Localising a website means making it work for someone who reads it in another country as if it had been written there: language, but also currencies, units of measurement, date and address formats, legal references, images, tone and the keywords with which that audience searches for what the site offers. Since 1995 the firm has localised institutional and commercial websites, online shops, applications and software interfaces for Italian companies addressing foreign markets and for foreign companies entering the Italian market, working directly in the export formats of content management systems.
What localisation includes
The translation of the visible texts is the most evident part, not the only one. A localised site requires the translation of menus, buttons, error and confirmation messages, forms and the automatic emails the site sends, the alternative texts of images, the titles and descriptions that appear in search engines, the content of downloadable documents. It requires the adaptation of what changes from country to country: prices and currencies, taxes shown in prices, shipping costs, sizes and measurements, telephone and postcode formats, public holidays and support hours. And it requires checking what the law of the destination country requires to be stated: privacy and cookie notices, terms of sale, right of withdrawal, warranties, mandatory company details. For these texts the firm applies the legal competence it uses for corporate documents and contracts, because a badly translated term of sale is a wrong contractual commitment.
Keywords and ranking in the target language
The words with which a foreign audience searches for a product or service rarely coincide with the translation of the Italian keywords. Before translating the pages that must bring visits, the firm researches the terms used in the target language and country, agrees them with the client and with whoever handles the ranking of the site, and uses them in titles, headings, descriptions and page addresses. It works in coordination with the developer on language attributes, links between versions and address structure, so that search engines offer each user the version in his or her language. For sites that publish articles and guides the firm offers multilingual writing of content written directly in the target language.
Formats and workflow
The firm receives content in the export formats of the main content management systems, in the resource files of applications and software and in the spreadsheets with which many developers manage strings, and returns it in the same format, with placeholders, codes and variables intact and text lengths compatible with the space available in the interface. Translation memories keep every translated sentence: when the site is updated only what has changed is translated, with the same terminology, and the cost of updates remains proportionate. After publication the firm checks the localised version online, page by page, to catch truncated texts, wrong links and strings left in the original language.
Languages and markets
The most requested localisations are into English, with the choice between the British and American varieties according to the market, German, French, Spanish, with the differences between Spain and Latin America, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, and into Italian for foreign companies. The full list is on the page on working languages. For languages written from right to left and for those with non-Latin characters the firm tells the developer in advance what the interface must provide for.
The quote is based on the number of exported words, net of repetitions, and states separately the keyword research, the adaptation of the legal texts and the online check. For sites under construction it is worth involving the firm before the Italian version is published: many structural choices are made only once.
Frequently asked questions
Can I machine-translate the site and have you review it?
For repetitive product sheets and service content it is a reasonable solution, with complete human review. For the pages that present the company, for persuasive texts and for the legal terms the firm recommends professional translation: they are the pages that decide the visitor’s trust and the seller’s obligations.
Do you translate directly inside WordPress, Shopify or other systems?
As a rule the firm works on exported files, which allow side-by-side review and the use of the translation memory, and returns them ready for import. When the system has no export, or for small updates, it enters the texts directly in the administration interface with restricted access.
Should the terms of sale and the privacy notice be translated or rewritten?
Translated faithfully, because they are the contract the company proposes, and checked at the points where the law of the destination country requires different content, which are pointed out to the client and to the client’s adviser. The firm translates and flags: the decision on how to adapt the clauses rests with the company.
How do you handle frequent updates of the site?
With the translation memory and an agreed workflow: the client sends or exports the new or changed content, the firm translates only that, with the terminology already approved, and returns it within the agreed time. For sites with continuous updates a monthly rate is defined.
Do you also localise apps and management software?
Yes, interfaces, online help, system messages and documentation, working on the resource files and respecting the length limits of the strings. The final check is made on the compiled version, together with the developer.
Do you want to take your site to a foreign market?
Tell us the address of the site, the target languages and the system it runs on: you receive within one working day the quote with the word count and the proposed workflow.
