Website Translation & Localization Process
Localizing websites one piece at a time
Website localization requires a coherent approach to translating numerous interrelated parts, each with its own technical and linguistic requirements. Web translation goes beyond the basics of brochure work and instructional materials. A website today can be as sophisticated and useful as a fully featured piece of enterprise software, and getting it right in a new international market demands a sophisticated, coordinated, well-organized approach. As a project progresses, work on multiple areas is often pursued in parallel to maximize efficiency and meet deadlines. Teams must communicate well, and processes must be in place to drive global launches to completion on-time and within budget. That’s what we do.
Acclaro knows from experience what goes into successful web translation projects. Below we take a look at the key components of most website translation projects:
- Global-ready assessment: A global-ready assessment is often a critical first step in the localization process, which can save countless hours of work and keep a project on time and on budget. This step includes a systematic localization analysis of a site’s front and back end to examine numerous issues, such as:
- Are the site’s pages coded to correctly display the character sets of the target languages?
- Will the layout of the site design be flexible enough to accommodate different text lengths post translation?
- Is the backend system set up to handle varying data standards, such as date, numbering and address formats?
- Glossary, style guide and keyword development: The development of a glossary and style guide, as well as selecting the appropriate keywords for search engine optimization, is an essential step in the overall success of a web localization project, one that guarantees consistency of style, tone and terminology across languages. Created by our expert translators and language leads, these keyword lists and guides serve as the basis for website translation, and ensure your site’s content will be optimized for search traffic.
- Translation and Editing: Your site’s content files are prepped in a translation memory environment, which stores the translation in a database that supports and assists in translation. This process ensures a consistent and efficient translation process across all languages. Once the content is translated, it is handed off to another linguist for editing, guaranteeing that your site content is fully reviewed by at least two professional linguists.
- Engineering: Our seasoned engineering team handles all file types and technologies, content management systems, databases and CRMs to ensure exceptional website engineering — whether your site is coded in XHTML, ASPX, PHP or Ajax, or is static text or dynamically generated content from a CMS. In addition, we are experts in managing translation memory database files, to keep your localization investments secure and to handle updates seamlessly.
- Testing & QA: The testing and QA phase of a website translation project is usually comprised of two critical passes: localization (or technical) QA and linguistic QA. Trained testers and native speakers test your site on native operating systems and browsers to ensure the functionality and linguistic quality of a localized website, and to identify and flag any issues that can arise during the process.
- SEM localization: Just as with an original website, localized websites require marketing strategies to drive the desired volume of quality traffic. Our SEM localization approach is holistic and will recreate SEM campaigns for local markets. We go beyond simple translations of meta-tags, PPC ads, titles and descriptions to create powerful international SEM localizations.
If it seems complex, don't worry. Our teams of engineers and linguists work systematically, step by step, to produce exceptional website translations, and we've managed projects of all sizes up and down the scale. Contact us to discuss your next project, or simply request a quote.
