If you ended up here, you're probably going to translate your website. A multilingual website offers many advantages. You increase your reach and, if you do it right, your sales as well. But multiple languages also means more work and more costs. Read our tips to make sure your investment is worthwhile.
Translating a website involves a little more than a 'normal translation'. Fortunately, we know exactly which tools you need and how to make your web texts appealing to your target audience. Request a quote without obligation.
So you want a multilingual website, but have you thought about which languages to add? There are about 6000 different languages, so offering a website in all languages might be a bit ambitious. Take a look at your current traffic, for example with Google Analytics. Maybe your site is already being found by users from France. Then it might pay off to strengthen your position in that market with a French speaking site. If you want to go big, you can also look at the languages most commonly spoken by Internet users. With the top ten languages, including English and Chinese, you already reach around 75% of Internet users worldwide.
Bonus tip: Translation rates may vary by language combination. Factor this into your choice if budget is a factor.
Through your CMS, you may have the option to automatically translate your website. For example, if you want to create a multilingual WordPress website, you can get automatic translations from Google Translate via a plug-in. Easy, fast, cheap ... but probably not the quality that will win over potential customers. Avoid damage to your corporate image by hiring a professional.
A bad translation can lead to doubts about your website: is this a real company or a scammer? Everyone knows that language and style errors are an important feature of fraudulent emails and websites. Make sure your online business appears professional and trustworthy. A translation agency delivers SEO-optimized, relevant website translations that attract and convince customers.
Time to send your website texts to a translator. Copying and pasting everything into a Word file... what a chore! We therefore recommend that you DO NOT do that. It is time-consuming, error-prone and can be very frustrating. So how do you get the texts to the translator and the translations back into your CMS?
One option is to give the translator access to the CMS. The translator can then always work with the most recent texts. Some companies prefer not to do this for security reasons, but it is the most efficient method for you. You may have to give some instructions on how to work in the CMS, but after that the translator can handle everything for you.
You can also create an export of your entire website. You send that file to the translator and when the translation is finished, you import the file again and you have a website in another language. Safe and efficient. Exporting content from your website environment usually requires a plug-in. Sometimes these are free, sometimes you have to pay for them. You also need to spend some time finding and implementing the right plug-in. Translation agencies can advise you on this or offer their own solutions. Once you have everything installed and mastered, you can easily have your website and subsequent additions translated into one or more languages.
Have you selected one or more languages and have the original website text ready? Scriptware Translations is happy to help you. We have experience with various CMSs and a wealth of SEO knowledge. Live with your multilingual website in no time. Contact us now for a quote or more information.
