If you have an English website, developing several versions of the site is now more necessary than ever. In addition to your initial English website it is a good idea to translate the site for customers who speak German, Chinese, Spanish, and French. If you are reading this, you are probably searching for the most effective way of translating your website.

When public access to the World Wide Web was first made available in the early 1990s it was inconceivable that one day every business and company would need a website of their own. The thought of online companies such as E-bay or Amazon, with annual sales of billions of dollars, was incomprehensible. Today, while a very large number of users all over the world shop online on English speaking sites, billions of potential online consumers at any given moment still rely on their primary language as their only form of communication.

Different ways of translating websites

Translation software

Free translation services are available, but most use computers rather than human logic, and this is their major fault. Translated products range from comic to completely flawed. Few people, if any, will complete purchases at a computer-translated website.

To check the accuracy of Google Translate, for example, a simple experiment will suffice: Copy a 5-line paragraph from your website and use Google Translate to translate it into French. Then take the same paragraph in its French version and translate it back into English. Don't expect to understand the resulting text, and don't expect French speakers to be impressed by the translation.

Websites for locating freelancers

Self-employed translators may be found through websites that supply work to freelancers, such as Elance or Xplace. While these websites are good for locating programmers, web developers, designers, etc., they are less useful for locating professional translators as it is difficult to assess their work, particularly if you do not speak the target language.

Translation companies and agencies

This is the best way to translate a website. At Trans-that we provide the best alternative to the above. We provide all the advantages of working with professional translators, without the disadvantages of working with self-employed translators.

The translation process

Selection of the target language is influenced by…

Factor A

When webmasters realize that users from a certain country, such as India or China, are interested in the contents of their site, a decision should be made whether to translate the site into Hindu or Chinese and improve the user experience of Indian or Chinese users.

Factor B

If the site offers an innovative service that could hold interest for people from all over the world, it would be advisable to consider translating it into languages spoken in financially strong countries. This would expose the site to potential customers willing to try new services or products.

Choose a translation company

As mentioned in the article, it is always possible to choose between a self-employed translator and a translation company. In both cases, the translator must be inherently familiar with the target country and its cultural influences, such that the work will also include localization for the target country.

Uploading the translation to the website

There are quite a few website platforms. Construct a new site with a unique domain (or sub-domain) for the translated site. In this way the webmaster will be able to define the site on search engines as intended for a specific country.

Proofreading the translated text

After the contents are uploaded, and in general after any translation, it is important to proofread the resulting text in order to detect clerical errors. When translated, some sentences may be too long or too short and may not fit the design of the website, and these must be modified, shortened or lengthened. Sometimes it is necessary to change the wording of certain sentences to adapt them to the site design and to the users. Occasionally the translation is performed within the site, enabling translators to check and adapt contents to the website design as they work.

Concluding the translation process and initial marketing of the site in the target country

Even when the translation is ready, our work is not concluded. To find out how to attract more buyers or potential customers to your website read our article on search engine marketing in multiple languages.