It really depends on what you need your website to achieve. To help you decide, this is the difference between translation and localisation.
Website Content Translation
A translation allows you to present your website in a new language. There are a few different ways to get your site up and running in a new language.
Machine translation – You could choose to use one of the many online translation tools that will integrate with your site and translate your site content as you create it.
We’ve seen these tools successfully used to speed eCommerce market testing and subsequent entry into multiple new markets at a relatively low cost. The automated approach can deliver a useable translation for some kinds of content – but it may lack finesse and critical brand criteria can be lost.
Our own AI enhanced translation is perfect for large-volume eCommerce content translation. We can train our engines to deliver on-brand messaging and correct terminology.
Machine translation with post-editing – The hybrid approach – a mix of automated translation with subsequent improvement by a translation professional. This delivers a lower-cost option that allows you to focus your budget on the markets showing the most promise.
Professional translation – Or, for a smaller specialized site, particularly when promoting premium products or a describing a technical subject, a professional translation may deliver the best solution, with a reduced need for revision.
But regardless of which solution you adopt, these are translation solutions that are not designed to align your site to your target market and audience expectations or optimize it to achieve maximum performance.
If these are important criteria, then you should consider localisation.
Localisation addresses critical issues that can damage your brand, alienate customers and diminish your site’s performance.
A strong, readily identifiable brand will have taken time to achieve and possibly considerable financial investment. Basically – don’t put it at risk.
Often, what makes a brand stand apart from its competition will be the style and tone-of-voice used to deliver your marketing or corporate communications.
It’s so easy to lose these values with a translation. This factor alone will affect how your target audience reacts to your website and completes a transaction, or acquires brand allegiance.
Localisation also addresses important aspects such as currency, weights and measures, brand messaging, and product descriptions so that they will be easily understood in each of your target markets.
Localisation can go deeper, adapting the video, images and icons that appear in your website
It will also address cultural issues (no embarrassing faux pas) and improve site performance by optimizing your content, ensuring visibility on local search engines.
Which one is best suited for your needs?
A straightforward translation may meet your needs perfectly well, but you want to consider localisation if you have important values to preserve and you are seeking improved performance from your website.
The Prestige Network team can help you decide as there will be many factors to consider. With years of experience helping site owners in the retail, technical and legal sectors achieve great results, you can benefit from our experience.
Get in touch for expert advice.
