Who runs the world? Girls, yes; but also, small businesses.
According to The World Bank figures on this matter, “SMEs represent roughly 90% of all firms and are responsible for 50% of employment worldwide, as well as up to 40% of GDP in emerging markets”.
If you are a small business and you think growth and global expansion are the domains of the likes of Nikes and McDonald’s-es of this world, think again.
The massive technological advancements in the last couple of decades have significantly disrupted the status quo. More and more people from less privileged backgrounds are making it big as entrepreneurs.
And as global consumers get infinitely sicker of big corporations and their unending greed, it’s time for the small corner stores of this planet to think big and take up space.
What can help you in this endeavor? Website localization.
What is website localization and how does it work?
Website localization is the process of adapting a website to suit the language, culture, and customs of a new target market.
While language changes are the most prominent and common components of it, localization encompasses more than that. It considers local symbols, signs, themes, colors, sensitivities, and context to connect to the local audience on more levels than one.
Website localization is a broad concept. Today, we are discussing a single aspect of it: localized design.
Let’s see what it entails.
Local Web Design
Localized web design is relevant to the culture where it exists. Meaning, your salon studio’s website in China will show service prices in the local currency, time in the local format, and pictures of local consumers on the marketing material.
That it’ll celebrate local holidays, comply with local customs, and talk in the local tongue.
The idea behind localized web design is to create design for local consumers, and not for somebody living in a different country, speaking a different language.
Local web design allows consumers to feel seen and heard by the company they are buying from, and in turn, fosters a deeper connection between the brand and the buyer.
A 7-step guide to creating a localized web design
Focusing on the visual design aspect solely, here are our 7 tips for creating a stellar localized web design for your global business.
- Create a website localization strategy
Ideally, you should be thinking about website localization from the get-go. If you are designing your website for the first time, or relaunching it, it’s the perfect time to sit with your development team and create a plan for designing and developing a localized website.
Ask yourself:
- What regions or demographics are a good match for what you are selling?
- Do you need new pricing models for new locations?
- What is your localization budget?
- Should you go for a subdomain or subdirectory localization?
- Do you have the people and access to relevant technology to support the localization process?
The more effort you make here the less you’ll have to make later on when your sites are up and running.
- Choose a translation management system
Some industries are more text-heavy than others. A website for a legal firm, for example, will rely more heavily on high-quality written content than a cupcake shop where the emphasis is more on tasty visuals.
So, what gives?
Choosing a translation management system will help you take care of the bulk of your text translations regardless of how large or small the content inventory is.
Platforms like Smartling, Phrase, and Lokalise specialize in automating the translation work for you. Optimized for search, integration, natural language processing, and other advancing technologies, these tools make it easy for you to translate your site’s content quickly and more efficiently than human translators would.
The machine-translated content can then be reviewed by human editors to check for context, brand voice, and resonance with the local consumers.
- Think of the local internet bandwidth
Technoglocial divide is a real thing and not all global locations work with a 4G network.
To ensure all your visual content will be seen by the people it’s intended for, your best bet is to create a simplified UI for countries and regions where fast bandwidths and the latest tech devices are not the norms.
Compress all your images and ensure the information on your site is not image-reliant. Add captions under photos, alt tags, and full descriptions to ensure people can access information in more ways than one when they visit your website.
- Design for the locale, not language
When we say locale, we include language and country both — because language change alone cannot mean much when you are creating a truly localized design.
Consider the fact that English in the UK is quite similar to that of Australia in spelling and context. While US and UK audiences can spot the differences when we say ‘localized’ and ‘localized’ — Aussies and Brits cannot.
So if your localization efforts are limited to the language only, the benefits too will only go so far.
For a truly custom experience, you have to think bigger. And that’s where locale comes in.
When you localize the design for the locale, you pay attention to details like currency, measurement units, date and time formats, name formats, and more.
- Allow for text expansion and shrinkage
Leave enough space in your design for text as it grows or shrinks when going through translations. A two-word phrase in English ‘Buy Now’ can turn into a two-word phrase ‘Acheter Maintenant” in French.
As you can see, the number of words has not changed, but the number of letters has. And that has made the phrase significantly longer.
When you are creating menu spaces, clickable buttons, and CTAs, think of these details so you can leave room in the UI elements for languages as they go from LTR to RTL or from horizontal to vertical.
- Ensure your visuals are culture appropriate
If you sell hiking boots and have a female hiker in shorts displayed on your website on the homepage in the USA, it’s no big deal. But display such an image on your website in a Muslim country and you may have a lot of trouble on your hands. Not only this image will be culturally inappropriate for many Muslim audiences but it may even stir legal trouble for you.
Similarly, while your brand cannot display a swastika symbol on any of your products or merchandise in the US, your Indian audience will adopt you as their own when you place it on your local Indian website as you bedeck it for the Diwali celebrations.
As local customs, sensitivities, and norms change from one location to another, it’s imperative you are aware of them, and change your site’s appearance to remain relevant and connected.
- Make it easy to switch between languages
Consumers increasingly prefer to buy from brands that offer them their products and services in local languages. According to research on this subject, 65% of consumers would buy from websites that offer information in their own language even if the experience is poor quality.
With that in mind, it’s crucial to make it easy to switch between languages on the website. Use a globe icon instead of flags to give customers more flexibility. Keep all the other visuals intact when toggling between languages to ensure the consistency of your branding message. The titles, links, and headings must also remain the same, with only appropriate language changes.
Also, when offering language change, use the native language to refer to different options. Instead of Hindi, for example, use हिंदी.
Final Word
Launching a multilingual, global website isn’t limited to content translation. You have to strive to create a digital experience that locals recognize as their own and feel connected to it.
Localized web design not only fosters deeper brand connections because it feels nice but because it’s practical and functional. When customers are able to see crucial information in a language, format, and context that they are familiar with and understand, it improves your chances of securing their purchase and improving your potential for success.