Technical requirements are essential components that must be taken into consideration ahead of time. After deciding the preferences that suit your business best, amazing results are sure to come out of your newly localized multilingual  website.

• Think about the technical decisions:

1. Site structure, platform and navigation are key elements to consider before planning the localization of the site.

I. How are you going to host the translated version of the site: new domain, subdomain or subfolder? They all work differently according to your objectives and platform where you host your site (be aware of the limitation and implications of each option).

II. How are you going to navigate from one language to the other?

a. Are you going to use written text link for the choice of languages, or do want to use images of national flags?

b. Will your user be directed to the main page upon selecting a different language, or will they be directed to the respective page where the language selection occurred?

c. How about the URL structure? There are different URL naming options in the target language that use specific extension to help users and crawlers identify the language in multilingual websites.

Examples:  “en”=English and “es”= Spanish (Español)

http://www.jrlanguage.com/en/ translation-content.html

http://www.jrlanguage.com/es/ translation-content.html

http://www.en.jrlanguage.com/ translation-content.html

http://www.es.jrlanguage.com/ translation-content.html

http://www.jrlanguage.com/ translation-content.html

http://www.jrlanguage.com/contenido-de- traduccion.html

2. Selecting the format of the working files and how to exchange content with the translation agency.

a. How will you supply the material to be translated: MS Word, html, xml, php, or others

b. Which of the above formats will be more convenient for your IT staff to receive the translated files

c. Revise your existing Content Management System (CMS). Look for answers to the question of structure and best practices to incorporate the translated content.

3. Website localization assurance is perhaps the most important step, as it is vital to proofread and test your website before it is open to the public. Always double-check connections, navigation and correct sequence within each language. By carefully reviewing the new site, you avoid the embarrassment of faulty navigation within your site that can render all of your efforts towards a multilingual page useless.

In order to market globally you must stop and ask yourself multiple questions to be successful in the planning and execution of a website localization project. Fortunately there are translation agencies, like JR Language, with the experience and know how to guide you in partnership to facilitate this complex process for you. JR Language has worked in multiple website translation projects. All of our work is edited and proofread independently after translation to ensure that your localized content appears original and attractive towards all your target markets.

If you have any questions about your multilingual website translation and localization, please contact us by leaving a comment or questions, sending us an email at info@jrlanguage.com, or calling at 1-866-389-5036. We will gladly address your question and see how we can help you.

Earlier this month, representatives from our Translation Company went to Houston to visit clients from the Oil and Gas sector, and also attended the OTC 2012– The Offshore Technology Conference. The conference and its exhibitions set a participation record with 89,400 attendees this year. It was remarkable occasion to experience the enormous array of technology [...]

Continuing with our sequence of postings on the elements to consider when planning for website translation and localization, this post you teach you about the most important factors during the actual translation process. Keep in mind that at this point you should have made certain decisions about your audience and your budget. For more information [...]

JR Language will be present at Memoq Fest 2012 in Budapest, Hungary from May 8th to the 11th. Memoq Fest is the annual user group meeting for Memoq, the translation tool developed by Kilgray Technologies. Memoq is an integrated translation and localization environment that aids project managers, translators, and editors in their productivity and quality [...]

JR Language attended Monaco 2012 for the GALA’s 4th annual conference. GALA stands for Globalization and Localization Association. Needless to say we had a great time and had fantastic exchange with people from all over the world in a great setting. It was a good opportunity for attendees to sense trends in technology supporting the [...]

In this section,  we look over the financial aspect of your website translation planning. Think about your budget: The elements mentioned below impact your costs, strategy, and work time when introducing a new translated and localized website. Do you need a partial translation or the translation of the complete site? Some clients decide to do [...]

Next week JR Language Translation Services will be attending the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas from Monday April 30th to Thursday May 3rd. As the OTC website states, The Offshore Technology Conference is the world’s leading event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production, and environmental protection. Annual [...]

On April 23rd we celebrate the Spanish Language Day in commemoration of the death of one of the most important and influential novelist, poet and playwright, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra author of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, whose work is considered among the most important in the world’s literature. Cervantes died in [...]

As mentioned in our post about Misconceptions in Website Translation and Localization, the planning phase of the project for a website translation and localization is crucial. Evaluating all important elements while planning will help the project go smoothly, within budget, and reach expectations and goals. In this post we are going to cover an important [...]

In today’s digital era, the internet has rapidly become the single most popular medium for searching information. As a result, businesses involved in multicultural markets must now expand their website to meet the diverse linguistic needs of their entire client audience. This “expansion” is called website translation and localization, and is becoming a growing necessity [...]