tips for creating international multilingual websites

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Jane Robbins NOVA UX Meetup Jan. 8, 2014 30 Tips for Creating International Multilingual Websites

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Page 1: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane RobbinsNOVA UX Meetup

Jan. 8, 2014

30 Tips for Creating International Multilingual Websites

Jeannie Crowley
This is a beautiful presentation, Jane. Great use of space, graphics, etc...excellent ideas and thoughts- well done! I just have some minor suggestions/updates to offer from a wording perspective, certainly not from a content or visual design perspective...
Page 2: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 2

‘s BackgroundManaged a redesign for an international nonprofit for a bilingual website, jankarski.net (Polish-English)

Was a UX consultant at Volkswagen of America on a web portal that will be used in many countries

Jeannie Crowley
Did you intend to leave out ¨Group¨ in Volkswagen of America below?...web portal for use in many countries.
Page 3: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 3

The Impacts of LanguageEnglish is the most used language on the web, but …

Most (75%) internet usage is not in English

Bottom line ~ we need to reach users in their own languages

Jeannie Crowley
3/4th doesn´t make sense to me. How about:- 75% of internet usage is not in EnglishAnd:-Many Americans are more comfortable...-We need to reach users...
Page 4: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 4

The International Site ProcessMultilingual websites can be created in two phases - international and localization

International planning includes: domain definition, design and layout, technical factors, UX considerations, CMS and content decisions, and cultural research Localization includes content translation and implementation

If your planning is handled correctly, your localization process will be smoother and there should be less rework

Jeannie Crowley
Does everyone in your community know what SEO means?Recommend removing the ´But´ before Google...seems extraneous to me.
Page 5: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 5

Domain ConsiderationsDecide on one site / URL or multiple sites per language

For SEO reasons, it’s often better to have one website with multiple language links

Example: jankarski.net with a /pl or /en suffix

Google recommends getting a country-specific domain if you can afford it

Examples:ebay.de = ebay.fr =

Ensure that the URL is short and neutral

Jeannie Crowley
Does everyone in your community know what SEO means?Recommend removing the ´But´ before Google...seems extraneous to me.
Page 6: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins

Design ConsiderationsLength of a label may differ by language

For example, Polish and German words are longer than equivalent English words

“Benutzername” = “User name” in GermanRight-justified labels work for all languages (this approach worked well at VW)

User name Benutzername

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Jeannie Crowley
This slide may be more wordy than needed to illustrate the point:-Right-justifying accommodates all languagesIf you want to highlight your VW experience, you could add a parenthetical remark like (this approach worked well for VW)
Page 7: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 7

More Design ConsiderationsBi-directional languages (such as Arabic and Hebrew) need to display characters right to left for text and left to right for numbersUse horizontal menus if any of your languages are bi-directional

Make sure your layouts and templates work for all languages

Jeannie Crowley
I especially like this slide- very good ideas presented very well.Recommend changing the wording of the second bullet. I think you could tighten it to something like:Make sure your layouts work with varying lengths of text to accommodate all languages, ORMake sure your layout frames/boxes work for all languages.[I offer this 2nd option because the visual explains it so well that the extra words are not necessarily needed...]
Page 8: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 8

More Design ConsiderationsPay attention that special characters (Polish ł and ę, German ä and ß, Chinese 德新 , etc.) for each language:

Are findable in the site’s Search Read correctly on the screen and printed out

Page 9: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 9

More Design Considerations

Don’t include graphics with embedded text

Make sure payments are shown in applicable currencies

Jeannie Crowley
the bottom image appears cut off on my screen, perhaps minimize it?
Page 10: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 10

UX ConsiderationsPersonas and UX testing need to include natives of the languages for the site

Help users by defaulting a language, but allow users to change it (for expats and visitors)

Page 11: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 11

Cultural ConsiderationsThe customer experience needs to fit the culture

For example, in Poland, nonprofit sites rarely have a Donate button, considering it tacky

Also, European users tend to use bank transfers for payments (not PayPal)

Jeannie Crowley
Recommend removing ´we found that´in the first bulletRecommend tightening the second bullet to make an active statement-European users tend to donate via bank transfers (vs. PayPal)
Page 12: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 12

Cultural ConsiderationsIf practical, customize content to ensure that the text, graphics, and even the colors work for the different audiences

Examples from IRS.gov:

Jeannie Crowley
Perfect!
Page 13: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 13

Practical ConsiderationsTag in all languages with the terms that local users search for content

Is this a trunk or a boot?

Build links to same-language content – avoid mixing links

Jeannie Crowley
Is inoffensive a word? If so, I have never heard it...you may want to consider something like ´neutral´ or ´universal´or ´appropriate´ instead.
Page 14: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins

CMS ConsiderationsChoose a CMS suitable for a client’s business needs including:

Handling and maintaining multilingual contentChecking in and out and exporting / importing translation workflows

Determine whether the local or centralized entity will have final say on contentDecide the site’s formality of tone plus regional terms that may differ by country

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Jane Robbins

Technical ConsiderationsAccess outside of the US is more likely on a mobile device

Take typical technology speeds for target audiences/countries into consideration

15

Page 16: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins

More Technical ConsiderationsMake sure that required software or plugins are commonly used

Allow for language toggling back and forth on the same page

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Page 17: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 17

Language ConsiderationsContent vs. language – there’s a big difference1) The great majority of multilingual sites have the

same content for all languages2) Some sites (IRS.gov) have translations for

frequent items, but most content is in English3) My Polish-English sites both have the same

branding and navigational structure, but differing content

Jeannie Crowley
3rd sub-bullet makes sense, but it´s awkward with the changes in tense, FYI. You may decide to reword, or not...-The Polish-English sites both have the same branding and navigational structure but differing content.
Page 18: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 18

Content ConsiderationsIn writing and tagging content, clarify locations so that users in Cambridge, Mass. aren’t sent to content for Cambridge, England

Ensure that graphics aren’t insensitive to other cultures

Page 19: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 19

More Content Considerations

Translate measurements, depictions of time (1400 vs 2pm), and time zones, as needed

or Be careful about idiomatic or slang terms that might not be understandable to all

“my bad” “phat” “groovy”

Figure out how to handle VOI (voice on the internet) and accessibility features

Jeannie Crowley
2nd bullet:I think you mean ´idiomatic expressions´
Page 20: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 20

Translation ConsiderationsTranslations

Use an automated translator?Google Translate, et al – provide the basics onlyFor a professional, credible website, you really need a human translator to polish the content Have native speakers proofread all text

Employ a translator or use a service?Assuming you’ll be adding content over time,

you’ll need to determine a long-term solution for content maintenance

Jeannie Crowley
Second sub-bullet: what does the it refer back to...recommend saying: To render a polished, professional site, a human must massage/refine the content or something like that, similar to the 3rd sub-bullet...have a human massage/refine...
Page 21: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Top Tips:Get a professional translator if possible

Research cultural considerationsLocalize content

Jane Robbins@UX_JaneRobbins

[email protected]

Page 22: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 22

Some ResourcesGeneral information on doing global-based research:

Whitney Quesenbery and Daniel Szuc ’s book “Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World” “The Handbook of Global User Research” by Robert Schumacher“A Pocket Guide to International User Research” by Chui Chui Tan and Owen Gregory“Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies” by John Yunker (2002-3)Mashable article by Christina Warren http://mashable.com/2010/10/11/global-web-design/Two summaries of technical and non-technical considerations by Christian Arno http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/how-web-designers-can-adopt-a-global-mindset/ and http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/8-tips-for-designing-better-global-websites/http://ezinearticles.com/?Web-Designing-Tips-For-Bilingual-Website-Designs&id=4021163Government best practices Howto.gov Best Practices http://www.howto.gov/web-content/multilingual/best-practices

Jeannie Crowley
Header:General information on global-based...
Page 23: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 23

More ResourcesWriting for a global audience:

http://webdesign.about.com/od/writing/a/aa080800a.htmhttp://www.webdesign.org/web-design-tips-for-an-international-audience.22281.html“A Practical Guide to Localization (Language International World Directory)” by Bert Esselink and Arjen-Sjoerd de Vries

Accessibility and CSS:http://blog.globalizationpartners.com/internationalization-and-accessibility.aspx

Bilingual sites & SEO Google video about bilingual sites http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyWx31GeQWY&feature=player_embeddedhttp://alexwebmaster.com/developer-bilingual-websites-search-engine-optimization-spanish-english-houston-texas/

Page 24: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 24

More ResourcesAutomated translations:

Translation tools are described in http://sixrevisions.com/tools/reach-a-larger-audience-with-content-translation-tools/Translators for WordPress sites http://codex.wordpress.org/Multilingual_WordPress Build a multilingual site with WordPress by Shannon Smith http://www.creativebloq.com/wordpress/build-multilingual-site-wordpress-9112795Lingual plugins for Joomla http://www.joomfish.net/ A translator incorporated into an HTML forms builder called WufooCrowd source translations with a tool like http://www.worldlingo.com/

Managing international projects:http://blog.globalizationpartners.com/website-translation-localization-and-internationalization.aspx

Some firms that specialize in multilingual site translations:http://www.lingo24.com/http://www.translations.com/http://www.globalizationpartners.com/

Page 25: Tips for creating international multilingual websites

Jane Robbins 25

More ResourcesA few firms specialize in bilingual sites:

Japanese/English http://www.designtym.net/services/ Spanish/English http://www.gogonzalez.com/web-design/bilingual-multilingual-web-designFrench/English – both in Canada http://www.beginwithb.com/bilingual-calgary-web-design and http://www.joceydesigns.com/Welch-English http://www.drupology.co.uk/bilingual-website-design-wales