Arrow Translation's Key Strategies for Creating a Successful Multilingual User Experience

According to Internet World Stats, approximately 3 billion internet users exist globally, with 75% of them not speaking English. Among these users, 56% consider content in their native language more important than pricing. In fact, research by Common Sense Advisory reveals that to reach half of the internet users today, businesses must provide content in at least four languages. This means that creating a multilingual user experience has become a vital necessity for today’s enterprises.

Many large international companies have already deployed various technologies to assist them in writing, translating, reviewing, publishing, and maintaining website content. However, technology is only part of the equation. When managing a multilingual user experience, companies face challenges that go beyond the tools themselves.

1. Establish a Consensus Foundation

It is crucial to build consensus among all relevant stakeholders. Respecting and adapting to local needs is key. Headquarters should act as a center of excellence, establishing a global framework and driving continuous innovation, while local teams should focus on using digital platforms as tools to drive business growth.

It is important to involve key stakeholders from local and regional teams early in the process. Common areas where consensus needs to be reached include: which products or services will be offered in specific markets, website design and imagery choices, language style and tone of the website, preferred terminology, and workflows for translating, reviewing, and approving different types of content.

2. Design Templates for International Needs

Marketing teams often make website design decisions unilaterally, but when you try to satisfy multiple markets and language needs with a single user experience, design becomes more complex. When translating English content into other languages (such as French, Spanish, or German), the character count often increases by 20-40%. This increase can affect various components of the template, such as text on images, navigation elements, and the visual balance between content and whitespace. Other design elements that need attention include promotional content, photos, and color schemes.

3. Create Content with a Global Vision

Once you've identified the right stakeholders and reached consensus on international templates, the next challenge is content creation. Simply localizing content is not enough; it must feel as though the content is specifically tailored for the target language and culture.

One common mistake is not considering global customers during the initial creation phase. Assuming that localization vendors will handle this after the fact often leads to additional work, increased costs, and delays in the customer experience. It's essential to adopt a global perspective early in the content creation process.

4. Strategically Plan the Review and Approval Process

Once global and local stakeholders have reached consensus, and templates and content have been tailored for a global audience, the next step is translation. Who has the authority to request translations? After translation, who is responsible for reviewing and approving the content? Taking the time to answer these questions and incorporate them into the translation workflow is critical.

One of the most important lessons we've learned while implementing a global translation platform is the need for strategic planning of the review process. If internal and external review processes are not considered in advance, translation reviews can become a challenge.

5. Be Prepared for Change

You’ve identified the right people and set clear processes, but what happens when your company acquires or divests a business, or when there is a change in the team?

Like any large company, many people are involved in translation work, and these personnel often change. One of our most difficult tasks is clearly defining who within the internal team has the authority to request translations and approve translated content.

Having a clear process in place to handle these changes will help mitigate risks and reduce unnecessary delays.

Conclusion

There is no endpoint, nor a fixed conclusion to this process. Arrow Translation continues to learn, engage with users, exchange ideas with peers, and draw from their experiences. By interacting with vendor partners and leveraging their expertise in globalization, we can ultimately provide a better experience for our global customers.

In an ever-evolving global market, having a strategic, efficient, and well-coordinated multilingual approach is essential to ensuring that businesses effectively engage with international audiences and deliver a seamless user experience across languages and cultures.

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