Websites 101: Translating your Page

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From Madrid to Singapore, global expansion is a priority for companies. But while reaching international customers brings more benefits, it also means more work translating your website and localizing your content for global markets. 

Making your website attractive to customers around the world requires coordination and design, because  translating a website is not as easy as using a plugin on the backend. 

Why? Firstly, let's just address the elephant in the room to begin with. Machine translation is a no-go. You're trying to sell a professional product or service, so make it look professional.  Don't take the risk of working with anything less than a professional native translator. After all, there is no guarantee that your customers in Italy and China will be satisfied with the English presentation and their expectations in terms of user experience. 

To make your website seem as local as possible, invest in website localization if you are focused on capitalizing on this potential goldmine. Unless you want to join the list of hundreds of companies that have failed at this task, it's important to implement some best practices when translating your website! 

  Language statistics and how they relate to website translation 

 It's no surprise that more than half of  websites are in English. After all, English is the most widely used language on the web. But did you know that one in five internet users can speak Chinese? Eight percent of users speak Spanish and prefer Spanish! 

 The sad truth is that  very few sites cater to these users. In fact, less than 5% of  websites offer Spanish as a language option. Chinese is the worst, only 2% of all sites offer an option in this language! 

 What does all this mean? 

 Well, in short: millions of internet users are forced to use the web in a language they don't 100% know or  are denied access to certain parts of the web. If your website can help fill that gap, you have a chance to strike gold! 

Basics of Website Translation and Localization of Your Products/Services 

•  Don't Start Without a Localization Plan 

More than  4.5 billion people use the Internet every day, most of whom live in Europe, America and Asia. That's why you need to think about the potential of international sales  from the beginning. Even if you're just starting out with a website, whether your initial market is small or not, it's always a good idea to think bigger. Regardless of the language, your message needs to  be catchy so that potential customers can relate to it. Customers are up to 72%  more likely to buy products that contain information in their native language! 

On this note, Idiomatic Translations Group has offices throughout the world to help you with any of your localization needs. We have "on the ground" experience with seasoned experts to make sure that your global launch is a success. Are you launching your business in Spain? We have you covered. In Nigeria? No worries. In the Middle East? Oh, please! How about French-speaking Canada? We can handle that too.

•  Translating your website is a multi-layered process. 

Translating a website can be difficult because you need to identify your core market and then focus on a specific language version. If you don't know where to start, translation agencies like Day Translations  can help you plan and guide you through the process from start to finish.  Localization and translation  are often used interchangeably, but they have very different meanings. 

Localization: translation of a product or entire content from one language to another, including cultural and linguistic adaptation. 

Translation - Translates parts of text from one language to another. 

In short, your localization strategy is your plan for adapting your products and content to new markets so that it expresses your message in a way that resonates with potential customers around the world. 

• Try, try again, try again! 

 Website translation and linguistics must be tested before publishing. With a linguistic test, you can be sure that everything is translated accurately  and comprehensibly. Translation testing is about making sure that all different language versions of your website work correctly. 

Testing localization includes looking over the following items: 

1.        Hardware compatibility

2.       Encryption algorithms

3.       Entry fields

4.       Upgrades

5.       Hyperlinks

6.       Broken strings or designs

7.       Form functionality

8.       Shopping cart

9.       Load time

 Linguistic testing includes checking:

1.       Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors

2.       Presence of culture-sensitive content

3.       Inappropriate content

4.       Misuse of keywords

5.       Readability and appeal of messages 

 Conclusion 

Your business has a potential gold mine, and to take advantage of it, you just need to  translate and localize your website. Start off the right way by designing your website with translation in mind. Using a professional translation service like Idiomatic USA  can help keep projects organized, on track, and avoid monotonous tasks. 

 After translating and localizing your website, you can target a wider audience, improve your SEO, create unique URLs for each translated version of your website, and increase  conversion rates. Your content is easier for global customers to understand and absorb, and because your products are presented in the language they speak, you're more likely to get long-term customers.

Would you like help with your website localization and translation? Get in touch with us here to discuss here.

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