5 Essential Website Translation Tips for your Business
The world is your market, but successfully reaching its diverse audience demands meticulous attention.
Here’s a short guide to ensuring the optimal website translation:
1️. Strategic Planning
- Start with a comprehensive style guide and refine your source text.
- Use a regional domain for local appeal or a global domain for broader reach.
- Make sure your font supports the alphabet you’re translating into.
Instead of embedding text within images, place the text next to the images or use text overlays.
Avoid using flag icons; Remember: language is not always the same as nationality.
2️. Website optimisation
- Begin with a high-quality, well-structured and optimised source text.
- Translate titles, meta descriptions, and alt tags and optimise with relevant keywords.
- Use language- or country-specific URL structures. Ensure that hreflang tags are correctly implemented.
Instead of directly translating keywords, conduct keyword research for each target language and region.
3️. Automation
- Use automation — it is not only faster but also more accurate.
- Choose platforms like WordPress or Shopify that provide effective translation management solutions.
Avoid manual copying or translating directly on the website — it’s time consuming and inefficient.
Without automation, anticipate extra costs for translation insertion.
4️. Transcreation & Localisation
- Localise dates, currency, and units of measurement.
- Adapt images, colours, and design elements.
- Use transcreation to maintain the tone and voice of your brand.
Avoid overloading your content with local references.
Avoid using idiomatic expressions or colloquialisms.
5️. Refine & Review
- Carefully review the translated content.
- Test the translated website on various devices and browsers.
Remember this is only the beginning: any translated website requires ongoing maintenance and optimisation.
Bonus Tip: Considering machine translation?
For best results:
- Opt for English as your source language for its robust translation models.
- Use controlled language for clear and precise content.
- Maintain consistent terminology throughout your content.
- Always proofread your content before translation, as machine translation struggles with misspelled words.
Avoid overly long or complex sentences, and stick to one idea per sentence.
Steer clear of idiomatic phrases, cultural references, and clichés.
