I never really thought of it before, but the internet is in multiple languages, so do you guys have translated versions of the site? I never really thought of this before. Its webhosting and the control panel is in english and not translated, so would it make any difference any way?

Doesn't make any difference to me. . . .I can't read:D

English is currently the defacto standard but I would personally start paying attention to emerging (and booming) markets such as China and India, there's a lot of potential in these two countries.

Its not that much a matter of translating your site to another language to "facilitate customers" but more of providing support, be it via email or on the phone, using those language - that's what counts! :)

Just my $0.02 worth

Well I was in this business for a while doing multilingual sites before I moved to concentrating on pure design so hopefully I can give you a few pointers...

The keywords to look out for are: "localisation" or "localization" as well of course "translation"

If you're in the porn industry then latest reports seem to indicate that the German language is a useful one to go for... :D
Ok so this is more to give you an example that different markets will garner different cultures and languages.

The thing to do if you're seriously considering localising your site is to take a very close look at the statistics you are getting from your web site... You could also put in a small stats file collector that collects the "HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE" information from a browser as well as the country specific info.

This information will give you the preferred language (in order) for each user.

If you find that you're getting a lot of one particular language then you are probably wise to consider localisation of your site in that language.

HOWEVER, things to bear in mind.

1. Cost - it is not cheap to get a site localised. 1000 words in Spanish for example is £50 to £75 (and that's JUST translation).

2. Reliability - as with anything else you need to double check work with a native speaker. Make sure you don't part with your money on a job unless you know of their reputation from a source you trust and once you've had it checked for errors.

3. Technical vocabulary costs extra and requires experienced translators - so check previous work/portfolio on your particular vocab area and ask for a direct quote based on your site.

Of course as with all things.. You get what you pay for and it'll take time to get results but if any of you are considering someone to tackle your Spanish or Japanese translations then drop me a line and I'll pass you on direct to two companies/individuals who I still do business with and trust 110%.

Hope that helps

Martin

Originally posted by ck
Its not that much a matter of translating your site to another language to "facilitate customers" but more of providing support, be it via email or on the phone, using those language - that's what counts! :)

Just my $0.02 worth I missed this in my larger post but ck is right in a lot of ways...

If you can provide your customers with a native speaker to handle any sales or support queries then you'll definitely be worth a second look. BUT remember that companies on native soil will be offering similar services so look hard at whether it's worth your while.

Perhaps a more beneficial/cost-effective solution would be to put together a localised exhaustive sales FAQ and totally comprehensive Support area (if appropriate to your business). Then broker a deal with a translator to deal with support emails on a per query basis... either responding to email with a stock "this problem is covered here [link to support doc]" or where appropriate acting as an intermediary on a unique query.

That will work especially well if you then add the new query and response to your FAQ so you don't have to pay for it all over again.

Of course you could come up with a "sales commission" payment structure for the translator and try to do it that way.

Hope that helps (some more)...
:D
Martin

Originally posted by ck
start paying attention to emerging (and booming) markets such as China and India

I've seen russian, french, taiwanese, japanese, chinese etc etc pages. But I've never seen an urdu ar hindi or any of the other languages from that area of the world page. Having trouble visualising it. India is catching up fast tech wise and my guess is many of us on the internet wont stand a chance once theyre fully caught up, a lot of western heavy industry didnt stand a chance. Being a keen and industrious people the phrase "may you live in interesting times" comes to mind. Piqued my curiosity.

> end of tangent :D

Cyberpunk, there are a lot of indian websites, written in the indian language(s) :)

Bear in mind too that different cultures often consider some of the usual imagery, gestures, and written text that we use incredibly offensive. An example is a 'thumbs up' sign. In certain countries it's the equivalent of 'flipping the bird'

Don't think it won't happen either. Coke had to change their logo on one country as the 'ribbon text' they use ended up looking very similar to a curse word (I think it was an arabic country). They didn't know till they started getting flooded with complaints. :)

Greg Moore

Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
Doesn't make any difference to me. . . .I can't read:D
:D :D

hi davidb,
why don't you use dictionary.com translater.

akashik is right. this is why intel paid $1 million for PENTIUM name and logo design.

by the way there are many web site offering indian languages.

one is rediff.com which allows you to send and receive emails in many indian languages free of cost. also you can translate from english to other languages for free. cheers. anything related to indian languages, i can guide you guys.
:cartman: