3 things you need to know to translate your website

Having an excellent online presence is something that has become an integral part of running a business over the last few years, and the foundations of a successful online strategy can always be traced back to a carefully planned website in which all the services or products offered by a company are just one click away. As businesses become ever more globalized, the need for a professional translation company to adapt the key messages to their target audiences is becoming an increasingly essential part of the process.

The importance of compatibility

A website is like a living being. It has to be upgraded and modified to suit the needs of a constantly evolving company in a world that changes at the speed of light. Make sure that your team of web designers and your team of translators are always on the same page by using compatible tools and software that makes their job easier (and therefore cheaper). The more globalized a company becomes, more different alphabets and business strategies are incorporated into its website, so fine tuning that process with efficiency in mind is a must.

Testing the waters

There’s a lot to learn from first attempts, and website translation is no exception. Trying out a single language and gauging its results can be an effective way of ironing out the creases and polishing the whole package for the next big move. Things that look excellent and perfectly reasonable on paper can turn out to be confusing or unintuitive when adapted to a foreign country with vastly different customs and interactions. Always be prepared to readapt your content so your company can get its message across crystal clear wherever you go.

Translating design

You can (and you should) translate your design too. Get your graphic designers to work in perfect sync with a team of international experts. Good websites are comprised of a vast wealth visual of information, and sometimes a simple recolor or inclusion of certain motifs can help a great deal when reaching out to a foreign market. Always research the top sites used in the country in question, take note of their design queues and functionality, and see if any of them can work well with your own web. A bit of well placed familiarity can really go a long way!