As your business expands, you will need to translate your website to cater to your diverse international audience. A short conversation with your Language service provider (LSP) will help you determine your budget and schedule for your website translation, but a lot more goes into this that requires proper planning.

Website
translation can vary depending on the scope of the work and the business needs.
To make the entire process easy and efficient, you need to know how you will
plan for the translation of your website. You will also have to figure out some
details internally, and some will be done with your LSP, who will provide you
with a questionnaire. 

This
blog post discusses ‘how to plan the translation of a website’ to make your
translation an easy feat. 

Planning the translation of a website

Some
points that are the same for everyone and every kind of project are planning
for budget, time, and hiring the right people for the job. Therefore, we will
focus on things that are peculiar to the website translation project. 

1.    What languages you need: This task is completely done internally. It would be best if you determine what languages you need by studying the geographical pattern of your customers. It is alright to start small and then scale up as you go. Some businesses like to implement change following their growth patterns. So maybe three languages are all you are doing now, you can add some more as you grow. If you are starting small, bear in mind that you might want to maintain a long-lasting professional relationship with your LSP as it helps to continue working with one that already understands your business. It is impertinent that you translate according to your visitors. 

2. 
  Plan for the scope of the work: The question
you are answering here is what you need to translate. Is your aim to translate
the landing page, or to create a microsite or full website translation? You
must figure this out because it will determine how you will plan with your LSP.
Included in the scope of work is the graphical content of your website. Some
graphic illustrations might need translation, especially if they give vital
information to your visitors. 

3. 
  Consulting with your LSP: Haven figured out
the languages you want and the scope of your work, you must consult with your
LSP to draw up a strategy for the project. Be assured that your LSP will ask
about the two previous steps, so it is essential to figure them out
beforehand. 

Your
LSP would want to know about the following; how contents are managed, organized
and published on your website, technical details about your website’s
architecture, MT adaptation by your company and future management plans for
translated and localized contents.

During
communicating with your LSP, they will ask you critical questions that will
ensure a smooth process. Communication should be open. 

4. 
  Figuring out SEO: Your translated website
should not be lost under piles of web pages because not all your visitors might
go through your main page. You should figure out a plan for your multilingual
SEO at this point. The strategy will include your localization strategy,
website hosting, and coding and your URL design. Your LSP might be able to
offer you an inclusive service that takes care of this. 

5. 
  Involving your website developers: It is
essential that you brief your developers on the changes that are to come. Some
changes might be needed as regards your codes and hosting, and you might need
them to answer some of the questions provided by your LSP. 

6. 
  Putting together your content: You need to
put together all your content in a format that will make it easy for your LSP.
You can inquire about their preferred form because this can either save you
time on the project or cause a lag. Do not forget to separate your graphic,
audio, and written contents. 

7. 
  Finally, publishing: This will need you to
determine the appearance and flow of the newly translated content and also plan
how to test the material before launching. 

In
conclusion, translating your website is a big project that can quickly get
overwhelming with poor planning. However, proper planning eliminates redundancy
and boosts efficiency, and with the right language service provider, you should
be expecting a smooth process. As long as you need proficient translational
services for your website, TranslationsinLondon is
here for you.