Localizing your website is one of the most effective strategies to reach a wider global audience, increase engagement and profit, and create stronger brand credibility.
There are tons of website localization best practices out there. One of the most crucial practices you should remember is that language and culture play significant roles in the success of any localized, multilingual website.
Website localization is a rigorous yet rewarding process that needs an effective strategy to put your company on the international map. While some businesses opt to mobilize their internal developers to create a multilingual website, it is still ideal in some cases to hire a website design company and local translators to complete the job.
Before we deep dive any further into how to successfully build a localized, multilingual, and culturally suitable website, we must first know what exactly website localization is.
Website localization is the process of transforming a current website into a more accessible and usable platform for a foreign target audience. There are two main factors to consider in website localization:
First, a company needs to carefully study the technical aspects. This includes using codes that can handle alphabets with various characters and symbols so that transactions can easily be done by users. Second, language translation should also be given ample attention before creating a multilingual website. Website localization is not just merely translating a specific language, but it is an intricate process that considers the cultural sensitivities of a specific location.
Study shows that about 25.5% of worldwide internet users are non-native English speakers. A 2014 study conducted by research firm Common Sense Advisory also noted that about 72% of online buyers spend more time browsing websites in their own language and that 75% of them prefer to purchase from localized websites.
This means that having a multilingual website will retain more foreign consumers and help expand your international market presence. A multilingual website will also likely reduce your bounce rate due to improved customer experience. Market insiders added that this could have an inverse effect on your business’ conversion rate as consumers will feel more confident buying from a site that they can fully understand.
If you are planning to build a multilingual website to take your company one step further, then this Ebook is for you! In this Ebook, Webpuppies will discuss: