The Importance of Using a Qualified Language Access Provider for Website Translation

If your business has a worldwide audience, it’s important for your website to allow visitors from different parts of the world to view your website without being impeded by language barriers.  Localization of your site, which is the translation and presentation of your website into the target audience’s native language, can seem like a daunting task.  However, breaking the process down into logical and manageable workloads with a reputable language access provider, can make the translation process go smoothly.

The first step to comprehensive website translation is to assess your target market by researching where your customers are coming from so you know which languages your website should be translated into, with close attention to the most common dialects. In fact, the intricacies of language differences by region are the most important element in providing fluent, error-free, and consistent translation. For example, a well-known international company once made a huge blunder by having “jolly green giant” translated into Arabic as “intimidating green monster.” Using a tool such as Google translate instead of a linguist who will translate into their native language miss these nuances and can cause embarrassing mistakes.

Next, consider the size of your business and the amount of content that will need to be translated, which should help you determine the number of languages that are essential to effectively reach your target audience. From there, the scope of the project should be defined and understood.  While translation is the bulk of the work to be performed, other details that require consideration include appearance, use and type of images, and units of measurement.

Once the scope has been fully determined, the next step is to have the content translated. For this step, it’s important to partner with a reputable language service provider.  It should be noted that while the provider is an expert in translation, it is still necessary for your company and the provider to collaborate throughout the translation process and have a structure in place to conduct quality assurance checks.  Upon completion of translation and the initial review, a final round of language quality assurance checks should be implemented to ensure the context of the site in the target language.  Once changes have been finalized and approved, the final step will be to bring your translated website live, monitor online traffic to your site to gauge how users interact, and identify any areas that require improvement.

For accurate website translation, a reputable language access provider will:

• Only use linguists who translate into their native language.
• Deliver translation services with cultural sensitivity, trustworthiness, and respect, including maintaining confidentiality, if required.
• Use translation memory such as CAT tools to identify duplicates and term bases, ensuring the use of preferred terminology and for significant cost savings.
• Build a translation memory in each language to ensure consistency of translation.
• Clearly understand your objectives and manage the translation process according to your timeline and specifications, with adherence to any compliance requirements.  

Accurate and consistent website translation can greatly increase your global online presence and your bottom line. Partnering with a reputable language access provider is the key to a seamless process and an end result which will appropriately reflect your organization.

____________________________________________________

Jeff Seidenberg was a Business Development and Project Manager for New Language Capital. A native of New Jersey, Jeff was known for his thoughtfulness, giving back to others by serving in the communities where he lived, with a particular concern for homelessness. He was also an avid – and successful - BMX competitor. This article is published posthumously with fond remembrance.