Multi-lingual websites and which are the best languages to start with?

A multi-lingual website can pay real dividends in making your products more “searchable” on the internet, and in helping to drive more enquiries to you. The question of which languages to cover really depends on the current needs and aspirations of your business. English is by far the most widely used language in digital media. According to the website www.internetworldstats.com the most commonly used languages after English are (in order) Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Malaysian.

Think about the markets you want to reach.  Prioritise your needs and plan to develop your website gradually.  Take particular care over the quality of your translations: only every using professional translators with good first-hand knowledge of the key markets and your industry.

Article from the Trade International Digest, Q & A  – Visit www.croner.co.uk/trade for more information

Comment from TW Languages:

We have a considerable amount of experience in translating websites and some advice is to keep the text simple, don’t play on words as this doesn’t always work in other languages.  Use a translation company who can localise the translated text to the target country, please note, machine translation doesn’t do this!

If you need any further advice, send an email – we’d be happy to help.