Localit Explains: 7 Steps to Localize Your Website

Your business didn't grow in one day, you and your team put a lot of effort, thought, and care into taking it to where it is now. And the same is true for website localization! To enter a new market or reach a new target audience, you need to clearly understand the crucial parts of this seemingly complicated but ultimately straightforward process. Your website localization project can be a huge success if you follow this simple 7-step guide. But before we get to the main topic, let's review a couple of terms and learn why localization efforts are important.

What Is Website Localization?

Website localization is the process of adapting a website’s content and design to suit the cultural, linguistic, and functional preferences of a specific target audience. It goes beyond simple translation by considering every aspect of your website such as local customs, symbols, currency, time formats, and user expectations.

Why Localize a Website and Not Just Translate?

Effective continuous localization ensures that users in different regions feel like the website was built with them in mind, enhancing user experience and driving engagement. Businesses that invest in website content localization can increase their global reach, build trust, and improve visibility in diverse markets. Most importantly, a seamlessly localized website brings in clicks, high-quality website traffic, and purchases (depending on the type of your business). There are virtually no downsides to expanding your business to new markets. However, to effectively localize your website into a different language you need to follow a clear-cut 7-step localization strategy, which you can find below.

Your 7-Step Website Localization Strategy

1. Assemble a Top-Notch Team

The website localization process takes time and effort, you are going to need the man power to go the distance. Pick the best of the best, mobilize both internal and external resources, and allocate the necessary resources for them to do the job. Here are a few roles you will want to establish within your company:

• Localization manager: they will keep track of the project, assign tasks, and monitor the progress for you.

• Internalization developer: they will make sure your website is ready for localization (coded so that once the localized versions are rolled out there are no issues from the technical side).

• Translator: they will be essential in overseeing the language side of things.

• Designer: ideally they are someone who's experienced in the target market and/or language to ensure your visuals don't seem out of place.

• QA engineer: they will put the localized website to the test to prevent any issues from arising later.

• Marketer: they will study the target market and its audience for a better reception once your business is ready to spread its wings on a new territory.

With this localization team in place, you are one step closer to having a truly multilingual website.

2. Extensive Market Research

Market research is an essential component of successful translation and localization, as it provides deep insights into the cultural, linguistic, and behavioral nuances of the target market. Without this foundational knowledge, even well-localized content risks failing to resonate with its intended audience. For instance, regional variations in language use are critical. The Spanish spoken in Mexico significantly differs from the Spanish spoken in Spain. Without recognizing these distinctions, content may unintentionally alienate one group while appealing to another, leading to mixed results in localization efforts.

Understanding Local Preferences

Cultural preferences go far beyond just language. Market research also sheds light on local expectations for website design, navigation, and aesthetics. For example, Japanese users often prefer detailed, information-rich pages, whereas Scandinavian users lean toward minimalist, streamlined designs. Ignoring these regional preferences can lead to a poor user experience and decreased engagement, proving that knowing the visual and functional expectations of each market is vital for successful localization.

Consumer Behavior and Purchasing Habits

Market research is also key to understanding local consumer behavior and purchasing preferences. In China, mobile payments like WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate, while credit cards are more commonly used in the US. These insights into regional buying habits enable businesses to tailor payment options and experiences, ultimately improving user satisfaction and boosting conversion rates by aligning with what local customers expect and use regularly.

Competitive Insights

Finally, market research informs competitive analysis, helping businesses understand what their local competitors are doing well. This enables companies to differentiate themselves and avoid repeating the mistakes competitors may have made. With these valuable insights, businesses can better position their localized content and products, making strategic decisions that resonate with the local market.

3. Pick the Right Translation Management System (TMS) for You

Choosing the right translation management system (TMS) is crucial for ensuring consistency, quality, and efficiency in localization efforts. It is essential for businesses looking to expand into new markets. You need a reliable helper to translate your website into a local language. In this aspect of localization, the ideal tool should streamline workflows, manage complex projects, and ensure consistency across languages, all while aligning with your specific business goals. Start by identifying those goals — if speed and scalability are priorities, look for software that automates repetitive tasks and integrates translation memory. Machine translation services like AI-driven tools can handle large volumes of content quickly without sacrificing accuracy.

Collaboration features are another crucial aspect. Many localization projects involve multiple stakeholders, such as translators, editors, and project managers. Software that offers real-time collaboration tools can significantly enhance communication and efficiency. Built-in chats, shared project dashboards, and instant feedback loops keep everyone on the same page, preventing delays and miscommunication, while improving the localization workflow.

For smaller businesses and startups, tools like Localit — a brand-new AI-driven localization software — offer an excellent solution to translate content. Localit combines high processing speed with built-in team communication features and the flexibility to choose from AI translators like ChatGPT, Google Translate, DeepL, or Gengo. Its affordability makes it perfect for companies looking to scale globally without straining their budgets, providing both efficiency and value.

4. Research SEO Keywords

SEO keyword research is an important component of preparing your website for search engines. It involves identifying the specific search terms that target audiences in different regions are using to find products or services like yours to implement in the version of your website. Each market has unique search behaviors, and simply translating your keywords from one language to another may miss local nuances or intent that you need to localize.

By conducting thorough keyword research in the target language, you can ensure that your localized website not only ranks higher in local search engine results but also attracts relevant traffic. Targeting the right keywords tailored to each market boosts your visibility, connects you to potential customers, and lays the groundwork for long-term success in global expansion.

Incorporating localized keyword research into your SEO strategy allows you to optimize content for different stages of the buyer’s journey across diverse markets. For instance, regional users may have different priorities when searching for information or making purchasing decisions. By finding and incorporating local long-tail keywords and understanding the local search intent, you can effectively guide users through the journey, from awareness to conversion. Continuously refining your localized keyword strategy helps maintain relevance and competitiveness, ensuring that your website thrives in new markets and contributes to your broader global success.

5. Website Internationalization

Internationalizing your website is the next step toward expanding your business globally. It involves creating a flexible global website infrastructure that can easily support multiple languages, currencies, and regional formats. Being a natural part of your website development, this foundational work ensures that your website can be quickly localized for different markets without needing to rebuild core features.

Key elements include using Unicode (UTF-8) for character encoding, enabling right-to-left text support for languages like Arabic, and designing layouts that can adapt to various word lengths and font sizes. Internationalization (i18n) also means removing any hard-coded text or region-specific references, so content can be dynamically replaced during localization, saving time and effort in the long run.

Beyond the technical aspects, internationalization allows you to provide a seamless experience for global users from the start. This includes integrating payment gateways that support regional preferences, such as Alipay or PayPal, and allowing users to select their preferred language and currency easily. Additionally, internationalizing your website means thinking about how different cultures interact with digital products. For instance, users in some countries prefer dense, detailed content, while others lean toward minimalistic design.

By addressing these considerations early, internationalization sets your website up for successful localization, enabling faster entry into new markets and boosting user engagement and satisfaction.

6. Localize the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI)

Localizing the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) is vital for successful website localization and ensuring a strong connection with users across different regions. UX localization adapts the user journey to meet cultural expectations and preferences, optimizing the way users interact with your site. For example, while some regions prefer detailed product descriptions and multiple options, others favor simplicity and a smooth, streamlined checkout process. Tailoring these elements to fit local habits not only enhances usability but also improves overall user satisfaction, ensuring that your website feels familiar and intuitive to every visitor.

Adapting UI for Local Markets

UI localization, meanwhile, focuses on the visual and interactive aspects of the site, including layout, colors, fonts, and icons. Cultural interpretation of colors, symbols, and design elements can vary widely—while red signifies good fortune in China, it may represent danger in Western countries. Moreover, adjusting for text length variations is crucial: languages like German often have longer words, while languages such as Japanese may require vertical text alignment. Localizing these UI elements helps create a more intuitive and engaging experience for users, making them feel at home on your site.

Enhancing Engagement and Conversion Rates

By carefully localizing both UX and UI, you ensure that each region’s users feel comfortable, engaged, and more likely to convert. The integration of well-designed UX and UI for local markets brings the best of both worlds to your international audience, making this step a key factor in the success of your content localization strategy. Ignoring these aspects can lead to poor user retention and a missed opportunity to make a meaningful connection with global users.

7. Complete Your Website Localization Process with Testing

The final stage of website localization is comprehensive testing, a critical step that ensures everything functions as expected and that the content resonates with the target audience. Testing is essential to identify any overlooked linguistic, cultural, or technical issues. For instance, even after careful translation, certain phrases may sound awkward or unclear to local users. Testing helps validate the accuracy of translations and ensures the content seamlessly integrates with the overall user experience while maintaining your brand's tone and message in a culturally appropriate way.

Functional Testing Across Languages and Regions

Equally important is functional testing, which ensures that all elements of the localized website work correctly across languages and regions. This includes verifying that links, forms, payment gateways, and interactive features operate as intended on various devices and platforms. For example, it’s important to confirm that currency conversions are accurate and local payment methods, like iDEAL in the Netherlands or UPI in India, are properly integrated. Testing also helps catch region-specific display issues, such as text overflow in languages with longer words or ensuring that images and icons align with local cultural norms.

User Acceptance Testing and Continuous Refinement

Finally, User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with native speakers is invaluable for understanding how real users engage with your localized site. Native testers provide critical feedback on cultural nuances, language flow, and usability, catching issues that automated tools might miss. This ongoing testing process, even after the site’s launch, ensures continuous improvement and adaptation, helping you stay ahead of potential issues and guaranteeing that your website consistently meets the needs of your global audience. Thorough testing not only completes the localization process but also enhances user trust and satisfaction in every market.

Benefits of Website Localization with This Guide

By following this guide, you can ensure that every aspect of your website — from content and design to functionality and user experience — is tailored to meet the unique preferences and needs of each market. This not only boosts user engagement and trust but also drives conversions and improves your competitiveness in local search results.

Tools like Localit, an affordable AI-driven localization software, make the process faster and more efficient, allowing smaller businesses and startups to localize content seamlessly. Explore the Localit website, check out its affordable pricing plans, and get in touch to learn more about the software and what it can do for your business.

A localization project requires time and precision. With the right approach and technology, you can unlock new opportunities and grow your brand on a global scale!