The Impact of Translation on Your Website Development

Each language is unique in terms of its characters, grammatical and writing style. But as a Western brand planning to go global, it’s easier to forget these nuances when planning to undertake website translation. After all, it’s not always true that what works for an English website, would also work for a translated Chinese or Dutch website!

Opting for website translation service for your brand? Here’s how it’s going to affect your website development process! 

Need for a Flexible Layout

If you’re going to translate your website into any other language, make sure the layout can contract and expand accordingly. This is especially true if you’re dealing with Latin scripts, such as Thai, Japanese, Chinese or Korean. Similarly, you should also ensure that the content and layout are both separate from each other. This will let you play around with the line heights and font sizes accordingly.

Spacing around the Text Box Containers

When you’re creating text box containers for your website, make sure to leave extra space around each of them. After all, you can only shrink the translated text so far! So take into account the language structure of each language your website will be translated in. This way, your website layout will look coherent.

Keep in mind that while fixed width and height containers work best for the English language, the same isn’t true for other languages. So try to avoid using these types of containers when dealing with the Latin script.

Cohesive Text Directions

Each language script follows a different writing direction system. So while Arabic is written from right to left, English is written from left to right. Therefore, you’ll have to mirror your website’s layout—the images, sidebars, buttons and scroll bars—according to the language it’s being translated to.

So make sure you’re working with knowledgeable professionals who have experience in building multilingual websites. Otherwise, your brand image and reputation will take a major hit. After all, there’s nothing more annoying than a translated website that isn’t cohesive and flexible!

If you’re looking for software localization services in Shanghai for your business, get in touch with LIMPID Translations. From translating English into simplified or traditional Chinese to building an accessible e-commerce platform for your Chinese customers, our team of professionals is experienced in providing scalable business solutions for businesses looking to grow in China.

For more information about our range of services, get in touch with us today!