What are website translation and localisation services?

Website translation and localisation services are more important than ever in this growing international environment. So, what are website translation and localisation and perhaps more importantly, how do you capitalise on them? We’ve put together a quick overview to help you out.

What is website translation?

Simply put, it’s taking a website in one language and translating it into another.

Why is website translation so important?

It’s all about how far you reach – if your website is in a different language, it opens up an entirely new customer base. As a provider, you’re able to offer your skills or products further and wider; as a recipient, you’re able to access services and products that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

How are websites translated?

By us! Here in our Nottingham head office, dedicated teams of specialist translators will invest time in learning the business, context and goals of the company we’re working with so that they can translate every word exactly as it’s intended.

Using a mixture of specialist translation software and the expertise of our native speaking translators, our teams pour over every page to get it just right.

Whatever the campaign goals are (lead generation, conversions or traffic), the way our translator teams familiarise themselves with what the company offers means that the final website is the perfect representation of the company.

Once the new multilingual website is uploaded in draft format, we carry out layout checks as part of our standard practice to ensure that characters, line breaks and text sections are all exactly where they should be.

How can I translate my website?

Essentially, you can either do it yourself or get someone else to do it.

The best option is to use a translation firm. Whilst running each paragraph through Google translate and hoping for the best *is* an option, it isn’t a good one.

The reason that professional translation is so worthwhile is the wealth of linguistic, grammatical and cultural knowledge that the team working on your project are able to apply. Instead of your clients trying to work out what your website is trying to tell them, they’re met with a faultless professional website that they can access and understand with ease.

AST Language Services offers high-quality service to you and to your website. Get in touch via email at office@astls.co.uk or call +44 (0)115 970 5633 to speak to our team.

Website translation is an important outreach tool and ast language services provide thoughtful, informed and intelligent translation

What are localisation services?

Localisation involves adapting or modifying content that is being translated so that it conforms to the needs or cultural preferences of the intended audience. Localisation means taking into account regional and cultural differences and any regulations or rules for the intended geographic region.

Why is website localisation important?

First of all, it’s about communication. With website localisation, you offer your customer a clear and easily understandable first impression, which is a vital first step for any relationship.

Additionally, it shows a commitment and a respect for the customer. Your effort and their value to you are evident, which is more likely to produce custom and loyalty.

What’s more, by virtue of what it is, localisation takes into account the cultural differences. This avoids the awkward situation of any social faux pas. On top of that, localisation also provides the added benefit of appealing to the customer in their own cultural setting – perhaps in a way that would not have been possible with a direct, unlocalised translation.

How is website localisation done?

The short answer is that website localisation requires thoughtful translators with experience and cultural awareness.

Practically speaking, the process depends largely on clients’ priorities.

High visibility areas of text designed to improve customer experience and help support the buying decision should always be translated and proofread by humans.

For less customer-critical content, more choices are available. Things like background information can often be entrusted to AI-driven machine translation (MT) then post-edited by a real person. With the cost of MT post-editing up to 50% lower than full human translation and proofreading, this is a benefit. Any additional available budget can then be weighted in favour of investment in top-quality professional translation in those all-important high visibility areas.

Even in projects where MT plays a big role, we make sure our real talented people look over everything with an eagle eye to make sure it sounds smooth, appropriate and matches the original content and meaning.

How can I localise my website?

The main requirement is the cultural knowledge and awareness, which ultimately, can only come from experience. This is the best reason to use a translation firm.

We’re perfectly placed to support your international marketing and geo-targeting efforts with our website localisation services. We have vast experience with localising client websites, and we’re set apart by our unique dedication to understanding the cultural context. Our outstanding teams of experienced, well-travelled translators put their knowledge, research and experience into practice. Overall, we make sure the final output is not only optimised but adheres to each company’s brand guidelines, product and sector terms, and corporate tone.

AST Language Services offers high-quality service to you and to your website. Get in touch via email at office@astls.co.uk or call +44 (0)115 970 5633 to speak to our team.

Website localisation can be one of the biggest assets you have and the experienced ast team provide a thoughtful, appropriate and nuanced product

Why take our word for it?

Some of the key services we offer are website translation and localisation, which makes us experts in our field.

Our company mission is to help industry leaders, marketers, and decision makers reach global audiences and communicate effectively across border and cultures.

Our team has lived all over the world and each person has a nuanced and thoughtful understanding of cross-cultural diversity and experience working in different cultural contexts. This affords us an exceptional cultural knowledge alongside our linguistic capabilities, which informs any translation work to produce accurate and well-informed documents.