Mirroring page structure with empty content for translations in Payload CMS 3.0

[danielkoller]

Background

I'm developing a multilingual site using Payload CMS 3.0 and need to implement a specific workflow for content translation. The goal is to streamline the process of creating translated versions of pages while maintaining a clear separation between languages.

Desired Workflow

1. Create and publish pages in German (primary language)
2. Automatically generate an unpublished English version with the same structure but empty content
3. Ensure no fallback to German content if English is missing (should return a 404 error)

Questions

1. Is there a built-in way to achieve this functionality in Payload CMS 3.0?
2. If not, how feasible would it be to implement this feature using custom hooks or other Payload CMS extension points?
3. Are there any best practices or existing patterns for handling this kind of translation workflow in Payload CMS?

Proposed Implementation

I'm considering using a custom hook to clone the page structure with empty content when a German page is published. This hook would:

• Create a new English version of the page
• Copy the structure (fields, layout, etc.) from the German version
• Set all content fields to empty/null
• Mark the English version as unpublished

Is this approach viable? Are there any potential pitfalls or performance concerns I should be aware of?

Request

If this functionality doesn't exist, I'd like to propose adding it as a feature to Payload CMS. It would greatly benefit multilingual sites and streamline the translation workflow. Alternatively, if it's relatively straightforward to implement, I'd appreciate any guidance on the best way to approach this.

Thank you for your time!