The most common mistakes when translating an online store

12_06_Principales errores al traducir una tienda online
By December 6th, 2019 | ecommerce | 0 Comments

More and more administrators of store websites are selling their products worldwide. This is done by translating an online store into other languages so that it can used by anyone, regardless of where they live.

 

How to translate an online store

The main advantage of an online store is that it allows you to avoid geographical boundaries and sell your products to customers all over the world. Many think that using Google Translate to translate a website is more than enough to increase traffic on the website. Let's be clear: this will not increase sales on your e-commerce website.

If you want to avoid falling into this trap, you need to consider a series of common mistakes when organizing your translation.

What to avoid when translating your e-commerce website

Steer clear of these practices if you want a successful translation of your online store.

    1. Using machine translators

This is without a doubt the most common mistake that most business owners make. The best option is to hire a professional translator.

Human translators are capable of adapting all the text on your website to the style and tone you want or to what he or she thinks is appropriate in the context.

    2. Using partial translations

If you decide to translate only some of the pages that make up your website, such as product descriptions, and leave the rest in the original language, customers will likely end up leaving your site without making a purchase.

It is absolutely fundamental that you translate all the content on your website, from the most important elements, such as descriptions and the landing page, to the details, buttons, captions, and footnotes. This will convey security and confidence to your foreign customer.

    3. Not updating the website

An e-commerce website is always evolving. Businesses are constantly offering new products, publishing new promotions, or making changes to shipping conditions.

Whenever you make a change to the original website or add new information, don’t forget to adapt these contents in the other languages. This way all your customers will be in the know.

   4. Overlooking the design

A single section of text may have a different number of characters depending on the language. While the design may be perfect in the source language, you need to make sure you have the same result in the target languages. The structure may have changed, in which case you’ll have to correct it.

    5. Translating the website only

There is no doubt that the website and the product catalog are the main parts of the translation. Nevertheless, there are many other sections you need to translate, like newsletters or automatic email responses.

In conclusion

We have gone over the most problematic practices you absolutely must avoid when translating your online store. If you start here, success will be one step closer.