Everything You Need to Know About How to Do Localization

Localization is the process of adapting a product, service, or content to a specific locale or market. It involves translating text, modifying graphics, adopting local currencies, using proper format for dates and addresses, and considering cultural differences. Localization is essential for businesses looking to expand their reach globally, as it helps them to effectively communicate with their target audience and build trust in new markets.

Not sure where to start? This compact overview outlines how to do localization, from understanding the process to implementing best practices for successful localization projects. You’ll find more extensive posts linked throughout for further exploration. Let’s dig in.

Why You Probably Need to Localize

Localization takes the one-to-one translation of words a lot further because it considers cultural nuances, local preferences, and regional differences to create a product or content that feels tailored to the target audience. Given the benefits it has for businesses though, the extra effort and cost are well worth it though. Here are just four advantages:

1. You can reach new markets. Localization enables companies large and small to expand their customer base by making products or services accessible to people who speak different languages and live in different regions.
2. Increased user engagement. By providing content in a user’s native language and adapting to their cultural preferences, businesses can improve user experience and elevate engagement.
3. Greater brand trust and credibility. Demonstrating an understanding of local culture and language helps establish trust and credibility with your target audience.
4. Competitive advantage. Companies that invest in localization can differentiate themselves from competitors and more easily gain a foothold in new markets.

Key Steps in the Localization Process

There are several steps to take if you want to ensure your product or content is properly adapted for the target locale. Here’s a high-level breakdown of the key stages:

1. Internationalization

Before starting the localization process, certain measures have to be taken to prepare your product or content. This phase is called internationalization (i18n), and it’s sometimes neglected in ‘how to do localization’ type guides. It involves designing and developing a product, service or campaign in a way that allows for easy localization, and usually entails:

• Separating translatable text from code
• Supporting different character sets and fonts
• Enabling text expansion and contraction
• Using universal symbols and icons

2. Choosing Target Languages and Locales

The next step is to identify the languages and locales you want to target. Consider factors such as market size, growth potential, current active users or traffic, and competition when selecting target locales. It’s also important to prioritize languages based on your business goals and budget.

3. Translation and Adaptation

Once you have identified your target languages and locales, the next step is to translate and adapt your content. Put in very simple terms, this phase involves:

• Translating text, including user interface elements, documentation, and marketing materials
• Adapting graphics, colors, and images to suit local preferences
• Converting currencies, dates, and units of measurement to local standards
• Addressing cultural references and idioms

It’s best to work with professional translators who are native speakers of the target language, have experience in your industry and ideally are users of your product themselves. This will give you the best warranty that your translations are high-quality, culturally appropriate, feel very natural and resonate with your target audience.

4. Quality Assurance and Testing

After translation and adaptation, it’s best to conduct at least one thorough round of quality assurance (QA) and localization testing to ensure that your localized version is free of errors and functions as intended. This includes:

• Linguistic testing to check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors
• Functional testing to ensure that all features work properly in the localized version
• User interface testing to verify that the localized UI is displayed correctly
• Compatibility testing to ensure that the localized product works on different devices and platforms

5. Launch and Maintenance

Once your localized product or content has passed QA and testing, it’s ready for launch. Localization is an ongoing process, however, which means that as you update your product or content, you’ll want to keep your localized versions updated and maintained as well.

• Keep translations up to date with new content and features
• Monitor user feedback and making necessary adjustments
• Conduct periodic reviews to ensure that localized content remains relevant and accurate

Getting Started with Localization

You will find a range of best practices guides here on our blog with more in-depth material on how to do localization in specific areas. They have a simple framework in common that can be used for the smallest of projects and also scale as you grow:

1. Develop a localization strategy. Define your goals, target markets, and budget to create a roadmap for your localization efforts.
2. Collaborate with local experts. Work with native speakers, local marketers, and cultural consultants to gain insights into your target markets and create localized content that appeals to your audience.
3. Use a translation memory system (TMS) to store and reuse translated content. This helps reduce costs and maintain consistency across projects.
4. Leverage automation. Localization automation tools and AI can streamline your workflow, reduce manual errors, and generally speed things up.
5. Conduct regular reviews. Monitor and regularly assess the performance of your localized products or content and gather user feedback to identify areas for improvement.

How to Do Localization? Just Start

Localization is a critical component of any solid international business strategy. By following the key steps in the localization process and implementing best practices, your business can successfully adapt its products, content and services to new markets, increase user engagement, and build trust by breaking through the language barrier.

Investing in localization may require time and resources, but the benefits – increased global reach, improved user experience, and competitive advantage – make it a worthwhile endeavor for businesses looking to garner greater visibility and reach a global audience.