Multilingual website translation: More than just words

Thinking about making your website multilingual? Wondering how it could affect your online business? Such decisions can indeed be daunting.

Fortunately, numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of multilingual websites, especially for global e-businesses. In general, multilingual websites remove language barriers, clarify communication, and, most importantly, they improve user experience. This typically results in more time spent on a website and consequently growth in revenue. Knowing this, it's no wonder so many successful global e-businesses have adopted multiple languages on their websites.

But what does it take to make a website multilingual? How does website translation work? Throughout the following sections, we'll explain these aspects and share helpful insights and tips to help you make your website multilingual. So, let's get started!

Why should you make your website multilingual?

Multilingual websites offer a plethora of advantages:

• Increased reach: Accessible to a wider audience.
• Business growth: Higher traffic boosts revenue.
• Improved user experience: Native language content is preferred.
• SEO benefits: Enhanced visibility for multi-language searches.
• Cultural inclusivity: Shows cultural awareness.
• Competitive advantage: Stands out from single-language competitors.
• Brand reputation: Reflects a global, progressive brand.
• Retention: Reduced bounce rates with familiar language content.
• Increased trust: Native language content is more credible.
• Localization: Beyond translation; align with local customs and values.

How does multilingual website translation work?

Website translation is more than just converting words; it's about preserving the message and cultural context in another language. Moreover, it requires website layout adjustments for varied text lengths, selecting compatible fonts for different languages, accommodating text directions (Left-to-Right and Right-to-Left) for various languages, and much more.

In simplified terms, the process of translating multilingual websites could be divided into three phases:

1. Content extraction for translation.
2. Content translation.
3. Reintegration of translated content.

Throughout the website's life, these three phases will recur each time there's new content to translate.

What factors can make the multilingual website translation difficult?

It's hard to pin down what makes translating a multilingual website challenging. However, certain factors have consistently made the process more difficult for multilingual websites. Some of these factors include:

• The absence of contextual information during translation.
• The manual adjustment of translation files.
• The manual performance of tasks that could be automated.
• The task of maintaining updates and synchronization across different language variants.
• The lack of team collaboration between developers, designers, and translators.

How can localization tools help you with multilingual website translation?

Software localization tools are designed to make translating multilingual websites easier. They help teams avoid common errors, automate repeated tasks, enhance teamwork, speed up translation, ease the review of translated content, provide context during translation, and offer many other benefits.

How can I select the best tool for my needs? Your choice should align with your specific needs. Some tools cater exclusively to certain localization file formats, while others prioritize specific localization workflows or integrations with code repositories. But if you're looking for a tool that does all this and more, consider Localizely, which caters to a multitude of localization formats and offers all the functionalities expected of a modern localization tool, and much more.

Still unsure? See what our users are saying in the reviews. Try Localizely for free!