how website translation works

Website Translation Workflow

Interpreters Unlimited has completed many website translation projects. Below we take a look at the key components of most website translation projects:

  • Global-Elements Assessment: A global-ready assessment is a critical first step in the localization process, it is the first step in determining the scope of a website translation project. This step includes a site-wide localization analysis of a site’s front and back end to examine elements such as:
    • Are the website’s pages coded to correctly display the character sets of the target languages?
    • Will the layout of the site design be flexible enough to accommodate different text lengths post-translation?
    • Is the backend system set up to handle varying data standards, such as date, numbering and address formats?
  • Glossary, style guide and keyword development: The development of a glossary and style guide, as well as selecting the appropriate keywords for search engine optimization, ensures consistency of style, tone, and terminology across languages. Created by our expert translators and language leads, these keyword lists and guides serve as the basis for website translation and ensure your site’s content will be optimized for search traffic.
  • Translation and Editing: Your site’s content files are prepped in a translation memory environment, which stores the translation in a database that supports and assists in translation. Once the content is translated, it is handed off to another linguist for editing, guaranteeing that your site content is fully reviewed by at least two professional linguists.
  • Engineering: Our seasoned engineering team handles all file types and technologies, content management systems, databases and CRMs to ensure exceptional website engineering — whether your site is coded in XHTML, ASPX, PHP or Ajax, or is static text or dynamically generated content from a CMS. In addition, we are experts in managing translation memory database files, to keep your localization investments secure and to handle updates seamlessly.
  • Testing & QA: The testing and QA phase of a website translation project is usually comprised of two critical passes: localization (or technical) QA and linguistic QA. Trained testers and native speakers test your site on native operating systems and browsers to ensure the functionality and linguistic quality of a localized website and to identify and flag any issues that can arise during the process.
  • SEM localization: Just as with an original website, localized websites require marketing strategies to drive the desired volume of quality traffic. Our SEM localization approach is holistic and will recreate SEM campaigns for local markets. We go beyond simple translations of meta-tags, PPC ads, titles and descriptions to create powerful international SEM localizations.

Our Team

Our project managers work systematically, step by step, to produce exceptional website translations to our clients. Contact us today to receive a quote! We can accommodate projects of any size and in any language.

Whether your website is an online marketing tool or a full-fledged e-commerce portal, we can translate it for new language markets. We’re ready to help you with everything from globalization readiness assessments and multilingual search engine marketing (SEM) translation to multilingual graphics and quality assurance (QA). Interpreters Unlimited can tackle both your web translation as well as the many supporting services that feed and complete your company’s online presence abroad.


Contact Us

Making Connections Nationwide. For more information about Interpreters Unlimited and the website translation workflow, please send an email to [email protected] or call 800-726-9891.