The Right Way to Localize Your Website

The right way to LOCALIZE YOUR WEBSITE Did you know? WHAT 72.1% SHOULD YOU DO? of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their own language*. 72.4% Translation and publishing of consumers would be more likely to buy a product using information in their own language". This is the straightforward part. Extract all content, have it translated, build new pages and publish the translated content 56.2% Useful tip: of the consumers in the study said the ability to obtain information in their Make sure you don't forget dynamic and user generated content. Also pop-ups, error messages, text inside forms etc. own language is even more important than price*. Language navigation Make sure you include navigation, automatic language recognition (based on browser language or IP) and continuity across sessions for returning users Search Engine Optimization Each page in each language should have its own URL. META and ALT content should be translated properly and your sitemap should be updated to include all languages. PASSPORT Useful tip: Translating keywords inside your URLS helps you boost your ranking in search engines Style adaptation PK Your layout should accommodate longer languages without getting messy. Make sure right-to-left languages (Hebrew, Arabic) work. Use unicode fonts that support different alphabets. EGYPT LONDON Graphics and media Images should be replaced to match the new audience. Think about local food/weather/culture. Video should be dubbed or subtitled. Useful tip: Don't forget images that contain text. You should use them as little as possible but when you do make sure text is translated. boblic At Bablic we believe that website localization should not be time consuming. Bablic completely automates website localization using professional translation. All you have to do is paste a code snippet in your site. No programming needed. Visit us at www.bablic.com *Source: Harvard Business Review