In today’s global economy it is essential that your website is multi-lingual. It needs to cater to just about every region you intend on doing business in. Though setting up a multi-lingual website with a consistent design can be challenging. However, with the right planning and a team of experienced people, it is proven to do wonders for any business.
Get the content translated
Now, this isn’t a web design related tip, but it is one that many people are confused about. Don’t rely on translation software but instead on native speakers. Also, getting the content translated first gives the web designers an idea as to how the website should be laid out for that specific language. For instance, Japanese, Chinese, Korean are script languages and written from top to bottom or left to right. On the other hand, Arabic and Hindi are written from right to left. Most European languages including English run from left to right. Having the translation on hand makes things easier.
Use Culturally Appropriate Web Design Elements
Even though art is subjective, there are some commercial graphics, icons, and photographs which are perceived differently. So, what may be seen as innocent or perhaps stylish in Western culture may be offensive in Japan. As a rule of thumb, your web design should avoid the use of religious symbols, hands, and animals. If using people photos make sure they are culturally appropriate.
Cultural color connotations
Do the research and find the right cultural connotations. Colors offer a variety of symbolism, and one symbol can be perceived drastically differently by another culture. So, you’ll probably want to use safe colors like ‘Blue’ because it is connected with nature. It also helps to evoke a positive feeling and provide a feeling of calm. Though in a country like Iran the color ‘Blue’ is associated with mourning.
Your Website Should Accommodate an Array of Internet Speeds
Websites need to load before a user can look at anything. So, you don’t want a user to be waiting too long for a graphic or a block of text to load.
Internet speeds tend to vary across the world. You can refer to this map of internet speeds and optimize each region’s pages accordingly. A couple of things you can do to speed up a page include reducing the size of graphical elements, removing videos and shortening text blocks.
Put Your Website Through a Native Test
Finally, when the content, graphics, and design has been drafted it is time to see how people react to it. However, you wouldn’t want the page to go live just yet because there could still be an overlooked aspect which causes embarrassment. The best thing to do is to have local translators and people look at the website and spot issues.
Translators who are native to the region will be able to spot not just issues with the copy but also with the graphics, layout and if it is culturally appropriate. All of this will ensure that the website is perfect before launch.