Four ways to stay within budget when translating your website

Because your website is where many potential customers will form their first impression of your business, the decision to translate it should never be made without considering specific key points. It is essential to guarantee it is of the highest possible quality, ensuring readers and consumers are hooked from the start.

We have all come across poorly translated websites, and when we do, the chances are we will navigate away from them quickly, without taking the company behind them seriously.

Making a website more international is a critical step for expanding your business, and doing so is easier than you might think!

1. Expand your business:

What languages? When? Why?

These are some of the critical questions that will run around your head. One thing is clear, however: the likelihood of selling a product or service increases if information about it is translated into your target market’s language in addition to your native language.

It is estimated that three billion people use the internet every day. About 50% of them are from Asia, with 20% from the Americas and 20% from Europe. These figures highlight the exponential expansion potential that is open to your business. So, depending on your goal, your target audience, and the competition, you need to know your next steps. For example, if you want to sell something in the Arabic-speaking world, it makes sense to have your website translated into Arabic before considering any other languages. Did you know that several studies have shown that 70% of consumers are more likely to buy something they can read about in their native language than they are if it is described in a foreign language?

Next, other than in specific circumstances, the general rule is that English is a key language for content provision. That being so, you should only add other languages once your website is set up in English, and you have worked out your return and assessed the number of visitors you are attracting.

If you aim to expand your business into several countries, translating your content into various languages ​​at once might be an expensive alternative that offers no short-term returns. Translating one language at a time could, therefore, contribute to the sustainable development of your business.

2. Localise

In addition to translating your content, it is vital to ensure it is adapted to the target language, a process called localisation. Every culture and country is unique, and what sets each one apart from all the others must not be overlooked when translating your website.

Translations should always be completed by professionals who are native speakers of the target language and can adapt content to ensure it is culturally appropriate, allowing readers and consumers to engage fully with what they read on the screen. Once that has been completed, it is time to use our SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) service, which will help get your website in front of people searching for the products and services you offer.

3. Set a budget and ask for the best solution

Another way to get your website translated is to determine how much you can afford to invest in the service, then approach specialist companies to determine the best available in-budget solutions. Imagine you want to translate your website into four languages, but your budget will not stretch that far. You will have to consider alternatives, analyse your content’s importance, and rethink your markets and objectives. The specialised companies you speak to will tell you what language pairs are best-suited to achieving your goals and help you determine your priorities and goals. Every market is different, which means the price difference between language pairs can vary substantially – which is a solid starting point when deciding how you can make your money go further.

4. Translation agencies

Your choices are unlimited, although you should be aware not all agencies provide the same quality of service.

Poor translations, ones that the target audience cannot understand, can be damaging in terms of credibility and sales.

To avoid putting you in that position, SMARTIDIOM guarantees the highest quality in its projects, presenting our clients with various options to meet their budgets and only ever working with linguists who are native speakers of the target language. A translation that is done well the first time means you will not have to pay to have it all done again and saves you money in the long run.

Fun facts:

– The ten most-spoken languages in the world are: English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Bengali, Portuguese and Indonesian.

– You can reach 85% of the global population with as few as 11 languages.

– There are different variants in some languages: for example, French variants include those from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium, Cameroon and Senegal.

– There are many differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese that you must consider

– When it comes to English, you should always decide whether you want International (British) or American English, as there are some very significant differences between the two.

– Variants of Spanish include European, Mexican, Argentinian and Cuban, among others.

– The variant of Chinese you need could be either Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese, depending on the region in which the content will be used.

– There are 2.3 Chinese internet users for every American, all of which have a similar purchasing power.

– The active population of internet users in Brazil is practically the same as in Japan, though they have a much lower purchasing power.

– French is a language spoken in three countries with considerable purchasing power: France, Canada and Switzerland.