Companies often adopt a progressive approach to localization. In part due to the time it takes to translate the website, the investment in translation, and also to refine the local marketing strategies.
In this case, the company will localize the website before translating all of the web content. Local users respond well to this if they have something in their local language and you show them clearly where to go to find further information. The key is to keep the links open to the more detailed information during the transition and to label them clearly and appropriately for the native user.
For your localized website to communicate well you need a certain depth of content. As translation costs are expensive and time consuming, companies often prefer to take this transition slowly, to adopt their website as closely as their website templates allow them to the local markets.
This is why initial localized websites often feel little more than a brochure and do not create a good user experience. If you give some thought to this transition process, the website can be transparent about what the extent of translations. This gives the user control over his experience with your website. Online communication will continue.
The localization of your website also involves tailoring various website elements to the local culture. Icons, photos, local holidays, date and time formats and search engine promotions.
Only after all of these elements have been researched and modified will the international user feel « at home ». Your website is then operational in a foreign country. This is website localization.
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That is correct! We as a translation and localization company specialized in Middle East & African, get a lot of requests in order to translate and localize websites, and that shows, how intelligent is the website owner, because he is opening new closed doors for his service or products…
Sherief Taher
Senior Project Manager
The Translation Gate, LLC
sherief@thetranslationgate.com