Creating and maintaining a multilingual web site requires advance planning. This will result in a better localized web site for your target audience, save on costs, rewrites, and possible technical glitches that occur when things have not been thought out thoroughly.

We receive many requests like the following:

CLIENT: “I need a quote to translate my web site.”

ILS: “Great! Are you localizing the entire site, or specific sections?”

CLIENT: “All of it. The whole thing.” ILS: “Okay. Can you provide us with the specific files you’d like translated?”

CLIENT: “Here is my site address. You can just go there to see what needs to be done.”

This all too familiar exchange is often accompanied by a long list of language requirements. Not surprisingly, very few projects presented to us in this manner ever see the light of day.

Using successful implementations as a guide, we have prepared a very basic checklist for web localization projects that will help to put your project on the right track.

1. Review and revise your English content for relevance to your non-English speaking audience. Not all of the information on your web site is pertinent to viewers in other countries. A localized web site may need to be modified to address specific interests. Product, price, promotion and distribution all need to be modified based on several factors: local consumer expectations, regulatory factors, competitive products in the country, consumer usage, cultural, religious, linguistic requirements, climate, etc. Your web site should not be a “one size fits all” site.
2. Prioritize by section and/or language. Pricing and implementing your project in small increments will help you get started without overwhelming your bandwidth or your budget.
3. Identify the exact files to be translated. Most sites have significant redundancy with multiple links leading to the same content. DO NOT expect your translator to sort this out or guess what you need. Consider your presentation as well as viewer navigation. Include labels, graphics and drop down menus. If you plan to translate PDF’s or downloadable catalogs, product data sheets, MSDS, etc., include these files as well.
4. Check language support capabilities for all of your associated software applications, and internal users. For example: Will your content management tool accept Chinese characters? Can your online forms recognize input in Arabic? Can your customer service staff provide support to International customers in various languages?
5. Provide files to your translator in the same format you would like to receive back. Most translation firms can replicate HTML, XML or Flash files as well as the source files for your PDF’s. If you work with a database driven content management system, discuss input/output formats with your translator. The way you present content for translation will impact the cost, timeline and ease of implementing your project. Any cutting and pasting at your end should be followed by a “post-format review” to check for proper text flow and the overall quality of your translated site, before posting it for live viewing.
6. Be disciplined and control content changes. Your initial translations are static. Consider how much lag time, if any, you can tolerate when making updates to your English site. Then, consolidate changes for updates to your translations. Discuss process and minimum project fees with your translator for smooth and cost effective updates.

Properly scoping your project and asking for input from your translator will benefit you in the long run. A well-planned project has the best chance of receiving budgetary approval and can be implemented with relative ease.

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