Multi-Site Manager & i18n

Enterprise websites often span multiple countries, languages, and brands. AEM provides two complementary systems: * Multi-Site Manager (MSM)* for content reuse across sites, and i18n for language translation.

Multi-Site Manager (MSM)

MSM lets you create Live Copies -- sites that inherit content from a Blueprint (source) site and can be customized locally.

When to use MSM

Scenario	Solution
Same language, different regions (US/UK/AU English)	MSM Live Copies
Different languages (English/German/French)	Language Copies + Translation
Different brands sharing content	MSM with Blueprint
Franchise sites with local customization	MSM Live Copies

Key concepts

Concept	Description
Blueprint	The source site -- the "master" content
Live Copy	A site that inherits from the blueprint
Rollout	Push changes from blueprint to live copies
Inheritance	Live copy pages/components inherit from blueprint
Detach	Break inheritance for a page or component (local override)
Suspend	Temporarily pause inheritance
Rollout Config	Rules that define what gets rolled out and how

Creating a Blueprint

1. Create your master site structure under /content/mysite/en
2. Go to Tools > General > Blueprints
3. Click Create
4. Select your source: /content/mysite/en
5. Give it a title and save

Creating a Live Copy

1. Go to the Sites console
2. Click Create > Live Copy
3. Select the source (blueprint)
4. Set the destination path (e.g., /content/mysite/us/en)
5. Select a Rollout Config (see below)
6. Choose the depth (include sub-pages or not)
7. Click Create

Rollout configurations

Rollout configs define the synchronization behavior:

Config	Behavior
Standard Rollout Config	Push content on rollout trigger
Push on Modify	Auto-push when blueprint is modified
Push on Modify and Create	Auto-push on modify and new page creation

You can also create custom rollout configs that combine triggers and actions.

Rolling out changes

After updating the blueprint:

1. Open the blueprint page
2. Click Page Information > Rollout Page
3. Select which live copies to update
4. Choose depth (this page only or including sub-pages)
5. Click Rollout

Or use bulk rollout: go to the Blueprint console, select the blueprint, and roll out to all live copies at once.

Inheritance and local overrides

By default, live copy components inherit their content from the blueprint. When an author edits a component on a live copy:

• The inheritance breaks for that component
• Future rollouts will not overwrite the local change
• A broken inheritance icon appears on the component

Authors can re-establish inheritance from the component toolbar.

Conflict resolution

When both the blueprint and live copy have been modified:

Blueprint changed	Live copy changed	Rollout result
Yes	No	Live copy updated
No	Yes	Live copy keeps local change
Yes	Yes	Conflict -- live copy keeps local change (inheritance was broken)

Language copies and translation

For multi-language sites, AEM uses Language Copies and the Translation Framework.

Site structure for multi-language

/content/mysite/
├── en/           # English (master)
│   ├── home
│   ├── about
│   └── blog/
├── de/           # German (translation)
│   ├── home
│   ├── about
│   └── blog/
├── fr/           # French (translation)
│   ├── home
│   ├── about
│   └── blog/
└── ja/           # Japanese (translation)

Each language root (en, de, fr, ja) contains a parallel site structure.

Creating a language copy

1. Go to Sites console
2. Select the source language root (e.g., /content/mysite/en)
3. Click Create > Language Copy
4. Select target languages
5. Choose:
   • Create structure only -- creates empty pages with the same structure
   • Create a new translation project -- creates pages and a translation project

Translation projects

Translation projects manage the workflow of translating content:

1. A translation project is created from the source content
2. Translation jobs are sent to a translation provider (human translator, machine translation, or a service like SDL, Smartling, etc.)
3. Translated content is reviewed and approved
4. Approved content is published to the target language

Machine translation

AEM integrates with machine translation services. Configure in Tools > Cloud Services > Translation Cloud Configuration:

• Microsoft Translator
• Google Cloud Translation
• Custom connectors via the Translation Integration Framework

Translation best practices

1. Translate structure first -- create language copies with structure only, then fill in translations
2. Use the translation project workflow -- it tracks what is translated and what is not
3. Keep master content stable -- finalize English content before translating
4. Tag translatable content -- mark which components and properties need translation

i18n dictionaries

For UI strings (labels, buttons, error messages), AEM uses i18n dictionaries stored in the repository.

Dictionary structure

/apps/mysite/i18n/
├── en.json       # English strings
├── de.json       # German strings
├── fr.json       # French strings
└── ja.json       # Japanese strings

Or as Sling i18n nodes:

/apps/mysite/i18n/
├── en/
│   ├── jcr:primaryType = "nt:folder"
│   ├── jcr:mixinTypes = [mix:language]
│   ├── jcr:language = "en"
│   └── readMore
│       ├── jcr:primaryType = "sling:MessageEntry"
│       ├── sling:key = "readMore"
│       └── sling:message = "Read More"
├── de/
│   └── readMore
│       ├── sling:key = "readMore"
│       └── sling:message = "Mehr lesen"

Using i18n in HTL

<!-- Translate a string -->
<span>${'Read More' @ i18n}</span>

<!-- With locale override -->
<span>${'Read More' @ i18n, locale='de'}</span>

<!-- In attributes -->
<button aria-label="${'Close' @ i18n}">X</button>

HTL automatically resolves the translation based on the current page's language.

Using i18n in Java

import com.day.cq.i18n.I18n;

@Model(adaptables = SlingHttpServletRequest.class)
public class MyModel {

    @Self
    private SlingHttpServletRequest request;

    private I18n i18n;

    @PostConstruct
    protected void init() {
        i18n = new I18n(request);
    }

    public String getReadMoreLabel() {
        return i18n.get("Read More");
    }
}

For more details, see the Multi-Site Manager (MSM), i18n and Translation, and Replication and Activation references.

Summary

You learned:

• MSM -- Blueprints and Live Copies for content reuse across regions/brands
• Rollout -- pushing blueprint changes to live copies
• Inheritance -- how live copies inherit and override content
• Language copies -- parallel site structures for each language
• Translation projects -- managed workflows for content translation
• Machine translation integration
• i18n dictionaries -- translating UI strings in HTL and Java

The content side is complete. The final two chapters cover production concerns: Dispatcher caching and Cloud Manager deployment.

Next up: Dispatcher & Caching -- Dispatcher architecture, cache rules, filters, rewrites, vanity URLs, invalidation, and local SDK testing.