Arrow Translation's Cross-Language Content Strategy: Bridging Translation Gaps to Enhance User Experience

In our previous article, we explored how to apply a multi-tier content strategy to websites. When adopting this approach, certain content may be selectively or purposefully left untranslated, which can create language gaps and inconsistencies, leading to confusion among visitors. This article will examine two common scenarios and provide recommended strategies to bridge these gaps, resulting in a smoother user experience.

Scenario 1: Untranslated Pages

Some pages may be excluded from the translation scope due to specific language market demands, but you may still want users to access them. For example, content related to destinations, such as Boracay in the Philippines, may be less relevant to French-speaking users compared to Chinese-speaking users.

In this case, it’s important to alert users that they will be switching to a different language. Failing to provide an early warning may confuse, frustrate, or even lead users to believe that the website is malfunctioning. The best practice is to visually mark these links to indicate the language change, though this may encounter technical limitations or layout challenges.

Scenario 2: Mixed Dynamic Content

Some pages may dynamically pull content from other sections of the website, and this content might not have been translated, resulting in language gaps or portions of the page being displayed in the source language.

For example, while your brand content, website interface, and booking paths may have been translated into multiple languages, you may choose to translate property information only for key language markets. Therefore, when visitors search for properties in destinations that are not the most popular in their market, they might discover that not all the property information is translated into their language.

Unlike Scenario 1, where users can be warned in advance, in this case, you can’t alert users before they access the page.

Solution

Beyond optimizing website navigation, you can consider offering secondary language preferences. While English is a global lingua franca, it is not always the preferred alternative when a user’s native language is unavailable. For example, Spanish-speaking users may prefer to select French over English as their second language. Therefore, when the website offers both English and French, allowing users the option to choose, rather than mandating the use of English, would lead to a better user experience.

For both scenarios, we recommend not automatically switching the language or showing source language content. Instead, provide a message in the user’s local language—either as a replacement for dynamic content or in the form of a pop-up. This message should include:

• For each property, a dynamic text link to the respective language version page
• All contact information, such as:
• Contact page
• Chat link
• Localized phone numbers
• Click-to-call functionality

Arrow Translation has successfully implemented this cross-language content strategy for multiple travel and hospitality brands worldwide, helping improve the user experience by addressing language gaps efficiently and thoughtfully.

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