No matter the time or place, a website provides everybody with the chance to find your services and become interested in what your business offers. In this respect, language should not be a barrier. A multilingual website improves user experience in countries or markets where it is more important to position due to the nature of your products/services. Therefore, it is especially important that the translation and localization of your website are flawless.
They involve two different processes that can make a considerable competitive difference and, as could not be otherwise, influence those who visit your website to purchase or not.
Much more than translating a website
We have previously mentioned the importance of translating your website. Depending on the project, there are several services and multilingual solutions that will make browsing your website a comfortable and optimized experience in any of the languages you offer.
Perfect adaptation of a website is possible though a series of steps that make up its translation and localization process. Let’s see them:
How website translation works
The process of translating your website involves translating its content literally, that is, it does not take into account the characteristics of the target market. Also, a regular professional translation does not adapt the layout nor considers the audiovisual elements or other variables. The result can be quite unnatural and unbalanced, depending on the type of project to be translated.
In this sense, website localization is the recommended service to offer an appealing browsing experience in the target language, preserving the entire original website.
How website localization works
Website localization translates the content considering the customs of the location, the idiomatic characteristics, beliefs, values and an endless number of variables. Quality website translation and localization services must have native translators, therefore, translators who are knowledgeable about the local culture.
Website translation and localization process
Following content localization explained in the previous point,
the next step to achieve total immersion in the target country is localizing all the elements of the website:
- Website design and graphics must be adapted to match the range of the translated texts.
- Images must follow the culture of the target country without being inappropriate or offensive.
- Payment methods and foreign currency must also be taken into account so the user feels as if they were browsing through a local website.
- Conversion of units of measurement and sizes are essential variables. The public must understand what they are buying.
- Legal requirements must be adapted to each country to avoid legal problems.
- Software must be optimized to offer a positive browsing experience with no errors.
As you can see, website translation is not the same process as website localization. The latter involves a complex and multidisciplinary task you should consider as a key investment in the international growth towards other markets.
