76% of customers today prefer to buy products with information available in their native language.
Often this is a matter of trust. Customers have higher confidence in businesses who offer language-specific support. They’re able to relate to the brand, get better customer service and feel satisfied that the company is catering to their needs.
That’s why providing localization isn’t just a way of reaching a wider audience, but also earning a more loyal audience. Don’t forget that it also gives your business a competitive edge, as 40% of customers won’t buy from websites in other languages.
Yet offering software localization – whether through an app, website or other interface – is a challenging task. Here’s everything you need to know about software localization to guarantee that your business is on the right track.
10 Software Localization Mistakes To Avoid
There’s a lot to consider when undergoing software localization. It’s not just about translating, but adapting your software for cultural fit, user preferences and local standards.
1. Not Specifying the Exact Locale
It’s common for businesses to choose a target language, but not a target locale.
Every language has its specific variations. Take for example the distinct phrasing and standards across American, British, South African and Australian varieties of English. Hunky-dory!
This goes not just for phrasing, but also places names and formatting concerns. Formatting should never be hard-coded into your software, as you’ll need to adapt it for every locale, including:
- Naming conventions
- Date/time
- Currency/numbers
- Sizes/measurements
- Telephone format
- Address format
- Special characters
2. Not Using Simple, Concise Text
Your original text should already be localization-friendly. That is, it should be simple, concise copy that doesn’t use idioms and is clear to users.
Ultimately, if your original text uses best practices for UX writing, you’ll have a better chance of getting excellent localized content downstream.
3. Not Giving Translators the Full Context
Translators need context to select the best, most appropriate translation. Don’t keep your linguists in the dark. Be sure to provide them with:
- Screenshots
- Notes
- A glossary
- A style guide
- Any other key documentation
In addition, your source text should always be easily readable, so extract it from your code before handing it off to your translator.
4. Not Accounting for Cultural Nuance
Your localized content must also be culturally compatible with your target audience.
For example, Swedish users tend to prefer clear, straightforward language. It would be a mistake to use elaborate, exaggerated or formal phrasing.
Cultural fit isn’t just language, but also other elements within your interface. Your images, payment methods and more should all be reimagined for your audience, too.
5. Not Incorporating SEO
Adapting your content to your audience also involves SEO research. The right keywords are vital to capture users as they browse for products like yours.
Incorporating language-specific SEO keywords can boost your text and make certain it reaches the right users. In turn, this can increase sales.
6. Not Considering Word Expansion/Reduction
Every language has its own unique text density and length. For example, Swedish is about 10-15% more compact than English. In contrast, Spanish expands about 20-25% compared to English.
To account for length differences, it’s important to have a responsive interface that allows for a 50% margin to expand or shrink. Otherwise, you may have to redesign your interface for the target language, which can increase costs and lead to a less polished brand look.
7. Not Planning for RTL and Vertical Languages
Languages are wonderfully diverse and it’s essential to consider those that don’t fit the left-to-right format.
Some are written right-to-left (such as Hebrew or Arabic) or vertically (such as Chinese or Korean). To guarantee these languages are properly set, your design team should be prepared to adapt string placements as needed.
8. Not Checking for Software-Wide Consistency
Beyond having the right word choices, you’ll also need to check for consistency.
Consistency across your software minimizes any confusion and boosts the user experience. For top consistency, you should hire linguists who utilize a translation memory (TM). This way, you can easily verify that the same terms and titles are used throughout your copy.
9. Not Hiring Professional Linguists
Businesses looking to cut corners may look to machine translation (MT) to handle their localization needs. Ultimately, this can turn out to be a costly choice.
While there are some compelling uses for MT today, localization is not one of them. The intense level of nuance and cultural know-how involved just can’t be duplicated by MT. In these high-stakes situations, you don’t want to provide low-quality translation that could put off potential customers.
10. Not Starting Localization From Project Kick-Off
The earlier you start thinking about localization, the better. Ideally, you’ll start incorporating localization processes during content creation, so that you can get the original text and any required translations completed simultaneously.
This enables stakeholders to provide feedback more efficiently and ensure all localization efforts are on the right track. The last thing you want to do is rush localization right before a product launch. Getting started early also means you’ll have time for localization testing with your target users.
Localize Your Software to Swedish with a Pro
Localizing your software is a critical step to build strong relationships with your target customers.
For best results, trust a professional – like me! – to handle your software localization for the Swedish market. I have 20 years of experience as an English-Swedish linguist and have deep expertise in Swedish culture, user expectations, SEO and more.
Get to know my English-Swedish localization experience by checking out my portfolio and contacting me today!
