An Introduction to Website and Software Localization

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 10:37:09 +0000

Basic terminology of website globalization contains terms like internationalization, localization, and translation at the top of the list. Today, we have picked localization to give an analytical understanding of and also of its two major expansions: software and website localization.

What is localization?

Before jumping to website or software localization let us clear up what it is. Localization involves converting the apparent features of a website or a software such as web-pages, desktop, words, user interface, etc into an understandable language of a specific locality of the visitors. The purpose behind that is to bring the attention of potential locale-specific customers to some product or software in order to expand the marketing spectrum. Localization is an important constituent of software or web-platform globalization.

Website localization

Website localization is distinguished from software localization in terms of contents to be converted and the purposes at the bottom of it. Mostly, websites are developed into English, and there are peoples in the world who are not familiar with it either because of their illiteracy or they consider it unnecessary to learn (like Chinese people). Hence, to get a website in an intelligible form for them, it is necessary to outsource website localization services. It not only aims at converting it to locale-specific language, but also renders services to let you create multi-lingual websites to enhance the scope of your marketing to a remarkable extent.

Software localization

The same criteria of services are applied to software localization as discussed for websites. However, the divergence comes when we say that the localization has mainly to do with the conversion of software for a targeted community. Most of software developers having made a research on the habits and trends of a particular area, assume their developed software right in keeping with their needs. So, to get it usable for their targeted customers, it is essential for them to get it localized so that it appears locale-friendly. For this purpose, they have to, and they do consult a localization agency and provide them a software localization kit with the full details of their requirements.

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Software Localization to Achieve Success

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:52:10 +0000

Can you imagine the world and the internet without translation and software localization?

It would not be the world as we know it today, for sure. According to researchers, 100 million people more use internet sites in their own languages than in English, every day. Visitors on websites are four times more likely to buy on web pages that are written in their native language. That is quite understandable.

Most people would rather use software in their native language. Software localization has become the best way to promote a software product to new markets.

More than 50% of searches on Google search engine are made in a language other than English (Google). Also, visitors to internet sites remain on the websites, on average, twice as long if it is written in their native language. All of this data indicates that computer programs that are not localized have a limited range in international markets. The website is your window to the world. It provides an opportunity to business people and individuals around the world to see your products and services. Translating a company’s website will increase its working capital and profits with a minimum of investment. So if you are a business person and you want to do website and software localization for a target market (language), don`t think about it too long.

Do not let cultural, geographic or linguistic barriers prevent your business from being marketed in new profitable countries.

We can not imagine our lives without the internet or smart phones these days. The whole world can use both in their native languages now thanks to translation and software localization. All of us, no matter where we are from, can use and understand this smart “marketing tool of localization.” More sales are possible, thanks to this intelligent solution.

It is probably unnecessary to mention how much less profitable your business will be if you don’t apply translation and software localization. That means every product in the world would only be available to the customers and people in their own country. Each product confined to where it is from. That wouldn`t be a modern or interesting world at all!