Research says that 40% of online shoppers won’t buy from a website that’s not in their native language. English, the most popular language online, is still used by only 25% of internet users. The market has spoken: to compete on a global stage, you need to go local. Your website is the central pillar for all your communications, and translating websites lets you take advantage of opportunities around the world.
In the dynamic realm of modern digital communication, reaching out to a worldwide audience has become more than a mere aspiration – it’s a strategic necessity. As technology bridges gaps and connects people across continents, the primary language your website speaks plays a pivotal role in engaging diverse individuals.
This brings us to BLEND, a cutting-edge human translation solution that goes beyond translation, ensuring your content resonates seamlessly with local cultures. In a world where every click matters, harnessing BLEND’s transformative power can be the key to unlocking international opportunities and fostering genuine connections.
Human translation involves the expertise of professional translators who convert web content from one language to another. Numerous agencies offer these human translator services for a fee.
The key advantage of human translation over automatic translations lies in its ability to comprehend context, structure, and linguistic subtleties. Beyond this, human translation often encompasses steps like proofreading and quality assurance, ensuring a polished final result.
Machine translation, also known as automated translation or website translation, employs artificial intelligence to automatically translate websites content from one language to another. Notable examples include Google Translate, which utilizes a neural machine translation system for multilingual conversions. With automatic translation, you don’t have to spend time extracting content and receiving translated content.
In contrast to human translation, machine translation lacks the ability to consider the context or linguistic nuances of foreign language, frequently in inaccurate translations, resulting in less accurate translations.
The most obvious way to localize your site is to gather up all the text and send it to a professional translator via the BLEND Express Wizard.
To do this, start by either downloading the text from your website or copying it from each page, and paste it into a Word document, Excel file, or Google sheet. Along with these files, make sure you provide the translators with a detailed brief, complete with images and links that explain the context. Include notes on brand language and whether you want to leave product or brand names, or certain phrases and slogans, in the original language.
Once your content is uploaded, you’ll select an expert if you require your translator to have one. For example, if you have a finance website, you may want a translator with financial expertise. Otherwise, we recommend choosing Marketing as the default for website translation. Finally, you’ll pay and submit your project. You can then check on the status on you’re My Projects page in your BLEND account, and you’ll receive the translated content back in the same format in which you submitted it. You will then have to upload the translated text into your website builder or CMS manually.
The other option is to use a translation API. A website integration automates the beginning and end of the website localization process, making the overall flow of your project much smoother. BLEND allows you to use an API to plug in directly to your CMS or website builder, with specialized integrations for WordPress, Drupal, and more.
As you add or change sections or whole pages, your translators will see where the text fits in the overall page layout. All the localization work will be done directly on the translation platform. Translators will still have content and design context, and the new web pages can be reviewed and published within the website builder or CMS itself. By skipping the uploads and downloads, you’ll speed up the whole process, avoid operational headaches, and ensure better results.
Using these APIs involves a few simple steps to connect your BLEND account to your site’s CMS:
If your website is built on a system other than WordPress or Drupal, you still likely have options that are easier than downloading and uploading your content manually.
Translating your entire website into your preferred language can be easy, but it’s just one step toward full localization. To help your website really BLEND in and stand out, start with localized SEO research. Once you’re using the right keywords for each market, it’s time to start localizing your help center and customer support processes. Localizing every customer interaction gives you a cohesive online presence and offers your customers a consistently fantastic experience. If you’re not sure what needs to be done to localize your site for new markets, or just want to improve your localization further, a Local Insight Report can help you understand what the new step should be.
BLEND offers localization solutions every step of the way. Get in touch to find out how we can help you go natively local with our website translation services.
With over 10 years of experience in the localization industry, Adria is an expert in designing localization and translation solutions for global businesses in every industry. Adria is BLEND’s Solutions Architect and the Chapter Manager of Women in Localization Romania.
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