Website Localization: Critical Factors for Success

Critical Factors Of Website Localization Success

EPIC Translations recently did a comprehensive survey of more than 110 websites. Thirty (30) of these were localized specifically for the German market and below is what we analyzed in order to study their effectiveness.

The purpose of the study was to understand how critical factors were implemented in a company’s website localization efforts for the German market. The critical factors that we identified as essential to a localized website’s success were:

  1. Navigation
  2. Graphics
  3. Colors
  4. Cultural Relevance
  5. Quality & Accuracy
  6. Mobile Optimization
  7. Domain Name
  8. Local CX
  9. Social Media
  10. Multimedia
  11. Search Engine Optimization

Each critical factor represents a different level of commitment to company’s website localization efforts. For example:

  1. Is it enough to localize the website copy and not worry about the graphics?
  2. Is it enough to leave the same colors and navigation as the original website?
  3. Is it beneficial to host the localized website in the target country using the country’s domain name structure?
  4. Is it beneficial to localize your multimedia content in addition to the website copy?
  5. How do you carry out quality and accuracy on the localized website?

These and other similar questions must be addressed to successfully generate positive results from your website localization strategy. If these critical factors are not adequately addressed in your localized website then, simply put, you will be left behind by your competitors.

As we study and review the full survey results, each of the critical factors will be carefully analyzed and will be shared with you soon.

Stay tuned!

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