every domain in Apsis One needs at least one Language. The Language tells the Tracking Script how to recognise which language version a visitor is browsing — by reading either the URL path or a cookie value — and lets you publish Website tool activities (Sign-up bars, banners) that target each language separately.
💡 Yes, even if your site is single-language
Languages aren't only for multilingual sites. Every domain requires at least one Language to be set up. If your site only has one language, you create just one Language for that domain — and Apsis automatically treats it as the default. Without it, the Tracking Script and Website tool activities won't work properly.
In this article
Why every domain needs a Language
Setting up a Language affects two parts of Apsis One:
Where | What it does |
Tracking Script | Tags incoming browsing events with the Language the visitor was viewing — so you can segment, report on, and target by Language. |
Website tool activities | Lets you publish Sign-up bars, banners, and other Website tool activities that target a specific Language version of your site. |
Both depend on the Tracking Script knowing which Language a visitor is on. Without a configured Language, every visit ends up untagged — which breaks reporting, breaks segmentation by Language, and breaks the Language-targeting in Website tool activities.
🚨 No Language = no working Website tool activities
Sign-up bars and banners created in the Website tool are always tied to a specific Language. If the domain has no Language configured, no activity will ever match — and visitors will never see your Sign-up bar or banner. Make sure each domain has at least one Language before publishing any Website tool activity.
Single-language vs. multilingual sites
The setup looks slightly different depending on how many languages your site supports — but in both cases, you're creating at least one Language.
Site type | What you set up |
Single-language site | Create one Language for the domain. It automatically becomes the default Language. Use URL path detection with just / as the path — that means "everything on this domain is this Language". Then add Tracking for that Language. |
Multilingual site | Create one Language per language version of the site. Pick one detection method (URL path or Cookie) and use it for all of them. One of the Languages becomes the default — typically the one matching your root domain or unparameterised URL. |
⚠️ One detection method per domain
Choose either URL path detection or Cookie detection for your domain — never both. Mixing methods causes the Tracking Script to misidentify Languages and breaks Website tool targeting.
Two detection methods: URL path vs Cookie
Apsis offers two ways to detect which Language a visitor is on. Pick the one that matches how your website is built:
Method | How it works | Best when… |
URL path | Apsis reads the Language from a path segment in the URL — for example, /en in example.com/en/products. For single-language sites, use just /. | Your site uses path-based language URLs (most common for static and CMS-driven sites), or your site is single-language. |
Cookie | Apsis reads a cookie name and value to determine the Language — for example, a cookie named lang with value en. | Your site stores Language preference in a cookie rather than the URL (common for single-page apps or sites with a Language toggle that doesn't change the URL). |
✅ Tip — Default to URL path
URL path detection is more reliable than Cookie detection because the path is always present in every request — there's no chance of a missing or expired cookie causing tracking to fail. Use URL path unless your site genuinely doesn't expose Language in the URL. For single-language sites, URL path with just / is the standard setup.
Add a Language to a domain
In Account Settings, open the Section with the domain.
You'll land on Domains & Languages by default.
Under the domain, locate the Languages area and click Add Language.
Enter a Name for the Language. This is a friendly label that appears across Website tool activities — pick something obvious like English, Svenska, or EN.
Expand the Type dropdown and pick the detection method for this domain — URL path or Cookie.
If you chose URL path
Enter the URL path after a slash:
Single-language site: use just / — this means "everything on this domain is this Language".
Multilingual site: use the path that identifies each Language, e.g. /en for English at example.com/en/..., /sv for Swedish at example.com/sv/....
If you chose Cookie
Enter the cookie name and the cookie value that corresponds to this Language. Apsis reads the cookie on every page and matches it against this value to identify the Language.
Click Verify to save.
For multilingual sites, repeat the process for each Language version your domain supports.
The default Language
Every domain has exactly one default Language. The default is what Apsis assumes when no other Language can be detected — for example, when a visitor lands on a URL that doesn't match any of your configured Language paths.
Site type | How the default is set |
Single-language site | Your one Language is automatically the default — there's nothing else for it to be. |
Multilingual site | Set the default by creating a Language that uses URL path detection with just / as the path. Apsis will use this Language for any visit that doesn't match a more specific path. |
When you save a Language that becomes the default, a confirmation message tells you it's now the default for cases where no other Language is detected.
💡 Why the default Language matters
Without a default, visitors landing on URLs that don't match any specific Language path get tracked with no Language at all — leading to gaps in segmentation and unexpected Website tool behaviour. For single-language sites this happens automatically. For multilingual sites, set up the default deliberately, otherwise any URL outside your configured paths goes untagged.
Edit or delete a Language
Locate the Language you want to edit or delete in the Languages list.
Click the pen to edit and the X to delete
To edit
Click the pencil icon, make your changes, and save.
To delete
Click the red X icon. Click Delete to confirm, or Cancel to abort.
🚨 Don't delete your last Language
If you delete the only Language on a domain, Tracking and Website tool activities for that domain will stop working. Add a replacement Language before deleting an existing one.
⚠️ Deleting a Language removes its tracking
Once you delete a Language, the Tracking Script stops capturing data tagged with that Language. Existing historical data stays in Profiles, but new visits to that Language version of your site won't be tracked until you re-add it. If you also have Website tool activities tied to the deleted Language, they'll stop working too.
Tracking is set up per Language
Because every domain has at least one Language, Tracking is always added per Language — never for the domain as a whole. The Add Tracking button appears after you save each Language, on the Language card itself.
💡 Even single-language sites: tracking is per-Language
Save your single Language first, then click Add Tracking on the Language card.
For details on what gets tracked and how to install the Script, see Tracking script.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Likely cause | Fix |
"Add Tracking" button isn't visible anywhere | No Language has been saved yet — the button only appears at Language level. | Add at least one Language. For single-language sites, use URL path with /. The Add Tracking button appears on the Language card once saved. |
Tracking events show no Language tag | No default Language is set, or the visitor is on a URL that doesn't match any configured Language. | Configure a default Language using URL path /, or check that all Language URLs match a configured path. |
Single-language site: Website tool activities don't appear to visitors | No Language is set up on the domain, so the activity has nothing to target. | Add one Language for the domain (URL path: /). Re-publish the activity if needed. |
Website tool activities show on the wrong Language version | URL path and Cookie detection are both configured, or path patterns overlap. | Use only one method per domain. Make sure paths like /en and /en-uk aren't both configured in a way that conflicts. |
Cookie detection isn't working | Cookie name or value mismatch, or cookie not yet set when visitor first lands. | Test the cookie manually in browser developer tools. Make sure the cookie is set on first page load — if it's only set after a Language toggle, early page views go untagged. |
Default Language doesn't seem to apply | Default was set but other Languages have overlapping paths. | Make sure the default has the simplest path (just /). More specific paths like /en should be separate Languages, not the default. |
Want to switch from URL path to Cookie detection (or vice versa) | You can't change the detection method — it's part of how the Language was created. | Delete the existing Languages and create new ones with the desired detection method. Re-add Tracking afterwards. Don't leave the domain with no Languages in between — add new ones first if possible. |
What's next?
Tracking script — Find your Section's Script and install it on your website (per-Language).
Domains — How domains and Languages relate, and how to add new domains to a Section.
Cookie settings — Configure cookie life time and Person detection.
Website tool — Build Language-specific Sign-up bars and banners.