How to avoid common Pitfalls in Localization
Are you looking to go global and localize your website, mobile app, or software for it? Localization is a journey, during which you encounter many challenges and roadblocks. These can complicate your road to globalization and affect the overall outcomes, thus defeating the entire purpose of localization. Thankfully, you can avoid the most common pitfalls in localization by knowing what they are and preparing for them. Accordingly, in this blog, we’ve discussed the ten most common drawbacks of localization and suggested ways to avoid them.
10 Drawbacks in Localization and How to Avoid Them
Localization is critical to the success of your business, particularly given the growing need for personalization and the importance of local languages. Besides, it demands a considerable investment, especially when you plan to comprehensively cover every aspect. Thus, localization requires careful planning and consideration of every potential drawback. While every localization project has unique pitfalls, here are ten generic ones to help you get started.
1. Inadequate Cultural Understanding
Localization isn’t merely translating text. Instead, it is a broad term encompassing cultural aspects, nuances, and sensitivities. Ignoring these can result in incorrect outcomes, perhaps disrespectful towards the local audience.
Of course, understanding a particular culture takes time. However, one of the keys to sounding culturally correct is research and implementing the knowledge gained from it. Accordingly, before beginning the project, experts must have a solid base understanding of the culture involved. It would help them deliver accurate localization results, aligned with the audience’s expectations and its local values.
2. Literal Translation
Translation is fundamental to the process of localization. Hence, the accuracy and quality of translations matter! Often, while translating a particular content, people translate the text word-for-word without considering the context. Dealing with such translations can be awkward and annoying for the user!
For instance, when a person named Mark wants to tell someone his name in French, he would say, je m’appelle Mark. Here, je means I, m means me and the verb appelle means call. If you look at the sentence in its literal sense, it means I me call Mark or I call myself mark. Now, does that make sense in English? The second sentence may still make some, although that isn’t how you say your name in English. However, the first one is linguistically, contextually and grammatically fully incorrect. The right translation for it is my name is Mark.
That’s just one example though. Translators should have a comprehensive understanding of both languages to ensure accurate translations.
3. Using MT Everywhere
Machine translations (MT) are quick and do not require human translators. Hence, companies often use them to expedite the pace of translation and save costs. However, you cannot rely fully on MTs to translate highly complex and contextual text. Such content needs a human touch and expertise to ensure technical, contextual, cultural, and grammatical accuracy. Thus, to balance speed and accuracy, companies must use a blend of human and machine translation.
4. Losing Source Titles
Localization values local cultural and linguistic needs. Hence, while localizing, you’d want to make the titles of your offerings appear native to a region’s local audience. For that, you must adopt a personalized approach, understanding that what works in a particular region might not work elsewhere.
Nevertheless, while doing the above, companies usually veer too much from the source title, losing the original style. There’s nothing specific to avoid this. Your localization team should adhere to your brand’s original style. It should be able to create titles that don’t appear alien to the local users but don’t lose the soul either!
5. Ignoring RTL Writing Systems
Languages like Urdu, Arabic, Hebrew, Pashto and Sorani Kurdish are written from right to left. Thus, these languages have unique localization requirements, including space, layout and text alignment. Ignoring the needs of these languages can result in display and usability issues. To avoid this problem, you must design your application, website, or software to support RTL languages, including proper UI adjustments and text alignments.
6. Incorrect Date and Time Formatting
A seemingly trivial concern, incorrect data, and time formatting can prove critical errors. How? For instance, the US follows MM-DD-YYYY. Thus, the date 1st of March 2020 will be written as 03-01-2020. For someone in India habitual to the DD-MM-YYYY format, the date would appear as the 3rd of January 2020. You can imagine how confusing it could be and the misunderstanding it might create.
Hence, while localizing, localization experts must understand date and time formats. They must use locale-specific time and date formats and consider time zone differences, workweek structures, and calendars.
7. Failing to Localize Per SEO Needs
Local searches contribute to nearly 23 percent of the total web traffic. Hence, businesses cannot ignore local SEO, while localizing their content. Failing to do that would limit the business’s local visibility, and traffic and restrict opportunities. Thus, businesses must implement SEO best practices and optimize their localized content with keywords, phrases, and language to enhance local search visibility.
8. Using Images Comprising Embedded Text
Images enhance a user’s understanding of something. However, those with embedded text can make it challenging for translators and incur extra costs. To avoid this pitfall, you must separate text content from images and consider text an independent element. It helps simplify managing translations and ensures cost-effectiveness.
9. Improper Testing Mechanisms
Testing is just as crucial as every other stage in the process of localization. Often, companies either skip testing and quality checking the outcomes, assuming everything is right. However, localization involves several aspects in delivering the result. Each one matters and has a unique significance, contributing to the overall experience. Even slight errors or inconsistencies can let the effort down the drain!
Thus, businesses must conduct thorough testing with native speakers, and blend automated and manual testing techniques. Additionally, testing them with users from the target market can provide more clarity and insights into the shortcomings.
10. Absence of Local Payment Methods
The road to globalization goes via localization. Thus, you must localize every possible aspect, including payment methods to enable local users to buy from you. For example, a particular payment method that works in the UK may not be available in Norway. Both these are different economies and have distinct payment gateway providers. Besides, both have different currencies. You can avoid this pitfall by incorporating local payment methods during the process of localization.
Need a global localization partner? Partner with Filose. With over a decade of experience and comprehensive localization support, Filose helps you enter international markets confidently and unlock opportunities. We plan your project carefully, ensuring a highly professional and meticulous approach to avoid common pitfalls in localization. Email us at sales@filose.com to leverage our expertise in over 200 languages, multi-domain specialization, and access to a versatile team.
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