Gone are the days when you could simply translate your current website or digital media and instantly compete on the global market. Every business with an online presence has now the opportunity to be globally successful by localizing its online content.

This process is called website localization and it's all about modifying an existing website to make it accessible, usable and culturally suitable to a target audience. Website localization is a multi-layered and delicate process needing both programming expertise and linguistic/cultural knowledge. If either is missing, the chances are that a localization project will encounter problems.

Website localization is more than mere translation. Translating only solves partial language problems while localization is the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market. The process is therefore complex and involves three different levels of adaptation.

First there's translation. Website localization involves adapting any text being used into the language of the country. It is important that translation of information be “clear and understandable” to avoid cultural misunderstanding or offence. In order to translate, the "target culture" must be known.

Second is the actual localization, which includes translation but also involves all other efforts and activities to ensure that the adaptation of textual materials, visual displays, illustrations and graphics are “linguistically and culturally appropriate for the target locale.” Among the many technical elements which can be localized are: date and time formats, currency formats, number formats, address and telephone number formats, units of measure and connection speed. In order to ensure effective communication during the localization process, it is important to consider the following items: information architecture, theme and navigation, graphics, photographs, audio, and visual.

Third is internationalization, which involves making sure that the software being used is fully compatible with the technology of the country in question.

There are two important considerations to keep in mind during the process of website localization. The first is to focus on the demands of the user. The readers of the “localized version of the website” want to be able to read and understand the pages in a way that makes sense to them. A second consideration is to take into account the goals of the client, whether an institution, government or individual, for example.

Why is localization important?

The aim of localization is to give a product the look and feel of having been created specifically for a target market, no matter their language, culture, or location.

Let's take companies such as Amazon, eBay, Google, and Facebook as examples. They all have taken advantage of the web’s global connectivity, and have emerged as ‘Global online Multinationals’. However, many more companies due to the lack of expertise or vision have not been able to leverage their online presence across global markets.

The doctrine in the past decade was if you translate the website and digital media then they will come. But study after study has now shown that customers worldwide are not just looking for a website or digital media which is merely translated. The website or digital media needs to be well localized so as to resonate with its end user’s cultural and functional expectations. From a broad marketing perspective localization basically means adapting market offerings to best meet end user expectations.

Do you want to expand your business globally? It's time for you to consider the benefits of cultural customization over basic translation.