A Complete Guide to Website Translation

What is Website Translation?

La traduzione di siti web è il processo di adattamento, spesso parola per parola, dei contenuti originali del tuo sito web in altre lingue, al fine di renderli accessibili e usufruibili per i clienti a livello globale.

I contenuti traducibili variano dal testo statico presente sul sito web ai contenuti multimediali quali immagini, video e PDF. Non dimentichiamo inoltre:

• i metadati "invisibili" che vengono individuati solo dai motori di ricerca e dalle piattaforme dei social media;
• i contenuti caricati dinamicamente dalle applicazioni;
• le notifiche relative all'esperienza utente come i messaggi di errore e le e-mail di conferma.

Tutto questo può (e deve) essere tradotto, per garantire a tutti i clienti un'esperienza in lingua coinvolgente.

Esistono diversi gradi di traduzione, tra cui la traduzione convenzionale, la localizzazione, la traslitterazione, e la transcreazione. Ogni approccio è unico e adatto a necessità di traduzione diverse. Learn more details about the different types of translation.

Is Website Localization The Same as Website Translation?

Although website translation and localization are commonly confused, both are related methods of creating multilingual websites. Website localization goes beyond the linguistic word-for-word conversion of conventional translation to create an online experience that resonates within specific markets. La localizzazione di un sito web richiede cinque elementi chiave:

1. Lingua e regionalismi: la scelta delle parole è personalizzata per comunicare in maniera accurata e autentica la "voce" del marchio ai clienti locali. Si considerano, ad esempio, espressioni che potrebbero essere utilizzate solo in determinati Paesi o regioni.
2. Elementi culturali: l'utilizzo di formati data e ora, di unità di misura adatti, e la conoscenza di festività e i valori locali fanno sì che gli utenti si sentano a proprio agio.
3. Elementi transazionali: per ottenere precisione e fiducia, elementi come la valuta, le opzioni di pagamento, gli indirizzi e i set di caratteri devono essere adeguati ai clienti locali.
4. Elementi che influiscono sulla comunicazione e sulla fiducia: i numeri di telefono locali, gli indirizzi, l'assistenza clienti in lingua, le note legali e i banner relativi alla sicurezza sono tutti elementi essenziali per ottenere la fiducia dei clienti a livello locale. Inoltre, fanno sì che i team di vendita e marketing del mercato di destinazione dispongano delle informazioni necessarie per servire i clienti.
5. Navigazione ed esplorazione: è fondamentale che gli utenti possano selezionare la lingua di cui hanno bisogno così da cominciare immediatamente a interagire con il tuo sito in modo autentico.

Utilizzando la localizzazione puoi generare più interesse e coinvolgimento tra i clienti. Learn more about website localization, including how to execute it in persuasive ways.

How to Translate Your Website

La traduzione e la localizzazione del tuo sito web sono fondamentalmente un problema di tecnologia, perché richiedono automazione e software per gestire molti flussi di lavoro e processi. In generale, esistono tre diverse tecnologie per gestire questi flussi di lavoro:

• A proxy-based localization solution
• i connettori CMS;
• le API (interfacce di programmazione di un'applicazione).

Continua a leggere per avere maggiori informazioni su questi approcci. Per approfondire ulteriormente, leggi il nostro e-book Le tecnologie di traduzione.

Using a Translation Proxy for Website Translation

With the proxy localization approach to website translation, technologies are used to leverage the content and structured code of your flagship website. This makes it easy to translate, deploy and operate multilingual versions. Quest'approccio può essere completamente chiavi in mano, non richiede cioè alcun intervento da parte del cliente per il lancio o la manutenzione dei siti web localizzati oppure la gestione dei flussi di lavoro.

A proxy-based system is layered on top of your website to dynamically translate content in real time so that end users worldwide can view your website in their local language. Essentially, it's like a mirror is being held up to your site, and the reflections are fully translated versions. Proxies are intermediary servers that retrieve content from your server (also known as a client server), translate it in real-time either through machine translation or by taking from a set of previously approved translations, and then display the translated content to end users on your website.

Dato che i siti localizzati sono creati in base ai contenuti e al codice del sito principale, l'esperienza dell'utente e le funzionalità sono coerenti su tutti i siti. Questa continuità garantisce anche che ogni nuovo contenuto sia rilevato in maniera rapida e automatica, e quindi tradotto e pubblicato.

Advantages:

• La traduzione basata su Proxy semplifica il processo di traduzione ed elimina la complessità e l'impegno tradizionalmente legati alla traduzione di siti web.
• Translation proxies are easy to implement, making them a less expensive way to test a new international market strategy before deciding on a more complex translation method.

Using CMS Connectors for Website Translation

For companies that prefer to store and control translated content internally (rather than with a translation vendor), it’s possible to translate a website with a CMS connector. Il connettore consente di inviare i contenuti a un fornitore di servizi di traduzione, e poi di caricarli nuovamente sul CMS per la pubblicazione.

A CMS (content management system) is an application used to publish and manage content on your website intuitively. Examples of platforms include WordPress (WPML), Drupal, and Adobe Experience Manager. Using a CMS simplifies maintaining site content for the site administrator or content manager, especially for large websites with multiple sub-pages. In addition, CMS plug-ins allow for efficient and straightforward management of a website's various language versions directly from the content management system.

For example, a CMS eliminates the need to alter the underlying HTML code of a website when changing content; instead, new content and images can easily be entered and edited through a protected area called the "back end." Customers would send content ready for translation to the language service provider (LSP) in the given source language through the back end. The finished translations are sent back to the CMS, where the website administrator or content manager checks them before publication.

Advantages:

• CMS gives greater flexibility with translation, including tone of voice, layouts, color changes, style, and glossaries that should be used during the translation process. In addition, the client is able to revise the content as needed on their server both before and after a website goes live.
• A CMS solution ensures that businesses can keep their websites current with the most updated technology, including new video and file formats, functionality, and apps.

Disadvantages:

• CMS connectors can struggle to communicate properly with the CMS interface, which can lead to usability issues. Connectors are standardized and pre-configured, meaning they may not work exactly as advertised given your specific CMS.
• Modifications are required to bridge connectors with content platforms. These modifications are time- and effort-intensive. Even with a well-set system, connectors are fragile and often break after CMS software or security upgrades. This can cause delays to translation workflows.

Using an API for Website Translation

A translation application programming interface (API) is typically provided by a translation provider and has a broader scope than a CMS connector. It allows companies to create workflows for any type of content requiring translation, not just content stored in a CMS.

A translation API is a way to pass content between two computer systems (content that needs to be translated and the content that has been translated). It's a software interface that developers can use to add machine translation capabilities to their products or programmatically translate texts and content that their product displays in localized versions.

APIs can be valuable tools to facilitate continuous localization needed for multilingual site updates. Tasks such as monitoring source materials for updates, creating projects, assigning translators, and downloading and uploading files are administrative time sinks that can use up a lot of the project manager's attention, but this is where an API functionality shines. It's a precursor to accessing features that will automate tasks.

Advantages:

• Translation APIs are often easier to tailor than a CMS connector, and are compatible with a range of formats, including HTML, XML and even JSON.
• Proxy-API hybrid solutions can combine the flexibility of the API with the ease of the turn-key solution for an ideal omnichannel translation approach.

Disadvantages: 

• Translation API implementation can take some time and requires careful planning and preparation. The structure and storage of the content must be well-organized, or the API won't function consistently.
• A developer is required to programmatically configure and support translation requests that will be serviced via the Translation API, which can add cost to a project.

Human vs. Machine Website Translation

In addition to the translation technology methods outlined above, you’ll also need to consider whether to pursue human or machine translation when translating your website.

Human translation involves the translation of content by professional linguists fluent in their international customers' industries, brands, languages, and cultures. Studies show that human translation generates superior engagement, conversions, and credibility among multilingual customers because human translation ensures superior translation accuracy and quality assurance due to human editorial oversight and multi-step review processes. In addition, website content can be easily customized for regionally preferred dialects and phrases.

Machine translation uses computer software to translate text from one language to another. Content is fed to machine translation software, which automatically translates content into the target language without human involvement. Machine translation allows businesses to use "machines" such as Google Translate to translate content at scale. Machine translation is often an integrated feature within localization platforms and is used by companies looking to lower their translation costs. It's effective for content that does not require translation precision and extensive copywriting.

Neural machine translation (NMT) uses deep learning techniques and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the source sentence and find patterns to create a suitable translation in the destination language. This technology is based on deep neural networks, an interconnected series of "nodes" modeled after the human brain. Before translating, NMT software will be given training data such as different examples of translations for a certain text. The software is then "trained" to produce the most accurate translation.

Translation proxy systems, CMS, or API translation systems all utilize machine translation to translate website content. However, a hybrid approach to translation is generally recommended. For example, Google Translate can easily translate content and then it can be reviewed again by editorial and quality assurance teams for accuracy and relevance. This can come in handy for content like product descriptions or other straightforward content that doesn't need a lot of emotional nuances or cultural localization context.

2 Examples of Successful Website Translation

Aventa Credit Union

 

Aventa Credit Union is located in the Colorado Springs area and is expanded into more southern Colorado counties, resulting in member growth from Spanish-speaking communities. Aventa wanted to ensure all their members had access to financial resources in their preferred language, so they decided to translate their website into Spanish. In 2020, Aventa focused on hiring bilingual Spanish-speaking associates and leveraged their workers' fluency in Spanish to translate English content for their website. But, this took away from other work employees were hired to perform. Employees who knew Spanish also didn't know the same Spanish, resulting in inconsistent translations.

Aventa hired MotionPoint in 2021 during a rebranding effort to translate and localize website content for the various Spanish dialects their clients speak. Using translation connectors, a reverse-proxy system, and web plugins, Aventa's content translation and localization is now effortless. New content is quickly localized into Spanish and published on Aventa's digital channels in less than a day with little to no work required from them.

VITAS Healthcare

VITAS Healthcare is the nation's leading provider of end-of-life care. They recognized the complexities and cultural sensitivities around end-of-life care and dying topics. They determined that offering content in local languages, including through multilingual websites, would greatly benefit customer service and support. VITAS set out to translate their website to Chinese and Spanish and searched for a website translation solution company to deploy and operate multilingual websites. They also wanted to ensure high-quality and accurate translations, including reflecting the language's original tone and cultural nuances, so they looked for a service that provided human translation support.

VITAS worked with MotionPoint's proxy-based technology to support their careful, culturally-appropriate language needs. Now, MotionPoint can automatically identify changes to VITAS' English-language site, which alerts MotionPoint's human translators to translate content and makes it available on the localized sites - typically within one business day.

Website Translation vs. Traditional Translation

La traduzione di siti web richiede competenze di natura tecnica che sono difficili da gestire per le agenzie di traduzione classiche. Queste competenze riguardano, ad esempio:

• i contenuti dinamici codificati in HTML, JavaScript o JSON;
• gli ecosistemi complessi di piattaforme e collaboratori;
• la travolgente velocità delle attività commerciali online;
• la richiesta degli utenti di contenuti nuovi e condivisibili e di interattività.

Le soluzioni di traduzione tradizionali non sono in grado di distinguere il codice dai contenuti, non riescono a gestire il coordinamento di flussi di lavoro multipli tra le varie piattaforme e i diversi collaboratori, non stanno al passo con i continui aggiornamenti e faticano a mantenere l'aspetto, il carattere e le funzionalità del tuo sito web.

Thankfully, digital-first solutions can easily handle code, multiple platforms, fast deadlines and more.

Challenges of Website Translation

Oltre alla tecnologia di traduzione, ti illustreremo altre importanti problematiche legate alla traduzione di siti web. Segui i link per conoscere i dettagli e le best practice.

• La traduzione di siti web è difficile, e un'agenzia tradizionale potrebbe non essere in grado di gestirla.
• Il tuo sito web cambierà nel corso del tempo e quello che ti serve è una soluzione di traduzione che si adatti alle tue esigenze.
• Per essere sempre efficace, la tua soluzione di traduzione deve essere rapida. Anche il tuo fornitore di servizi di traduzione deve essere rapido.
• I contenuti esterni e le applicazioni di terze parti possono comportare rischi ulteriori che rendono la traduzione di siti web complicata, faticosa e costosa. Scegli una soluzione digital-first che abbatte i limiti e i costi.
• La coerenza del marchio nelle varie lingue è importante. I migliori fornitori di servizi di traduzione possono renderla semplice, rapida e conveniente.