29. Shout and say your words slowly

We are very lucky that English is often regarded as the language of the net and commerce. By ignoring other languages, you are blocking potential users from interacting with your site.

It’s time to dust off those high school textbooks and get down with the lingo – mine’s a cafe solo por favor…

Speaking In Tongues

Non-English-language versions of your web site are not created overnight, nor will the cost of translation be cheap. Taking the step to offer a multi-lingual site is something that must be thought over in depth, involve all functions of the business and be budgeted for. The overriding question must be: Will a multi-lingual version of our web site add value for customers and for us? If the answer is no, save yourself the project management nightmare and spend the money taking a busman’s holiday to these far-off climes instead.

Flying The Flag

If you decide you need, or have already implemented, a multi-lingual site, well done! Multi-lingual sites are difficult projects to manage and maintain, but the benefits if they are done right can be immense. Deciding to launch a multi-lingual site is a massive step, and not a decision to be taken lightly. Every single word needs to be represented in each of the languages you have on your site. This makes editing information or adding new information both time-consuming and costly. The margins for error are enormous and it’s only when an error is brought to your attention by a user (unless a member of staff is fluent in each of the languages) that you know to make an alteration – and how many hundreds or thousands of visitors saw the mistake? On the positive side, quite simply you are making your site much more accessible and this will win you points with foreign visitors. If you are offering multi-lingual versions of your site, shout it from the rooftops, and while you’re there, plant the flags of the languages in a prominent position at the top of the page.

“If your target foreign languages are that important to you then you will want to go the extra mile and talk to your developer about implementing automatic detection on your site. If a large number of your customers are in Spain then your site can automatically present a Spanish language version when it detects visitors using a Spanish IP address.”

How did it go?

Q. Our IT people have offered to test a multi-lingual version of the site by translating the content through a web-based software translator. Will this have the desired effect?

A. Absolutely not! The English language, some argue, is the most confusing in the world and no software can match the ability of a live human translator when it comes to translating web site content. It may be expensive, but a translation must be done properly. If your translation is riddled with errors it will be embarrassing and will alienate users. As for Google Translate – banish that thought right away. It may be quick and free but while it is useful for single words it comes unstuck very quickly on even the simplest phrases.

Q. The marketing department argues that we would be better to launch specific sites in those countries rather than confusing the UK site with four different languages. It would certainly be easier to organise, but is it the right thing to do?

A. Three separate international sites on top of your own is going to get expensive, whether you physically staff the site offices abroad or not. It would be much cheaper to buy the foreign domains (.es .it .fr etc.) and make your main site multi-lingual. If a user clicks on the .co.uk site it will default to English, but they can choose to read in Spanish, and vice versa if they visit the .es site.

Here is an idea for you…

Make a business case for your site to be translated into two additional languages. What would be the benefits to the company, which two languages would be best and what competition are you facing from web sites written in those languages and operating in those countries? The plan may well show that making your site multi-lingual is not a viable option. However, it could reveal a huge opportunity that can be easily exploited.

Defining idea…

‘If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.’

Doug Larson

Defining idea…

‘Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.’

Rita Mae Brown

Defining idea…

‘Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.’

William Butler Yeats