Languages, URLs and Parameters¶

Ekit allows you to build monolingual or multilingual websites without duplicating templates.
The displayed language, page, and content are automatically determined from the URL.

This document explains the URL model, language handling, and content parameters used by Ekit.

URL structure¶

Ekit uses a clean and SEO-friendly routing system based on path segments.

/[lang]/[view]/[slug]?param=value

lang (optional): language code (en, fr, de, …)
view: page name (template)
slug (optional): identifies a specific record
param=value (optional): query parameters for filtering or dynamic behavior

Examples¶

/
/fr
/en/blog
/fr/blog/my-article
/blog/my-article
/fr/blog/my-article?preview=true

URLs always start with a leading /.
This keeps routes explicit, predictable, and aligned with standard web routing conventions.

Routing rules¶

The language segment is optional
If present, the first segment defines the active language — only when it is one of the project's languages
The first page segment maps to the current view
If no view is present, index is used by default
The second page segment is used as the slug
Query parameters are optional and used for filtering or additional behavior

Route resolution¶

Example URL:

/fr/blog/my-article

Resolved parameters:

params = { lang: "fr", view: "blog", slug: "my-article" }

Language detection¶

The language is automatically inferred from the first URL segment.

If the first segment matches a configured language → it is used
Otherwise → the project’s default language is applied, and the first segment is read as the page name

This allows: - monolingual projects without configuration - shared templates across multiple languages

Language examples¶

URL	Language	View	Slug
/fr/blog/	fr	blog	—
/fr/blog/post/	fr	blog	post
/blog/post/	defaultLang	blog	post (multilingual site: redirected to `/en/blog/post/`, see below)
/	defaultLang	index	—
/de/blog/ (German not in the project)	defaultLang	`de`	— → 404, no page named `de`

Unknown language codes¶

If the first segment looks like a language but is not one of the project's languages:

/it/blog

it is read as a page name. Unless your site has a page called it, the address returns a 404. A language removed from a project therefore makes its old addresses return 404, which is what search engines expect.

Canonical addresses (redirects)¶

On a multilingual site, each page has one official address: /{language}/{page}/{slug}/, in lowercase and with a trailing slash. On the public address of the site, any other form of an existing page is redirected (301) to it, query string included:

Requested	Redirected to
`/blog`	`/en/blog/` (default language)
`/en/blog`	`/en/blog/`
`/EN/blog/`	`/en/blog/`
`/en/index`	`/en/`
`/en/blog/my-article/anything`	`/en/blog/my-article/`
`/blog?utm_source=x`	`/en/blog/?utm_source=x`

Visitors and search engines always land on the same address, so a page is never indexed twice. The Studio preview and single-language sites are not affected. An address that matches no page is not redirected: it returns a 404 directly.

Links in your templates

Write internal links with the language and the trailing slash (/{{lang}}/blog/): they are served directly, without a redirect.

The `<base>` tag in the layout (recommended)¶

To ensure correct navigation between pages and languages, define a base URL in your layout.

In layouts/layout.hbs, inside the <head> section:

This guarantees consistent navigation and prevents malformed URLs when mixing relative and root-relative links.

Linking pages and languages¶

Always use root-relative links (starting with /).

Language switcher example¶

langs holds the project's languages (for example ["en", "fr"]). Build the switcher from it, so it only shows languages that exist, and hide it when the project has a single language:

{{#if langs.[1]}}
<ul>
  {{#each langs}}
  <li><a href="/{{this}}/" {{#if (eq this @root.lang)}}aria-current="true"{{/if}}>{{upper this}}</a></li>
  {{/each}}
</ul>
{{/if}}

Linking to a page¶

<a href="/fr/blog/">Blog (FR)</a>
<a href="/en/blog/">Blog (EN)</a>

Linking to a specific content (slug)¶

<a href="/fr/blog/my-article/">Article</a>

URL parameters (query string)¶

Query parameters can be used for filtering or dynamic behavior.

/blog?category=news
/blog/my-article?preview=true

They are available in templates via the query object.

Handlebars example¶

<p>Category: {{query.category}}</p>

Recommended pattern: slug-based content¶

Ekit uses slug-based routing as the primary way to identify content.

Example:

/fr/blog/my-article

In your datasource:

datasources:
  article:
    from: blog
    slug: "{{params.slug}}"

UID support (optional)¶

You can still use a uid when needed (internal or legacy usage).

datasources: article: from: blog uid: "{{query.uid}}"