The ABCs of Localisation

Translation is an art, and like most arts it is more complicated than it looks. There are many aspects to consider when localising a site. That’s why we have put together our ABCs of localisation. We hope you enjoy!

A

Availability of Domains: If you’re going to localise your website, you’re going to need to know what domain names are available!

B

Blogs: Blog posts are one of the easiest ways to create new content. If you’d like to read more about power of blog posts why not read our article on how to keep your website fresh?

C

Customs regulations: If you’re going to ship products overseas, then you’re going to need to know a little about custom regulations and tariffs.

D

Desktop Publishing: Regardless of whether you’re going to be translating printed or online content, you’re going to need to check that all files are correctly typeset in their target language.

E

E-commerce Platforms: There are so many options, but which are you going to choose?

F

Freelance Linguists: These are the wonderfully talented humans who make translation possible!

G

Global Audience: The end goal of all translation projects.

H

Happy Customers: The best form of marketing.

I

Imagery: Will your images have the same effect on your foreign customers as they do on your home audience? If not, maybe you should change them. Ultimately, you need to e aware of the political, religious or cultural nuances of your target audience to ensure that both visual and textual content respects your audience.

J

Japanese, Russian, Arabic…: Languages that use a non-Latin script and so need an expert to handle!

K

Keyword Research: If you’re after a well-optimised site, then keyword research is going to be an important task to master!

L

Localisation: That which makes your translations speak to your customers directly! If you’d like to learn more about localisation, we’d highly recommend that you check out our blog post lifting the lid on localisation and translation.

M

Misunderstandings: This is what we don’t want to come out of a translation! The more information you provide us before translation therefore, the less likely misunderstandings will arise. Reference material and style guides are always highly valued by linguists.

N

Native Speakers: Translators should only translate into their native language – this ensures the best quality translations.

O

Onpage and Offpage SEO: This is vital if you want to be found by your customers in search engines.

P

Project Managers: The people who ensure a smooth translation process and are here to answer any and every query you could possibly have.

Q

Quality Assurance: This is critical to ensure your website is localised fully and accurately.

R

Research: Research is a crucial component of any translation. At the end of the day, you need to know how your brand and strapline are being perceived in your target market.

S

Social Media: The perfect opportunity to connect with your customers.

T

Translation: The FUNDAMENTAL stage of any localisation project!!

U

Understanding: The critical ingredient to any translation and that which we all desire to come from our translations.

V

Videos: Everyone loves a video! That’s why you need to make sure everyone can access them! Whether you do so through dubbing or subtitles, it’s vital that you make them accessible for all.

W

Website Audits: Before you think about translating your site, have you stopped to think about your English site? Does it contain everything it needs? Is it accessible to all? If the answer to these questions is no, then maybe you should fix that before translating your content.

X

XML, HTML, PHP: Web files may seem scary, but these won’t be a problem for an experienced localisation provider to handle!

Y

‘You’: A small word that can cause so many issues! In many languages there is a formal way of saying ‘you’ and an informal way. Or perhaps a singular way of saying ‘you’ and a plural. Before translation, we suggest you let us know any stylistic preferences so that we can deliver content perfect for you!

Z

‘Zed’ or ‘Zee’? Depending on your audience, phonetics may vary! Make sure you know your audience therefore, and make sure you know how they speak!

And that’s it! What do you think of our ABCs of Localisation? We’re sure there are some letters you would have done differently! Why not get in touch and let us know on social media!