Global Markets and how to easily reach them

The internet has given small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to enter the global markets in a way that was never before possible. They are able to sell their goods and services and build their brand directly through their website to customers all over the world with minimal effort. That being said, internationalising and localising your website is an essential step to take if you want to be noticed by overseas customers. Let’s start with some terminology.

Internationalising your website is the process of building your website to support multiple languages.

Localising your website means adapting your design and content to be relevant to local markets.

Translating your content and adapting your images and design into the native language of the intended audience is an essential step in any digital marketing campaign.

Extending your international online presence can be intimidating, but with the right planning, the process can be smooth and rewarding. There are a number of considerations to make.

The choice of technical platform

Historically, multilingual websites required vast budgets. They tended to be custom coded by in-house developers or large agencies and thus came with costs attached. Additionally, they can be expensive to modify. This is because multi-language sites require a more involved back-end technical configuration to allow for the complexities of managing language synchronisation between site version designs and country specifics, ongoing updates, and any localisation work. If the back-end is not structured correctly in the first instance, using the right technical tools and platform, this can turn out to be an expensive and problematic endeavour. However, with new website-building technology available today, this is no longer the case.

If you are going down the multilingual route, there are different considerations between proprietary and open-source systems (such as Shopify and WordPress), mainly in terms of control, ownership, flexibility, and price.

There is a multitude of different technology platforms available, but not all are equal when it comes to multi-language suitability. Proprietary pay-as-you-go systems, such as Wix and Squarespace, do have some multi-language capabilities but they are not specifically designed with internationalisation, localisation and multilingual SEO in mind. Proprietary systems force you to work within their infrastructure, so if you require significantly different country localisations, you will need to pay for customisation and if you decide to leave, you can’t take your investment with you as you are in effect renting the space. However, on the plus side, they offer an all-inclusive, out-of-the-box product that works well for standard requirements.

Examples: WordPress and Elementor

Open Source platforms such as WordPress have an ecosystem of dedicated plugins created specifically for multi-language web design and multilingual SEO. When it comes to your products and services, how and what you sell will vary depending on the market and country, so the design and content of your website’s different language versions may vary by both of these factors. Open-source systems integrate seamlessly with certain page builders such as Elementor. This allows you to have complete control over front-end design, especially in terms of easily and cost-effectively adding other languages to the same installation for other global markets. Additionally, you can localize the site versions for local market requirements. However, bear in mind that multi-language capabilities cannot necessarily be implemented retroactively on a website, it may actually turn out more cost-effective to simply rebuild the site.

Translating the content of the site in terms of design

When translating a website to another language, many factors need to be considered. First and foremost, the layout of the website – will the design look good when translated, and will it look consistent in another language? Will it appear professional in the space of a specific global market?

The website design structure needs to be defined before diving into content adaptation and translation. The site should be designed with localization in mind, taking into consideration cultural sensitivities. This involves making your product or content more appealing to a wider audience. Therefore, translations will need to be adjusted accordingly. The tone of voice, cultural sensitivity in terms of icons, images, and colours all make a big difference.

• Icons – a decision must be made to either localise symbols for each different culture or internationalise them by selecting only universal symbols.
• Colours – cultural differences affect colour perception in different countries.
• Imagery – different images will have different responses, for example, photos of people should always include individuals that are representative of the target culture.

Contextual Translation

• Cultural considerations should be part of your website translation
• Different cultures have different selling expressions and tones of voice
• Translations will not only affect how people perceive your brand online but also your multilingual SEO scores
• Use translators that understand how to use local selling expressions. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush doesn’t translate very well in French).

Transcreation is the merger of two words: translation and creation. It’s an intricate form of translating that preserves the original intent, context, emotion, and tone.

It’s important to remember that these decisions on translations will affect how people perceive your brand online. Moreover, they will also impact what you can do with regard to SEO. Plus your site structure needs to lend itself to multilingual SEO. It’s not just about referencing the page with Hreflang tags (as many “experts” will tell you). It’s also about ensuring that the platform has multilingual flexibility for online referencing in different geographical locations, whilst achieving a quality SEO score and consistent ranking. No matter how perfect your multilingual website is, if customers can’t find you, your effort is wasted.

Make sure your digital efforts reflect your export business development strategy

A clear strategy that achieves your desired outcomes will justify the investment in internationalising your website and online marketing. International business development is about designing and implementing an export strategy that results in the successful sale of your goods or services abroad an in the competitive world of the global markets. You are looking to grow your company’s international business? In this case, your multi-language website should be the digital reflection of your export strategy.

You need to make sure that all of the information on it is accurate. This includes the relevance to local distribution channels, client demographics, and trade law/data compliance. Moreover,  customer contact numbers in different countries need to be taken into account.

Once you know your target audience, speak to them in their native language. A monolingual salesperson can’t sell to a non-English speaking prospect. Similarly, the same principle applies for online branding. 70% of internet users prefer navigation and content in their own language. Don’t expect success in foreign language markets with an English-only website.

Working with specialists on global markets

Having a web design agency that understands international business development will optimize any investment you make. Additionally, understanding the complexities and specifics of multilingual web design is crucial for engaging in global markets. Your web designer should be familiar with the right tools, methodology, and technical foundations. This ensures an efficient and manageable multi-language platform going forward. The more experienced they are in this field, the more invaluable their specialist expertise will be to your business.

A guest post produced by  Pixel Executive