Translate now or cry later
Most businesses view translation as an expense, rather than an investment central to achieving higher profits. And when businesses take this erroneous approach, it often translates into a loss of income.
Because good translation (we mean professional) has a direct impact on your turnover. When it comes to bad translations, the cure can be worse than the disease. Far from helping your company, they can actually do serious damage to your brand image. Avoid it at all costs!
That is why it is so important to always count on professional translation services. So if you want get to get professional, natural, high quality results, steer clear of your distant bilingual cousin and free automatic translators.
Translating is not simply transferring one word from one language to another. To carry out a good translation, it is important to have a thorough understanding of both the original culture and that of the target language. This is how we can avoid those unforgivable errors. Hence the importance of relying on professional native translators to carry out any translation you may need.
Advantages of translating your website
Essentially, the benefits of translating your website into another language include:
- It increases the amount of content you have online, which helps with optimisation.
- You get more visits to your website or blog.
- Customers in other countries will be able to find you.
- It demonstrates your capacity to write in other languages.
- It gives prospective customers trust in your services.
And when you do it professionally, translation exponentially increases the efficacy of your website: it'll attract customers who go on to buy your product or service.
How to translate a website without losing your mind
There are a number of options for translating your website into other languages:
Manual website translation: as you create the content, you translate it into other languages. There are a couple of drawbacks to this: firstly, you can't use automatic translation for professional purposes. A bad translation could seriously damage your brand image; secondly, it involves a lot of extra manual work: and that means spending time away from tasks that are more important to you.
Use a multilingual translation plugin: technology now offers a number of tools for translating a website into several languages. For example, at ATLS we offer connectors that are compatible with most CMS' on the market, such as WPML for WordPress and native connectors for AEM and Magnolia.
CMS integration: whichever content management system you use (WordPress, Sitecore, Oracle, Drupal, etc.), our remote access automated solution (AT-RTS) connects to our professional translators and optimises the translation process to the max. You can request translations directly from your CMS (or your DAM or PIM) and there's no need to worry about file formats or tracking different file versions. When you use this software, you’ll receive a quality translation, ready to publish directly on your platform.
Forget about translations: no, we don't mean NOT translating your website - quite the opposite! What we mean is, you only need to worry about writing quality content in one language. we'll take care of the rest! How? AT-WST, our software with proxy technology, automatically detects content for translation and sends it directly to our professional translators, without the user having to select any content for translation. Once the translation's been completed, AT-WST publishes translated content in all your chosen website languages... all optimised for international SEO! It doesn't matter how much content you generate, your website will always be up-to-date and translated into all the languages you need.
This method can be more costly, but it is much more efficient. It's recommended for companies with dynamic websites in particular.
Translating and localising content is key
And one last, very important tip: if you want this strategy to be as effective as possible, you must put your trust in a translation company with extensive experience in your sector.
If customers come across quality content only, it won't even look like a translation - rather, it'll look as though it's been written in their own mother tongue. As you can see, localising your website - professionally - is the first step to getting customers who are loyal to your brand, and positioning your products effectively in a global market.
ATLS (AT Language Solutions) has more than 24 years of experience providing large companies with translation and technology solutions. We work with some of the world's most prominent companies, and we can help you communicate effectively in an increasingly global world.
And yes, translating your website does require an investment. But we know it's worth every penny. It opens your doors to new markets. It gives you a strong brand image. It increases customer confidence. Plus, it's the most effective means of reaching more people. And what could be more important than that?
