Website Localization and Website Translation—What Is Involved?

In a world where more than 75% of the internet users like to browse in their native language, failing to localize your website could be speaking to an audience that does not understand you.

Numbers do not lie: localized websites are said to make sales as much as 400 percent more than their non-localized counterparts. While the business expands to the market, the difference between the website localization and mere translation is really becoming a sensitive matter. 

This article explores the complexity that is involved in localizing a website from translating its content to localization engineering in reaching the global market.

Website Localization Analysis

It is before any kind of localization takes place; there should be an in-depth analysis in this area that concerns how cultural, preference and behaviors should be taken in consideration concerning a potential target market’s specific group. 

In consideration to its elements, some parts will be considered below such as —

• Target Market Identification: A means of identification with what nations or areas will one reach out. Several countries do have expectations with variations according to different nations hence finding this aspect creates and contributes to a developed localisation strategy.
• Competitor Analysis: Who of the competition have localized their sites, and so succeeded? Some ideas about what works, and doesn’t, are given for your target market.
• Content Audit: Existing on the website in the light of its relevance to the needs and suitability – and there is stuff that probably needs full reconsideration, or discarded for something even better in fit with the local cultures.
• Technical Requirements: Decide if there is a need to adjust the technical aspects of it to enable proper localization. For instance, your website architecture or requirement of a specific content management system that allows for more than one language.

When you do this, you are sure of setting a great foundation for a successful website localization.

Translation of Website Content

Website translation is the most basic process in website localization. This is a process where the original language text is converted to the target language and should be culturally appropriate. 

It is not an easy task; it involves the consideration of many factors —

• Cultural Nuances: Translation is not merely converting the words. It should incorporate the cultural context, idioms, and colloquialisms of the target audience. For example, a marketing slogan may be great in English but utterly unworkable or offensive in another language if not properly adapted.
• Tone and Style: The tone and style should reflect the likes and dislikes of the target market. For instance, language may be less formal than standard use or technical jargon needs to be changed to not confuse. 
• Quality Assurance: Quality assurance depends on native speakers who can understand both the original and translated language. Therefore, there is a very good possibility that the translated text would be accurate in terms of meaning, culturally relevant, and grammatically correct.

By concentrating on accurate interpretation, you ensure that the language of your website is the language that your target audience speaks.

Localizing Layout and Site Navigation

The layout and layout of your website should change to fit linguistic and cultural differences. Here are some areas to consider:

• Text Extension: Various languages are on different page length scales. It often makes a long version text by translating from English into German. Thus, much importance has to be on the design aspect as if it can cater for flexibility.
• Right-to-Left Languages: There exist those which read from right to left. Countries such as the Arab and Hebrew ones require full flip-around changes to the navigation and layouts of a website. 
• Accessibility: Ensure the web is accessible to people irrespective of their walk of life. One must be sensitive and alert about how other people would engage with technology, particularly the internet, toward greater accessibility.

With targeted alterations in the design of the structure and flow of a website, you ensure user interaction that is rich in return and likely to get long-term.

Adapting Pictures to the Audience

Images can be the best storyteller; sometimes, however they might speak wrong words as well. 

While localizing the website, all different sorts of visual media used require sensitivity for adaptation:-

• Cultural sensitivity: What may pass through one culture is offense for another. Some signs, even gestures, are more representative in one culture compared to another.
• Representation: The picture represents the diversity and standard requirements of the target culture. For example, presenting cultural images such as local sites and traditions or featuring subjects that are native to a certain region.
• Relevance: The images should be relevant to the content and context of your message. The images should add to the story and not divert or confuse.

Tailoring images to your audience makes them more relatable and engaging with your content.

Localizing Symbols

Symbols can be complex and are diverse in different cultures. Hence, localization of symbols on your website is critical:

• Understanding Symbolism: Most symbols are unique and have their interpretation in a culture. The thumbs-up gesture, which the west may appreciate as being positive, may become offending in other regions.
• Format Standardization: Even the standardization format like date, time, and measurements face localizations. The United States uses the month/day/year format, while most use the day/month/year format.
• User-Friendly Design: Symbols and icons should be clear for the user to understand. In other words, you have to work on some symbols in such a way that everybody in the target group may easily understand.

You would be able to avoid confusion by giving your time to localize the symbols. You would add to the experience of using the website.

Adapting Colors to Cultures

Colors have different meanings in cultures, and understanding the different associations can enhance the effectiveness of your website:

• Cultural Associations: Colors provoke different emotions in addition to having different interpretations. For example, a red color means good fortune in China but warning signs in the Western world.
• User Acceptance: Those colors that you select make a whole difference in how customers or prospects view your company brand. Color psychology can, therefore, be vital to making decisions about any designs of your brand influenced by expectations from local stakeholders.
• Testing Color Schemes: It is a crucial testing of how the chosen colors resonate with your audience. What appeals to one may not appeal to the other.

By aligning color schemes with the culture of the localities you connect with your audience

Localization Testing and QA

When you are done with localization, testing is extremely important because website localization might just go wrong in any corner if not tested as an isolated case:

• Functional Testing: All the links, buttons, and forms are confirmed to work in the localization version, so the end user can use the localized version with no technical hindrances.
• Linguistic Testing: Check if translations were done in context. Linguistic testing involves consistency check so that the local content is coherent and readable to the natives.
• User Experience Testing: Get the locals’ opinions on the general usability of your website. Know this and you will come to know the areas to improve.

Carrying out full localization testing and QA means you are left with the highest quality end product.

Further reading: Die 10 besten Praktiken der Website-Lokalisierung und ihre größten Vorteile

Localization Engineering

Localization engineering is the last stage that would require technical adjustments in fitting your website for other languages and cultures:

• File Management: Management of files for translation should be done in such a way that all text is extracted and formatted correctly to ensure that the website localization process is properly carried out.
• Responsive Design: The website design should be responsive so that it adapts itself to the various devices and screen sizes. Localization must not affect the user experience on mobile or tablet platforms.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Websites are dynamic and require ongoing updates. Have a process in place for future localization as new content is created or existing content is modified.

Investment in localization engineering will lead to a strong and flexible website that can grow with your business.

Conclusion

Website localization is vital for every company that desires to take off and win over customers across the most diverse set. 

Fulfilling needs of analysis, translation and design as far as cultural setting are concerned enables websites actually be able to interact the target users using their local mother tongue; good localisation leads a business into great boomness and creates sustainability in a global world by doing businesses; localization by professional persons places a better position before the current challenges of globalized life.

Related Article:

How to Translate Your Website in 10 Steps

Top 10 Website Localization Best Practices and its Biggest Benefits

8 Best WordPress Translation Plugins for Multilingual Websites