When companies try to go global, the most common mistake they make is underestimating the importance of webpage localization. If you have a webpage in Chinese and want to publish it in English, it would be a mistake to simply translate your text and post it online. You need to consider the actual realities of your new market and the people who live there. Our company can help you succeed when localizing your web materials.

Don’t just assume that what makes sense in Chinese will make sense in English. Similarly, don’t just assume that what sounds great in Spanish will translate directly to a German audience. Culture and language is important. Sometimes things can seem downright offensive to different cultures if you don’t localize properly.

Chinese audiences expect things to sound and be written in certain ways. They also respond to particular phases, colors and graphics in ways that are different than other cultures. The same is true all over the world. What looks good to an American might not look good to someone from Lebanon. We can help you navigate the cultural milieu of the new globalized business world.

If you’ve ever read through a document that has been translated literally into your native language, you know how confusing and ineffectual these translations can be. Languages are different in terms of their syntax and word-flow. Sentences need to be deconstructed and then reconstructed in a way that makes sense in the target language. The most obvious example of some of the problems with a literal translation can be found when we use machines to translate for us. Even though e-translations have come a long way in the past few years – they still have a long way to go.

When you translate your webpage – you need to localize the content and the actual language itself. Things have to sound and be phrased correctly in the target language or your audience will view your materials as sub-par. Sometimes literal translations cause audiences to snicker and laugh. Sometimes they can cause outright anger.

Let’s take Chinese for an example: a phrase in American English will rarely translate directly and literally to Chinese. We’ve all seen literal translations online and we know how unprofessional they can look. You need to localize the language to suit your target market.

Another common mistake comes when dealing with the formal and the informal. You would never address a formal business letter with the phrase “Hey, There!” – however – a literal translation can fail to make this distinction and leave your audience questioning your professionalism.

Keywords and key phrases make all the difference when it comes to search engine optimization. If you fail to localize your website properly, it will not perform well when people in foreign markets search for your products online. You want to be found online, and if you don’t localize your webpage properly and promote quality SEO, chances are your website will never appear on the screen of someone looking for what you have to offer.

This type of problem happens again when websites are translated literally. Our company localizes your web text and content properly. This ensures that if you’re a Chinese company looking to break into the American market, a google search for keywords associated with your company will always take customers directly to you!

We can also help with blog postings and website updates which can really improve SEO when they are done frequently. As always, our company takes any cultural or language considerations into account when translating. The result is properly localized content.

We also localize content for various social media platforms. Facebook may be great in England – but it won’t get you very far in China!

Design is central when localizing a webpage. Different cultures expect different designs. What may be effective in Italy will not necessarily be effective in Hong Kong or Shanghai. Different regions of the world expect different types of web designs and our company can help you do this.

Another problem with design is the fact that different languages need more or less room to express the same ideas. Chinese text tends to take up less space than a language like Spanish. This means that if your source page has been designed for Spain it may need to be altered to accommodate the Chinese language. We can help you do this too.

So you’ve localized your web content text – that’s good. However, if you’ve forgotten or discounted localizing your images and graphics, the results can be very negative. Stock photos need to be changed whenever you change markets. Graphical interpretations may also need to be altered. You want your webpage to appear natural inside your target market. We can help you do this for a Chinese audience or an audience anywhere else..

When your company or organization seeks out new territory and new audiences, you always need to be wary of the fact that laws and regulations differ throughout the world. For example, a statement like “The World’s Best Vodka” might be fine in Mexico – but it can land you in real hot water inside China. Quantifiable statements like this - without sufficient proof - are not acceptable in some jurisdictions. Our expert translators and localization specialists are fundamentally educated in the legal and regulatory situations as they exist within the countries they translate for. It would be a mistake to leave your localization to a company that was less prepared than us.

Before you localize your website, you need to know exactly what the implications are in the countries around the world where you are seeking out new markets. This can be impossible to do when you need a multilingual website to go global. Our company has legal and regulatory experts from more than 100 different countries. We can help ensure your localization efforts do not lead to legal problems or missteps.