How to build a multilingual website
How to build a multilingual website is key in today’s business world. For businesses in different parts of the world, it is important to design specialized websites for the various, distinct regions. This will ensure a personalized experience for the shoppers when they get onto your websites rather than just a generic appeal.
To make that happen, we have researched some of the top techniques that work in this category.
1 Stay Consistent
There is usually an urge to try something new with a new website. We recommend that you don’t do that here.
Keeping things consistent helps you show your audience that all the other websites are a part of the same brand – not some rip-off by a scammer. This also helps you keep the brand image across all the various websites there are, which could be the difference between getting a lot of business or losing out on them.
2 Special Content
While you should keep the design and appearance of the websites the same, the content should not always be.
For example, a national holiday in Nigeria does not always correlate with another holiday in Spain. Thus, you will want to create specialized content for each of these regional websites.
Besides that helping you leverage special occasions to get even more conversions, it also brings you closer to the audience who now feel that you are a part of their culture.
3 Handle Translations Professionally
One of the biggest mistakes we see brands making when creating specialized websites for different regions is in the language department. Of course, many website builders now come with the option to machine-translate your content the way you want, but that is not the best way to go.
Machine translation will make you lose some deep meaning and contexts of the language which should not be so. We don’t need to flog this issue anymore as we have properly addressed it in this piece before.
Thus, get a certified human translator to handle all of the language needs. That way, you can be sure to make a better connection with your audience.
4 Ensure Appropriateness
Icons, images, content and other graphics on the website might be appropriate in the maiden market, but you might be in for a surprise when you get to the international market. It is preferable to hire someone to look into the entire content of your website to see if there are no potentially-harmful ones in there.
As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
5 Country-Based Domain
One of the best ways to help your customers find your brand in their country is by registering a domain of your website there. This makes the experience unique to them, and they always know where to go when looking for specialized services.
