Back to resources

Multilingual and International Website Best Practices

 

multilingual website best practicesOnce you’ve found the right multilingual eCommerce solution for your website, you’re almost there. To finish things off, follow a few best practices.

Note the Difference Between Multilingual and Multi-Country

First and foremost, designing a multilingual website is not the same thing as designing a multi-country website. For example, Clarity designed a multilingual website for Disney that could translate between English and Spanish, but it was still geared toward an American audience. This is the case for French/English websites in Canada, too. That means you may not need to incorporate many design distinctions between the two audiences, who live in the same geographic region and are culturally similar. In fact, in most cases, it’s best that you don’t. Similarly, always refer to translated pages in your navigation by language name and not by using codes like flags, since the language may be spoken in multiple countries.

Localize Content for Easy Translation

First and foremost, designing a multilingual website is not the same thing as designing a multi-country website.

You’ll save yourself a huge headache if you localize all of your content. This means that as you update or add content, it will be dynamically updated on the translation pages. Users find it very frustrating to navigate to a new page on the website only to find that it isn’t translated. Make sure everyone who manages your website is on board with this and understands how to successfully change or add content to the website.

Make Sure Your Website Navigation is Impeccable

As stated in a previous article, allow users to easily toggle between languages. Provide this feature on every page, and state each name in its own respective language. Additionally, make sure to shift your navigation bar in the event of right to left languages. If you’re ready to get started on multilingual eCommerce website development, speak to Clarity today.

 

Find out more

Click here to review options to gather more info.
From resource guides to complimentary expert review... we're here to help!