How to choose the best website translation service

Keywords: website translation, translation services, website translation service, website translator, professional translation service, multilingual website, create multi-language website

Are you wondering what a website translation service is, and how it can help your business stand out? What do you need to do to appear on the first page of search engine results?

There's lots of talk about how to translate a web page, but the truth is, it's often eclipsed by other matters. But that fact is, it's as important as ever to keep your web presence active and up-to-date. Using website translation services might be commonplace, but they're not always used as effectively as they could be.

Are you looking for a professional website translation service that adapts to you and your needs, without adding to your woes? Let's do it.

The importance of web page translation nowadays

No doubt you've come up against more than one multi-language website on the internet. These multilingual websites will have invested in a website translation service to help them reach a larger audience and cross digital borders. It's now rare to find a website that isn't translated into English at least. Finding your niche in the marketplace is a must, and if your business is active beyond your national borders, it's time to think big.

Why work with a website translation service?

Here are some of the most relevant reasons we can think of in terms of expanding your business:

• Discover a new target audience: Translating your website means you can reach everyone who could be interested in your service. After all, you never know where your next customer might be.
• Invest on your own terms: Use website translation services to your advantage, whatever your goal. Do you want to improve the user experience for browsers who stumble upon your website, or increase internal traffic? You can't lose.
• Improve the user experience: Who doesn't like feeling at home when they're browsing online? It's almost like being abroad, and suddenly coming across a store manager who speaks your language. It's a good feeling.
• Guarantee your brand image and service quality: Quality is a fundamental part of conveying trust to potential customers, it's a given. The better the quality, the more likely you are to reap the rewards. And what better way to project your brand image than with a translated website? When browsers find your website, it's the first thing they'll notice. It's guaranteed to leave a lasting impression and make them want to come back.
• Don't translate; transcreate: OK, we're talking a lot about website translation services, but transferring cultural elements is an essential part of the process. Not everyone can do it. You need to make sure you put your transcreation in the right hands, or you're putting yourself at risk in terms of costs and your future. If you don't get the transcreation of something as small as a slogan spot on, you could see your conversion rates plummet.

Reach international audiences

How many times have you heard how important SEO (search engine optimisation) is to reach a target audience beyond your current scope? It's an indisputable fact.

A lot of websites would be lost in the vast ocean of the internet without it. But thanks to positioning strategies and SEO translation provided by website translation services, you can make sure you're not left at sea. As you can see, it's about more than transferring words in one language to another; it's about developing interpersonal relationships with your users, so you can really connect with them. This is an exchange that transcends language.

Drive business growth in new markets

You know there's an audience out there waiting for you, and when you've sorted out your multilingual website, you'll be able to find it. So, as well as working on potential user profiles and analysing specific demographic segments, if you create a multi-language website it will be much easier to attract a wider audience.

If users can see what you're offering fits their demands, and can see a website with a carefully planned user experience, they'll spend more time on it. Business success could well be closer than you think. This is the power of web translation services!

Communicate effectively in different languages

It's no wonder people prefer shopping or purchasing from websites in their own native language, and this extends to other details such as the design. The design conveys messages through colours, fonts, the structure of multilingual websites and more... And thinking about it in linguistic terms, just because a sentence works well in German, doesn't mean it will in Spanish (imagine leaving all the upper case words you get in German in a Spanish text!), or vice versa.

If you want to reach browsers on an emotional level, the route may be lined with words, but also cultural references that make them connect with a product.

What to do you need to think about when choosing a translation service?

When you're creating a multi-language website, you need to build from the bottom-up. Think of a house - you'd start on the foundations, not the roof. So, the first foundations are making sure you work with an experienced website translation company. They should be able to give you references, make it easier to manage your website content, and (this should go without saying) protect any sensitive data you handle:

The company's experience in website translations

If you're interested in contracting a website translation service, the first step is of course to find a company that meets your needs. Then, you need to check the company's track record in website translations (it's a specialist area that requires extensive training and preparation). You need to be safe in the knowledge their technical team can smooth out any issues that arise over the course of the project.

Ease of managing web content translations

You also need to make sure simplicity comes first with their content translation management system. OK, so how do you do that? At ATLS, for example, we provide various tech solutions for this purpose, including connectors to translate a web page. We also provide a translation proxy (called AT Website Translator) and an automated remote connection solution that works via a translation API, as well as a WPML plugin that gets your website ready to go in the blink of an eye.

Ultimately, the simpler the process, the less scope for error, and that means better results.

Protection of sensitive information

The European Commission sets out which types of data should be considered sensitive. When you contract a website translation service, you may well need to think about any data you process on your website (especially on data capture forms). You can't afford to put this information at risk when you create your multi-language website. Risks are everywhere when we're browsing online - at times without us even realising - and translation is no exception.

Taking preventive measures and ensuring browsers' security throughout the process should be key when choosing a website translation service. If the company is ISO 27001 certified, it shows that they actively protect such data and meet all the relevant legal requirements.

Technological solutions for website translation

The purpose of website translation technology is clear: to facilitate and streamline processes. Extracting all the text from a website, for example, is a long and arduous task, requiring hours upon hours of work. You can use various tools to manage these processes. One of them is what's known as a website translation proxy.

Website translation proxy

A translation proxy picks out any new text within a CMS (content management system), then automatically sends it to translators. Our version is called AT Proxy. When the website translation is ready, the same proxy publishes content in all the languages: all SEO-optimised, and even maintaining the original design - regardless of the characteristics of the languages included on your multi-language website. This powerful tool automates the workflow, with no impact on the final quality of the product because the texts are always handled by professional translators.

AT-WPML: translate a WordPress CMS

And then there's WordPress. Currently seen as the leading content manager on the market, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't heard of it.

If you're looking for a website translation service for your WordPress CMS, the WPML plugin is the perfect match for you. We work with it at ATLS, and it's an absolute delight. So, how does it work? Once you've installed it on your website, all you need to do is activate the AT Language Solutions translation service, then send your translatable content for translation by our team of professionals. As you can see, this simple but powerful plugin takes away all the hassle, and doesn't require any advanced programming skills at all.

Website translation API: AT-RTS

In website translation, an API (Application Programming Interface) allows developers to integrate translation functionality into websites. ATLS has its own API (AT-RTS ) that enables you to request translations directly from your systems - without the format giving you a headache. Once the translations have been finalised by our professional website translators, the content takes its return journey back to your CMS.

One of the biggest advantages of using an API to translate CMS websites is the limited amount of file handling involved; all the common pitfalls that lead to errors are gone in a flash. Not to mention the file types it supports, cost savings and shorter time-to-market.

So, if you want a good website translation service, what's the best method to go for?

The answer remains the same: It all depends on your needs, the scope you want to achieve with your business and the style of your multilingual website. The one constant is to make sure you go for a website translation service provider that understands you and your needs, and works towards your goals effectively.

Choose a professional website translation service

There are hundreds of options to choose from, and it might sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. No doubt you've got endless questions swirling through your mind, but the one thing to remember is it's your choice, and you should go for a professional website translation service that can adapt to you, your customer base and your brand concept.

All things are not equal. If you're a small local business, you'll need something different to a corporation dealing with an international client base, or a self-employed individual who simply wants an online presence. Think about your business, and be willing to accept guidance from professionals in the sector.

Check how your multilingual web page looks

As the saying goes, an image is worth more than a thousand words. We wholeheartedly believe this at ATLS, which is why we're giving you the opportunity to see how a part of your multilingual website would look using our AT Website Translator software. And free of charge!

It might just be a sample, but surely it's an offer you can't refuse?

ATLS, your website translation services agency

At ATLS, we offer the highest possible quality with unparalleled website translation technology tools. We'll do everything within our powers to help your business take off to new heights. Get ready to bring down those language and cultural barriers, and succeed thanks to our next-level website translation service.

Talk to us, agree on your requirements, and let us take care of the rest. With a smile ☺.️